Australian Mist Cats

Head and shoulders of an australian mist cat looking to the side

Australian mist cat leaning against a cat tree

History

The Australian Mist was originally known as the Clouded Mist. It is the first cat breed to originate in Australia.

The first Australian Mists were developed by Truda Straede in 1976. The breeding stock consisted of 30 cats of various breeds including Abyssinian, Burmese, and domestic shorthairs. At the time of Straede's breeding program there was a growing concern that domestic cats were eating their way through Australia's wildlife, and the aim with the Mists was to develop a breed that could live exclusively indoors.

The resulting house-proud puss had a spotted coat (which is why the early name Clouded Mist was adopted). However, in 1998 cats with a marbled coat were accepted to be the same breed as the Clouded Mists, so the name was changed to make it less coat-specific.

The Australian Mist remains a perfect house cat, having been specifically bred to that end. They are also content and low maintenance, with a short coat that needs little or no grooming.

Behaviour

The Australian Mist is docile and laid back. This makes them very good for families with children. They don't just put up with all the attention, they really enjoy it. They are ideal lap cats, the classic cat couch potato, born for the indoor life.

Aussie Mists are happy to be handled, even by young children who might not be instinctively gentle. They appear very lively as kittens, but chill out after a few months, showing calm and perfect manners at all times. They are not so docile that they ignore their owners though - far from it, as they become very attentive and often follow you around the house to see if they can help out in any way.