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The Highlander breed first began development in 2004 with its
roots tracing back to the Highland Lynx,. An east coast breeder developed the Highland Lynx in 1993 and although
given the name that included “lynx”, these domestic cats were not of any lynx ancestry. These cats
immediately attracted interest and a devoted following rapidly developed due to their unique looks, size, and playful, clown
like personalities. Upon welcoming the Highland Lynx into our homes and families we immediately realized that these
cats were special, both in personality and looks. Uniting together we worked together to set up our breeding programs
and develop a standard that we all agreed to adhere to and began working to develop a cat with a “big cat look”
in a purely domestic breed.
In late 2005 we took the name Highlander to further identify
our cats as a breed of their own merit. We worked diligently to educate the public; to bring about an awareness
of how special these cats are, both in personality and looks; and mostly to earn respectability for this breed and eventual
championship status as a member of the cat fancy in one of the largest cat registries in the world, TICA
Our foundation cats were carefully hand picked for the qualities
important to our development in producing the Highlander’s “big cat look“, with domestic short hair and
domestic long hair being allowed as acceptable outcrosses when needed. It is important to note that Highlanders have never
used any other recognized breed as an outcross.
We have carefully selected each and every Highlander foundation
cat by a combination of the unique Highlander profile that immediately draws attention to the long-sloping forehead, intense
wide set eyes are separated by a wide nose with substantial nose leather to give Highlander a look of its own. The nose,
muzzle, and chin form a blunt look to give an overall boxiness in profile. The Highlander has also maintained the loose
curl that affects the top 1/3rd of the ear. It is not a tight curl like the American Curl and we believe it came from
a Canadian breed called the Hemingway Curl through the Highland Lynx. These incredible features all ties together to
visualize the unique “big cat” look of the Highlander breed in a domestic cat.
Highlander breeding programs continue to selectively breed
to protect and enhance this distinctive look as well as to enhance the bloodlines to keep them genetically different and pure
from other breeds.
Although their look is one of power and fierceness, despite
their imposing looks, Highlanders are a fun-loving, good natured cat that constantly entertains its humans with zany antics
and enjoys being the center of attention.
Highlander Breeders Group
Copyright © 2007
Highlander Breed Group
The Highlander is the complete package, beautiful,
domestic yet it has a distinctly different and "big cat" look, it is loving, entertaining, physically sound, and is so much
fun.
Breed Traits/Physical Features
What first draws your attention to the Highlander
is its incredible head and profile. The Highlander has a sloping forehead, wide set eyes that are separated by an extrodinarly
wide nose. The Highlander's nose, muzzle, and chin create a boxy look in profile creating the profile of the "big
cats" The dominant relaxed. loose curl gene, leave the ears standing tall and open at the base and give the ear only
a minimal backward flair. The tips of the ears are visible from a frontal view, yet the slight backward tilt of the
ear is noticeable and combined with the other incredible features of the Highlander head gives a overall feral look in appearance
to this fun-loving cats.
What most people like about this breed is the substantial
body structure. Watching a Highlander move is pure beauty as their long hind legs flex and the heavy, pronounced muscles ripple
between their shoulder blades, reminiscent of the wild cat. The Highlander’s feet are most impressive; they are large
with prominent knuckles, built for the stamina for which the Highlander is known for.
Anchored on the
muscular hips of the Highlander is a natural short tail. Ranging in length from 1 inch to hock length, it should be thick
and preferably articulated. Though a straight tail is preferred, sometimes slight twists and kinks may be detected. Many times
there will also be a noticeable fat pad at the end of the tail.
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