About Australian Mist cats
Australian MIst cats are medium size, short haired cats. They were developed in the 1970’s by Australian Dr. Truda Straede. The breed is Australia’s first pedigree cat. The name was changed from “Spotted Mist” to “Australian Mist” in 1998, when cats with marbled coats, rather than spots, were accepted as part of the breed.
Dr. Truda Straede with an early Australian spotted cat.
They sport six different beautiful misted color types: warm brown, chocolate, lilac, peach, gold or blue. Also, they can have either of two patterns, spotted or marbled.
spotted pattern on an Australian mist cat
marbled pattern on an Australian mist cat
Their coat is very short and lacks an undercoat, so they don’t require much brushing. Their fur has three aspects: the ground color, which is paler than the pattern; the pattern; and third, the appearance of wearing a misted veil, caused by random ticking in the solid color areas. The legs and tail are ringed or barred, and the face and neck also have colored lines.
Burmese cat
The Australian Mist was crossed with the loving personality of Burmese, which are typically 8-12 lbs,
Abyssinian cat
with the intelligent Abyssinian, which have short-hair, and weigh 6-10 lbs. Abyssinians are known for having large ears.
Dr. Straede added the Australian domestic short-haired tabby, known for their vigor.
Australian Mists have a round head and large eyes. 
Their life expectancy is 15-18 years.
Dr. Trudeau Straede describes the standard appearance for Australian Mist cats
Temperament
Australian Mists are tolerant of handling and are not inclined to scratch; they usually make wonderful indoor pets. Neutered/spayed Australian Mist cats fit in comfortably with dogs and other cats. As kittens they are lively, mellow when mature. Some Australian Mists can be trained to go for walks on a leash.
Distribution
As a relatively new breed, most Australian Mist catteries are still in Australia; however, there are a few in the UK, and some neutered/spayed cats have been introduced to America and several other countries. Two pregnant queens arrived in the UK in February 2007. In August 2007, they, another unrelated queen, and an imported mature male stud boy, created a colony of over 100 cats within two years. Six more cats were imported to the UK from Australia, with the intent to widen the gene pool and offer healthy and genetically-sound kittens to pet buyers within the UK and the US. Breeding cats have been sent to Norway where two breeders are currently working to get them recognised by FIFE.
Breed status
The Australian Mist breed is accepted for championship status by the World Cat Federation. It gained preliminary recognition with the UK’s Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) in October 2011. They were accepted for championship status in TICA (The International Cat Association) In May, 2014. The Australian Mist celebrated 20 years as a championship breed in Australia in 2006.
They are easy to show, as they enjoy the attention. They frequently win Best in Show and Top 10 in Show awards and the breed has a number of Diamond Double Grand Champions and quite a few Nationally Titled Cats. In recent years they have won the coveted All Breeds Supreme in Show awards many times.
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