This breed was developed by Truda Straede in Australia beginning in 1975. The breed was developed by crossing the Burmese, Abyssinian, and miscellaneous domestic short-haired cats to create a short-haired cat with a spotted coat. 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.
Physical characteristics
Australian Mists are medium-sized short-haired cats, with a round head and large eyes. The coat is very short and lacks an undercoat. Australian Mists do not require much brushing because they lose little hair. The coat patterns have three aspects: the ground colour, which is paler than the pattern; the pattern; and the appearance of wearing a misted veil, caused by random ticking in the solid colour areas. The legs and tail are ringed or barred, and the face and neck also have lines of colour. Their life expectancy is 15–18 years.
Temperament
The Australian Mist is known for its exceptional temperament, they are tolerant of handling and are not inclined to scratch. As kittens they are lively, but are less so when mature. Australian Mists can be excellent indoor cats, which also protects native wildlife. Some Australian Mists can be trained to go for walks on a lead, and many are excellent retrievers. Neutered/spayed cats and kittens of this breed fit in easily with other cats and dogs, a trait further enhanced through selective breeding.
Distribution
As a relatively new breed, most Australian Mist catteries are in Australia; however, there are a few in the UK, America and recently, Germany. The UK breeder who brought the first Australian Mist cats to the UK was Mary Stuart. Two pregnant queens arrived in the UK in February 2007. From those initial queens and a further imported mature male stud boy and one other unrelated queen in August 2007, a colony of over 100 cats was created within two years in the UK. In July 2010, when a further six cats had been imported into the UK from Australia, there was the chance to widen the gene pool and offer healthy and genetically-sound kittens to pet buyers within the UK. 2011 saw the arrival of the first female Mist into the US from the UK, followed by further imports from Australia in 2013. Breeding cats have been sent to Norway where two breeders were working to get them recognised by FIFE, although this failed to be completed and to date the breed is still unrecognised in FIFE. In February 2017, the first Australian Mists were imported into Germany, a female from the UK and a male from the USA. The first German litter is expected in June 2018.
