The exact origins of the ASH cat breed is still unknown but is thought to be borne of a cross between the European wildcat and the early Egyptian cat as the breed closely resembled the European Shorthair.

Around 945 A.D., the European Shorthair cat was introduced into Britain with the sole aim of protecting the British grain supply. Several laws were later put into effect to protect these working cats, and included fixed pricing on the value of newborns, kittens, young adults, and adept hunters. Penalties for stealing or wounding a cat was to hand over one ewe and her lamb to the injured party, while the penalty for killing a cat was enough grain to cover the cat tail-tip to head while the cat was suspended with nose touching the ground.

As witchcraft superstition spread in the eleventh century, interest in cats as pets or working animals died out. Cats and kittens were burned at the stake along with their helpless owners. Fast-forward a few centuries, and the inherent value of cats was once again recognized, this time in the fifteenth century.

Reports indicate that the breed of cat brought over to the US from Europe on the Mayflower and other settler ships in the sixteenth century were identified as the European Shorthair breed. The mice and rat populations at the time were so severe a problem that more and more of these European Shorthair cats were brought over to the Americas to keep the rodent population under control.

Selected more for their natural hunting abilities and their rugged hardiness, the interest in American-bred shorthaired cats grew. In 1749, locally-bred shorthair cats were introduced to Pennsylvania to control an overwhelming rat plague that had broken out in the area.

During the San Francisco rat plague of 1884, shorthairs sold from anywhere between $50 to $100 each. Then, during the 1849 San Francisco Gold Rush, miners were happy to pay $50 each for proven mice and rat hunters, specifically the cats that had arrived on the ship S. S. Ohio.

A popular cat, interested breeders set up a selective breeding program around 1900 to develop and nurture the best qualities of the ASH cat, who had until then been bred for their ability to withstand extreme cold conditions and their efficient hunting skills.

To determine a broad genetic base for the ASH cat, several cats of the same breed but from different countries of origin were analyzed. Pedigrees were not necessary until other breeds were imported in the late nineteenth century.

Purebred by default, there were so few recognized shorthaired breeds at the time that “Shorthair” was considered sufficient breed identification. Originally known as the Domestic Shorthair, the first official shorthaired cat to be named an American Shorthair was Buster Brown, in 1904.

In 1966, the domestic shorthaired breed was renamed to the American Shorthair cat to better represent its “all-American” origin and to differentiate it from all the other shorthaired breeds. Breeders wanted to maintain the resemblance to the domestic shorthaired cat, but the British Shorthair was chosen as a crossbreed for the sake of elegance.

ASH catteries began popping up everywhere when cat lovers realized how affectionate, useful, hardy, and healthy the breed was. It also didn’t hurt that the ASH cat was winning cat show after cat show at the time.

In 2012, the ASH cat was ranked #7 on the Cat Fanciers’ Association Board.

Today, the ASH cat remains amongst the most common of cat breeds and is a firm family favorite in the US, Japan, and Canada. In Europe, some organisations refuse to acknowledge the breed so it is still considered very rare.

The ASH cat is ranked #4 on the 2020 Cat Fanciers’ Association Board, and is regarded as a pedigreed breed accepted by all North American cat registries.