The Cat Fanciers' Association( CFA abbreviation) annually publishes statistics on the number of cat registrations of different breeds in the world. Only those cat breeds are recognized that are recognized by the CFA( today there are 42 of them).
The next report was published in February 2016 and is based on registration data for cat breeds from January 1 to December 31, 2015.Breeds that took the last 10 places in this report can be called the rarest breeds in the world. It is only necessary to make a reservation that these are the rarest of the recognized CFA breeds. For example, the smallest breed of cats in the world, the Scythian-to-Bob, bred in Russia, has not yet been recognized by the CFA.
10 place. American curle .This breed, bred in the USA in 1981 and distinguished by special, swirling back ears, has two varieties: half-long-haired and short-haired. Some cat associations recognize these two species as separate breeds. The American Curle is quite famous in the US, but in other countries it is rare.
9 place. European Burmese cat .CFA distinguishes the Burmese cat itself and its variety, derived in the UK, calling it a European Burmese cat.
8 place. Havana .The breed was bred in England in the middle of the last century by crossing between Siamese and black British cats. Until the end of the 90-ies the number of nurseries breeding this breed did not exceed 12, and the number of cats and cats of the breed havana in the world did not exceed 130.Recently, the popularity of the breed is growing, but it still remains one of the rarest in the world.
7 place. American Bobtail - a large breed of domestic cats, derived from wild North American cats in the 60s of the last century, and in 1989 recognized by three associations of cats, including CFA.
6 place. Korat .In size and color, this breed resembles a Russian blue cat, but the ancestors of this breed are not from Russia, but from Tailnd, from where they were brought to the USA in 1959.In Europe and America are valued only those representatives of the breed of crab, which were taken from the province of the same name in Thailand. But only specialists can distinguish them from the blue shorthaired Burmese or bluish-silvery oriental shorthair.
5 place. Burmilla .The breed was bred in the UK in 1981 as a result of an unplanned pairing of a Persian chinchilla and a lilac Burmese cat.
4 place. American wool cat .This breed appeared as a result of a spontaneous mutation of the American shorthair cat in 1966.Soon it turned out that the mutation is dominant and it is not difficult to breed such cats. Another name for the American wild-haired breed is wirewool - for the appearance of wool. The degree of effect of such a wool is different. Hair of a wool can be fastened together, or bent. Therefore, if the cat of that breed is combed, the effect of the "spring" will disappear.
3 place. Turkish van ( another name - Turkish Van Cat ) is one of the oldest breeds of domestic cats. This is a long-haired large cat with a muscular elongated body. It is one of the largest breeds of cats. The length of the males from the nose to the tip of the tail is from 90 to 120 cm, the height in the shoulders is 35-40 cm, weight from 6 to 9 kg. Females are smaller and weigh from 4.5 to 6 kg.
2 place. Laperrem - a breed of cats with curly hair, appeared in the US in the 1980s as a result of free crossing. The breed was officially recognized in 1996.Laperme is one of the most expensive breeds of cats.
The rarest breed of cats in the world - Dragon Lee ( another name is Chinese Li Hua ).CFA recognized this breed, originating from Chinese wildcats, just 6 years ago - in 2010.Outside China, cats of this breed are almost impossible to acquire. In China itself, the breed is also scarce. The popularity of this breed does not add to the fact that it does not differ from ordinary mongrel cats in appearance.
see also Most popular breeds of cats
