The European Shorthair, called the European in FIFe and WCF is a breed originating in Europe. The term has also been used as an elaborate way of referring to commondomestic cats of Europe, causing some confusion as the pedigree cats of this breed also should resemble the typical domestic cats of Europe. In WCF a similar breed is known as Celtic Shorthair and was at a time considered the same breed, but this breed has some difference from the Europeans, and the WCF now register true Europeans under this breed name instead of under Celtic Shorthair.
The role as the cat breed resembling the original domestic cats of Europe was held until the beginning of the 20th century by the British Shorthair, even though stockier than the majority of common European cats, until 1949 when the European Shorthair was recognized by the Fédération internationale féline (FIFe). The oldest known European Shorthair registered in FIFe was born in 1940, as the origin of the European Shorthair predates the formation of FIFe in 1949. Breed standards describing the European Shorthair as an established breed can be found in different cat books from the 1930s.
