Glossary

Domestic shorthair

The everyday short-coated cat of no particular breed, the most common type of pet cat in the world and in shelters.

Also called: DSH, house cat, mixed-breed shorthair, moggy

Domestic shorthair, often shortened to DSH, is a description of a cat's coat, not a breed. It covers any short-haired cat with mixed or unknown ancestry, in any colour or pattern. Shelters and vets use the label for most of the cats they see. In Britain the same cat is often called a moggy, and the term domestic medium hair is used for those in between.

A domestic shorthair is not the same as an American Shorthair or a British Shorthair, which are pedigree breeds with written standards for body shape, head and coat. A DSH can look like those breeds, but there is no breed standard and no registered ancestry.

Because the gene pool is so wide, domestic shorthairs vary a great deal in size, build and personality, and they are often robust. Each cat is an individual, so choose one by temperament and health rather than by colour. They are the cats most likely to be waiting for a home, and some are entered in the household pet class of a cat show. Their long-haired counterpart is the domestic longhair.

Last reviewed November 7, 2026

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Related terms

Domestic longhair A long-coated cat of mixed or unknown ancestry rather than a recognised breed, such as a fluffy shelter or household cat. Moggy A British word for an ordinary non-pedigree cat of mixed ancestry, usually short-haired and often a tabby. Tabby A coat pattern of stripes, swirls or spots with a dark M-shaped mark on the forehead, found in many breeds and in mixed-breed cats. Pedigree A cat whose parents, grandparents and earlier ancestors are recorded by a registry, showing it belongs to a recognised breed. Landrace A local population of cats that developed over centuries in one region with little planned breeding, before any registry wrote a standard for it.

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