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Genetically, all longhaired cats share the recessive allele that causes their coats to grow longer than those of their wildcat ancestors. Some sources still state that the gene for long hair was introduced into these domestic cats from the wild Pallas cat of Tibet, but there is no evidence that this is true: a simple genetic mutation is almost certainly the cause. Although their exact origins are unknown, longhairs occurred naturally centuries ago in Central Asia.Some of these cats reached Europe. Early longhairs in Europe were called Russian, French or Chinese, three centuries passed before these cats acquired official classifications. Some longhaired breeds are the result of introducing the longhair gene into shorthaired breeds.
| Himalayan | Ragdoll | Persian |
Cats breeders never cease in their endeavors to create yet more beautiful variations on the longhaired theme. Recent developments include the Golden Persians and the Cymric.
The Chinchilla Golden and the Shaded Golden were bi-products of the Chinchilla breeding program. Often referred to as "Brownies", they appeared regularly in the litters of Silvers, but were mostly petted out. The Cymric is essentially a longhaired Manx and was developed during the 1960s from mutant kittens that were born from time to time in some American Manx litters. They were first recognized in 1980.
The new varieties of Ppersian usually display the gentle, affectionate, disposition typical of the type; the Cymric has the same loyal and friendly nature as the Manx. Other new Persians include the delightful Lilac-Cream, Chocolate Tortoiseshell, Golden Tabby, and Golden Torbie. The Cymric is bred in most Manx colors.
| Birman | Turkish Angora | Balinese | Turkish Van | |
| Tiffany | Somali | Main Coon | Norwegian Forest |
Although longhaired cats are traditionally associated with the show ring, non-pedigree longhaired cats grace many a home and hearth. Like the more common non-pedigree shorthair, theu would not be thought of as somehow "second-best" to the refined show specimen - they may not have the same illustrious parentage, but they still have the same, innate, feline appeal.
Longhaired cats probably arose as the result of a mutation within an isolated, perhaps cold, region that enabled the feature to be perpetuated through interbreeding. The modern longhaired cat is mostly descended from Turkish and Persian cats brought to Britain during the late nineteenth century. Non-pedigree longhaired cats can be the result either of crossbreeding Persians or of matings between long and shorethaired cats.
Like all acts, the non-pedigree longhaired cats has a personality uniquely its own, formed by heredity, upbringing, and social environment, but is nonetheless likely to be more docile than its shorthaired relation.