Havana Brown Cat

While many cat breeds are as precious as they can be, some cat breeds are more like the workhorses of the cat fancy. The Havana Brown breed not only has a simple brown coat; these cats are so eager to please they are almost dog-like-in a nice, thoroughly cat-like way, of course.

Havana Brown Behavior/Personality

Source: "The Havana Brown: The Cat in a Not So Plain Brown Wrapper," by Norma Placchi

The Havana Brown breed is thought of as being very intelligent. That is, they are generally more easily trained to fetch than other cats and respond well to praise. Most Havana Browns make excellent show cats.

Havana Brown Breed Standard/Physical Description

Here are some facts on the Havana Brown breed based on the Cat Fanciers Association's breed standard.

• Head: head is longer than it is wide when viewed from above, narrow muzzle
• Ears: large, round-tipped
• Eyes: oval in shape, medium sized, set wide apart
• Body: medium in length, firm and muscular
• Legs: straight, high
• Paws: oval, Toes: five in front and four behind
• Tail: medium in length and in proportion to the body
• Coat: short to medium in length, smooth

Havana Brown History

Source: "The Havana Brown: The Cat in a Not So Plain Brown Wrapper," by Norma Placchi

Self-brown cats were documented in cat shows in Europe as early as the 1890s. These self-brown cats went under names such as "Swiss Mountain Cat." They apparently may have fallen out of favor in the early twentieth century, as self-brown cats such as these did not appear again in cat shows until after World War II.