The Brazilian Shorthair is a medium sized cat of great agility. The breed can be distinguished from the American Shorthair by their sleek and elegant appearance. Yet, they are not as thin as the Siamese. The coat is short and close to the skin and comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns. The space between the eyes should be equal to that of one eye. Brazilian Shorthairs have dramatically expressive eyes. They are a medium sized cat; longer than they are tall. Males have bigger heads than females.
The Brazilian Shorthair started out as an experiment. It was found that Brazil had cats that were different from anywhere else in the world. Yet, all Brazilian street cats had a common appearance and features. Today there are still very few Brazilian Shorthair breeders. The breeding of random street cats has been met with much opposition among animal rights activists and professional cat breeders. However, the Brazilian Shorthair is now considered to be a pure breed of cat. The United States currently has the largest population of Brazilian Shorthair cats and breeders.