A muscular American cat with a short tail and curled ear tips: it looks wild, but it is a friendly, playful house cat.
The Highlander is a young breed from the United States. Breeders crossed two new breeds of ordinary house cats: the Desert Lynx, with its lynx-like look, and the Jungle Curl, with its curled ears. That gave the Highlander a sturdy body, a short thick tail and ear tips that curl backwards. It has no wild blood. It is active, clever and devoted to its people, and many owners find it a bit like a dog.
It often bonds closely with its people and likes to stay near them.
Likes to snuggle up to you, but is not known as a true lap cat.
Playful, and it often brings back a thrown toy.
Active and curious: it wants to play and climb every day.
Little is known about its voice: it is not known as a chatterbox, nor as especially quiet.
Clever and often quick to learn tricks and games.
How it behaves with visitors has hardly been described yet.
Usually gets on well with children who play gently with it.
Usually sociable with other pets, a friendly dog included.
Usually gets on with other animals at home, cats included.
Does not like being alone for long. Better with someone often at home.
Can live in a flat if it gets enough time, places to climb and play.
The Highlander is a cross with a lynx or another wild cat.
No. It is a house cat through and through, bred from house cats with a wild look. It is not related to the lynx.
The Highland Lynx is a wilder version of the Highlander.
No. Highland Lynx was simply the first name of the same breed. Around 2005 it became Highlander.
Extra toes are part of the Highlander look.
Many Highlanders have extra toes, but such a cat may not compete at a show: the TICA and ACFA standards rule it out.
The Highlander is a cross of two young breeds that were both bred from ordinary house cats: the Desert Lynx and the Jungle Curl. The aim was a cat that looks like a small wild cat, with curled ears. Because its ancestors are so varied, the Highlander has one of the richest gene pools scientists have measured in cats. Its short tail probably does not come from the Manx gene, and the gene that curls its ears has not been found yet.
Breeders carry on with the Desert Lynx and Jungle Curl cross, to turn it into a breed of its own.
The name Highland Lynx is dropped. From now on the breed is called Highlander.
From 1 May the Highlander may be shown at TICA shows, in the class for new breeds.
TICA moves the Highlander one step up, to the class for advanced new breeds.
America's ACFA accepts the Highlander as a championship breed.
A large DNA study tests over 200 Highlanders. Almost all have blood type A, and their short tail probably has a cause of its own.
On 26 February TICA updates the Highlander's breed standard.
According to most sources, the Highlander becomes a full championship breed in TICA from 1 May.
A sturdy, muscular cat with a rectangular body, a short thick tail and ear tips that curl backwards. Its hips stand a little higher than its shoulders, and it grows slowly: it is only fully grown at about two.
The original form, with a short, dense coat lying loosely against the body.
Recognition: Recognised by TICA (as HGS) and America's ACFA.
A semi-long coat of up to about 6 centimetres, with shaggy belly hair and tufts between the toes.
Recognition: Recognised by TICA (which simply calls it Highlander, HG) and America's ACFA.
Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).
Black spotted tabby(n 24)
Black classic tabby(n 22)
Black mackerel tabby(n 23)
Black silver spotted tabby(ns 24)
Seal mink spotted tabby(n 24 32)
Seal lynx point spotted tabby(n 24 33)TICA and ACFA say 'all colours' and name none. These rows are what that rule allows.
A yellowish tinge in the silver coat is not a fault in the Highlander.
In pointed cats judges like to see the tabby pattern in the points. In America these pale spotted cats are also called 'snow'.
A white Highlander, or one with white patches, is not allowed. In TICA a cat with even a small white spot or button wins no awards.
Because of its old name Highland Lynx, many people think it is related to the lynx, but it has not a drop of wild blood.
An adult Highlander's tail bone must be at least 5 centimetres long, but may not reach past the hock.
Kittens often have tighter ear curls than adult cats. As they grow up, the curls loosen.
Owners often compare it to a dog: it greets you at the door, follows you around and brings back a thrown toy.
The Highlander grows slowly and is sometimes only fully filled out after its second birthday.
No study has measured it: the breed is still too young for that. One insurer says 12 to 15 years. Take it as a rough guide.
The light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye slowly fade, so the cat goes blind over several years. Only a cat with two copies of the gene is affected. Two forms have been found in the Highlander: about 1 in 30 cats tested carry one, about 1 in 200 the other. No sick Highlanders have been reported yet.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents, for both forms.
In a cat with two copies of the gene, red blood cells break down easily, so it becomes anaemic. How ill it gets varies a lot. About 1 in 50 Highlanders tested are carriers.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents.
The heart wall grows too thick, so the heart pumps less well. About 1 in 200 Highlanders tested carry a gene variant also found in the Ragdoll. A cat with one copy usually lives a normal life, and the disease has not been reported in the Highlander yet.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents for this variant. It shows a risk, not the disease.
In some short-tailed breeds the spine near the tail can be shaped differently, which can cause trouble with pooing or peeing. People raise this worry for the Highlander, but how often it happens has not been studied.
How it is found: There is no DNA test yet for the Highlander's tail. Have a kitten that struggles to poo or pee checked by a vet.
Brushing once or twice a week is usually enough to remove loose hair. If it has extra toes, clipping its claws takes a little longer.
Curled ears hold on to wax and dust more easily. Check them every week and clean them if needed with an ear cleaner from the vet.
Play with it every day at set times. Give it a big scratching post, places to climb and spots to hide.
Good food rich in animal protein, dry or wet. Ask your vet how much it needs, as it grows slowly and gets big.
Nothing suggests a Highlander causes fewer allergies than other cats. If you are allergic, spend some time with one first.
Checked on 23 October 2026
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