The Snowshoe is a comparatively sensitive cat who appreciates a quiet environment. It can therefore only be recommended to a limited extent for a turbulent family with small children. She feels more comfortable in an adult household, in which life runs smoothly. In addition, the Snowshoe is one of the quieter cat breeds and can therefore be kept well in a large apartment with plenty of space and numerous employment opportunities.
As its name suggests, the Snowshoe is characterized by the white color of its paws. It belongs to the group of masked cats and comes in two forms: on the one hand, there are cats with a limited amount of white, the so-called gloved snowshoes (similar to Burma), and on the other hand the two-tone snowshoes with a correspondingly higher proportion of white on the face and body.
The first attempts at breeding the Snowshoe were carried out in the 1950s when an attempt was made to breed a kind of Siamese cat with white paws. The actual founder of the breed is said to have been breeder Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty. In one litter of Siamese cats, she found three kittens with white markings. In order to create the typical drawing of the Snowshoe, she outcrossed with American shorthair cats and then reared them with Siamese cats.
In 1974 the Snowshoe was recognized as an experimental breed by the breeding associations CFF (Cat Fanciers Federation) and ACA (Asian Cat Association). In 1982 she received championship status with the CFF. The breeding associations TICA (German American Cat Club e.V.) and ACFA (American Cat Fanciers Association) followed. In Germany, the recognition was supported by the families Notzig and Heintrof with the kennel community No-Heis. The Holy Burma, Ragdoll, British Shorthair and European Shorthair served as outcrosses.
Breed-specific traits
Snowshoes are considered good-natured, active, playful, quite noisy (but with a soft voice), intelligent and adaptable.
Sometimes they also show very changeable behavior: It can happen that they behave very sensitively and withdraw when they want to be left alone. On other days, however, they are very sociable and lively. Sometimes the behavior changes from now on, which is typical for cats. As a rule, the Snow Shoe does not tolerate being alone.
Like many other cat breeds, snowshoes often have a mind of their own and do not always listen to the instructions of their master or mistress. But you can’t be angry for long with these pretty velvet paws.
Attitude and care
Since the nature of the snowshoe is usually very balanced, it is well suited for housing. In order for the cat’s everyday life to be exciting and varied, there must be enough play options and a large and robust scratching post.
Due to its sometimes very sensitive nature, the Snowshoe usually feels uncomfortable in a noisy environment. Pedigree cats are therefore less recommended for households with small children. Since the velvet paw is nonetheless very people-oriented, you should plan a lot of time for it and urgently think about keeping a second cat.
The coat of the shorthair cat requires little maintenance by humans, but can still be brushed from time to time to help them change their coat.
