There are a ton of different cat breeds out there, some you may not have even heard of and others you can’t remember because of their crazy names. Just when you thought you knew enough about cats, you might come to realize you’re mispronouncing quite a few cat breed names. If you need some extra help figuring them out, check out our list here!
#1 – Aegean
The Aegean, or AY-JEE-AN, is a Greek breed of cat that occurred naturally around the Cycladic Islands. Although they’ve been domesticated for centuries, only recently have breeders begun to create a true breed standard.
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#2 – Burmilla
Although the name might look Spanish, the Burmilla is a British breed created by breeding Chinchilla Persians with Burmese. Because of this, the name is pronounced BUR-MILL-UH.
#3 – Chartreux
This French breed, pronounced SHAR-TROO, is one of the only true “blue breeds” in the cat fancy, which means they are only accepted in the blue coat color. They also get fairly large weighing up to 16lbs.
#4 – Chausie
The Chausie, pronounced CHOW-SEE, is a unique hybrid believed to have originated in Egypt. The Chausie was created by breeding non-domestic Jungle Cats to domesticated house cats. The result is a very exotic animal.
#5 – Cymric
This Welsh breed, pronounced KUM-RIHK, is a species of Manx known for its long coat. They are intelligent, active cats that enjoy playing with other animals, including dogs.
#6 – Donskoy
This Russian breed, pronounced DAWN-SKOY, is a hairless breed of cat. Unlike the better-known Sphynx cat, the Donskoy’s hairlessness is caused by a dominant gene.
#7 – Khaomanee
This breed, pronounced COW-MANEE, hails from Thailand and is also known as the Diamond Eye Cat. This is because they are pure white cats with blue eyes, gold eyes, or one color for each eye.
#8 – Nebelung
This American breed is pronounced NAY-BEL-UNG and resembles a long-coated Russian Blue. In fact, the standard is almost the same, except the Nebelung always has a long coat.
#9 – Ojos Azules
The Ojos Azules, pronounced OH-HOS AH-ZOO-LESS, gets its Spanish name from its eyes. Ojos Azules means “blue eyes,” in Spanish and these beautiful cats always have these distinct blue eyes. This unique breed is a naturally occurring domestic cat found in the U.S. state of New Mexico.
#10 – Sokoke
This rare breed, pronounced SO-KO-KEY, comes from Kenya and is a naturally occurring domestic cat. Individuals were exported to Denmark to start a formal breeding program as some feared for its survival in Kenya alone. Not only does this breed look like a wild animal, it’s unique in that males generally help raised the young.