The Napoleon Cat is a new breed of cat that has taken the cat world by storm. What began in 1996 by the founder, Joe Smith, who had an idea on how to produce a "new and improved version" of the Munchkin breed has now seen the Napoleon cat entering the show halls under the "Preliminary New Breed" status.

The Napoleon is a short legged feline - the Dachshund of the Cat world - that has that striking facial expression that is referred to as "the baby doll face" like that of the old timey Persian cats of yester-year.  A hybrid cross of the Munchkin Breed Group and the Persian Breed Group, the Napoleon cat has captured the best of both breeds. The cute short legs introduced first by the Munchkins in the early 80's are hard to resist. Years of genetic studies as well as years of observation has proven that the short-legged felines are ALL cat - and no surprise - the short legs do not hamper mobility nor do they cause any health related concerns. As in the dog world where they are many low-rider breeds - the Napoleons create just a new and unusual look for cat lovers.

The Napoleons are distinct from both of their parent breeds. Whereas the Munchkin cat is also short-legged - the Munchkin cat resembles a domestic cat. Founder, Joe Smith, wanted a more purposeful look. Also as he looked at the current Persian standard - the Persian Breed Group had evolved into a more extreme-featured breed with the snub noses and the very short face structure. By embracing the old-fashioned Persian face and some of the other features as well - the Napoleon cat is still able to avoid looking like a "Persian on short legs" or even a "Rounder faced Munchkin."  They do have qualities from each group but have a distinct look of their own. We feel it is a winning combination!

The Napoleon cat is a medium sized cat that comes in both longhaired and shorthaired versions. Beyond coat length, the Napoleon can come in every possible color imaginable - likely colors that even you are unaware of such as lilacs, chocolates, minks, smokes, as well as the pointed varieties and more.  The gene that creates the short-legs is not a dominant trait which means that the breed produces "standard kittens" (a.k.a. kittens with the short legs) as well as "non-standard kittens" (a.k.a. kittens with a regular leg length). Obviously the non-standard kittens are less expensive but they are highly desired as well for all of those "other traits" that make the Napoleon cat so popular - the beautiful sweet baby doll face, round eyes and face, sweet and outgoing temperament, and the beautiful coat and colors.