Many of us have good knowledge of cats and their different breeds. But there are some breeds that we may be completely unaware of. The list includes amazing cats where one has odd-eyes, while the other lacks a tail. One cat may have no hair, while the other may have lots of curly hair on the skin. These cat breeds are from all over the world. Take a look at our list of 10 of the most fascinating cat breeds from around the world.

1 The Bengal Cat Breed

This wild-appearing cat can look as if sprinkled with glitter due to its hair having an iridescent sheen. Fond of water, it is not good for a sweet, gentle lap cat but loves to climb high places and do bird-watching. They are called “Bengal” due to their golden shimmer coming from the leopard cat ancestry.

The credit for the modern Bengal breed goes to Jean Mill of California. The cats live for 10 to 16 years and are 17 inches to 22 inches, not including the tail. They weigh about eight to 17 pounds and originated in the USA. It is a hybrid developed from the crossing between a domestic cat and the wild Asian leopard cat. This cat is highly intelligent.

It comes with an exotic look and is still far from being dangerous or great in size as a wild cat. It’s got a marbled or spotted coat with several colors. It’s happy and entertaining, energetic, and craves lots of attention. They even love being clicker-trained and challenged with games and interactive puzzles and toys. (1, 2)

2 The Maine Coon 

This is one of the largest breeds of the domestic cat and has soft silky fur. The cat comes with valuable hunting skills and is the official state cat of the state of Maine in the US.

It’s a sociable, large cat and is hence “the gentle giant.” Intelligent and playful, the cat carries dog-like characteristics. They even come in various color combinations such as blue smoke, shaded silver, gray smoke, tortoiseshell, blue-cream, and so on.

Originating in Maine, the cat is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America. A Maine coon lives nine to 15 years and can be 30 to 40 inches long. It weighs nine to 18 pounds and is a natural breed. It’s been a part of cat shows held in the US.

This breed is very close to the Norwegian forest cat and the Siberian. One of them even holds the record for the longest house cat in the world with a length of about four feet. They are pet-friendly, intelligent, and playful. (1, 2)

3 Munchkin

This cat was an accidental discovery. Two pregnant short-legged cats were found underneath a school teacher’s car. Their munchkin characteristics from “The Wizard of Oz” gave them their breed name. All munchkins may have their roots back to these two cats. One of the munchkins got the “Stalingrad kangaroo cat” title as it usually sat on its haunches.

These cats have a life span of 12-15 years and are five to seven inches tall. They weigh six to nine pounds and originated in the US. The cats can be found in a variety of coat colors like calico, pointed, tabby, bicolor, tortoiseshell, and tuxedo.

They were earlier thought to live short and suffer due to short legs, but they came out as affectionate and playful, even clever in nature. One usually common characteristic of munchkins is their ability to perch on hind legs just like prairie dogs. Furthermore, the leg lengths can be super-short, standard, or rug-hugger, the shortest one. This cat seems to be quite cute and lovable. (source)

4 Sphynx

This breed of cat is popular for its lack of a fur coat. It developed through selective breeding in the 1960s. It is also called the Canadian hairless. Although it does not have fur, it can grow whiskers and eyebrows.

However, against the belief that they have no fur, the cat does have very short hair, giving a feel of peach fuzz. Normally, hairlessness in cats is due to genetic mutation, but it is natural in these selectively bred cats.

These cats live eight to 14 years and are 13-15 inches. They weigh six to 12 pounds and are also popular for being introverts. They carry a lot of curiosity, a high energy level, and are very intelligent. Furthermore, the cats have dog-like characteristics because of the way they treat their owners. They’re even friendly with strangers.

They even come in all sorts of colors and patterns including red, chocolate, lavender, and white. Another unique thing about this hairless breed is it can develop skin damage and sunburn due to a lot of sunlight exposure, just like humans. They also lack the proper means to cover their body against the cold. For this reason, this cat is vulnerable to skin cancer upon lots of exposure to sunlight. (source)

5 Manx

Hailing from Britain’s Isle of Man, the now internationally-popular Manx cat has a particularly odd trait: it lacks a tail. Tail suppression is hence the chief characteristic of these cats. The Manx taillessness is due to genetic factors. Its taillessness gene is dominant, resulting in kittens generally born with no tails from two Manx cats.

They are said to be social, tame and active. You will find no protuberance when sliding your hands right down its rump. This is why they are Rumpies. In the case of a little stump, the Manx cats become Stumpies. Also, there are Rumpy risers, ones with a bump of cartilage as a tail.

Its life span is nine to 13 years and it weighs eight to12 lbs with a medium size. Some of the popular colors in Manx cats are white, black, blue, cream, red, silver, blue-cream, brown and tortoiseshell. There are different stories about its origin. But the true origin of Manx is most about trading ships going from Phoenicia to Japan carrying this breed.

Manx is one of the oldest cat breeds known to humans. Its eye color can be copper, amber, green, hazel, gold, orange, or yellow. It also has short hair but comes with a double coat. Unfortunately, some are unable to walk and may suffer genetic spinal damage. Due to these reasons, the breed is discouraged nowadays. (source)