A domestic long-haired cat is a cat of mixed ancestry – thus not belonging to any particular recognised cat breed – possessing a coat of semi-long to long fur. Domestic long-haired cats should not be confused with the British Longhair, American Longhair, or other breeds with "Longhair" names, which are standardized breeds defined by various registries. Domestic long-haireds are the second most popular cat in the United States after the domestic short-haired; one in ten of the ninety million cats in the US is a domestic long- hair. Other generic terms are long-haired house cat and, in British English, long-haired moggie.
In the cat fancy, and among veterinarians and animalcontrol agencies, domestic long-haired cats may be classified with organisation-specific terminology (often capitalized), such as Domestic Longhair (DLH), House Cat, Longhair (HCL), or Semi-Longhair Household Pet. Such a pseudo- breed is used for registry and shelter/ rescue classification purposes, and breeds such as the Persian cat While not bred as show cats, some mixed- breed cats are actually pedigreed and entered into cat shows that have non-purebred "Household Pet " divisions. Show rules vary; Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) permits "any eye colour, all coat colours and patterns, any coat length or texture, and any length of tail " (basically any healthy cat ). Others may be more restrictive; an example from the World Cat Federation: "The colours chocolate and cinnamon, as well as their dilution ( lilac and fawn ) are not recognized in any combinations...[and] the pointed pattern is also not recognized".
Domestic long-haireds come in all genetically possible cat colours including tabby, tortoiseshell, bi-coloured, and smoke. Domestic long-haireds can have fur that is up to six inches long.
