Today’s European Shorthair cats can trace their ancestry all the way back to ancient Rome. When Roman legions made their way throughout the European continent, they brought cats with them. These cats were tasked with the important job of keeping Roman camps clear of rodents and other pests. As people created settlements and developed farms, the cats stayed on, earning their keep as reliable mousers. These days, they are thought to be Europe’s original house cats. Over the centuries, European Shorthair cats were known by different names including Celtic Shorthair cat. Today, the Celtic Shorthair is a breed of its own. Pedigreed European Shorthair cats were developed in Sweden, with an eye toward creating a domesticated feline that had a slightly wild edge to its appearance—just like its Roman ancestors. They are stockier than their close cousins, the British Shorthair and American Shorthair. Even though these cats are vastly different from British Shorthair cats (which were developed using Persian cats to create the signature rounded head shape and somewhat shortened face that gives British Shorthairs their signature appearance), cat fancy associations judged European Shorthair cats by the same standard until they were granted their own category in 1982. The breed is extremely popular throughout Scandinavia. Oddly, it is now considered to be one of Sweden’s rarest cat breeds.