American Shorthair Price: The Real Cards, and the Trap Around Them
Real rate cards from four named US catteries, why the $75 listings are not this breed, and the honest answer for UK, Canadian and Australian buyers.
Published August 21, 2026 5 min read
Contents
This page contains two kinds of numbers and keeps them apart: rate cards published by named, registered catteries (all read on 17 August 2026), and marketplace noise wearing the breed's name. Most "American Shorthair price" content online blends the two, which is how the internet decided this breed costs $400. It does not.
United States: four named catteries, $1,200 to $2,900
The named cards, state by state. BiAmeriKitty (Eugene, Oregon, ): pet kittens typically $1,200-1,500, silver tabbies at the top of the band. Silver Shorthairs (Mount Vernon, Washington, CFA): $1,850 pet, $2,250 breeder/show, $2,900 international. Kelloggs Cattery (Maple Valley, Washington, CFA): $2,000 pet, $2,500 and up show. Lynzkatz (central Pennsylvania): from $2,000 flat. Show or breeding rights run $300-650 above pet quality where both tiers are published, a modest premium next to the two-to-three-times gap we have documented on other breeds. Two further named catteries (Milla's Kats in California, Cacao Cattery in Texas) publish no figure and price by conversation: a normal practice split, not a warning sign.
Why the internet's number is lower than every real one
Three aggregator ranges circulate ($400-800, $500-1,500, $600-1,200), and every one of them sits at or below $1,200, the LOWEST figure any named cattery actually charges. None of the three names a breeder. Treat any unsourced "typical price" for this breed as a floor estimate contaminated by the mirror trap below, never as the number to budget on.
The mirror trap, shown rather than asserted
"American Shorthair" is a pedigreed breed's name AND a phrase casual sellers apply to any American short-haired cat, and the listings prove it by their own words. In our live samples: a US marketplace search returned $75-250 "American Shorthair" kittens with no , registry or cattery language anywhere in the listings.
A Canada-wide search surfaced a $25 Hamilton listing captioned "Domestic Shorthair female kitten" BY ITS OWN SELLER, a Richmond BC "Siamese X Domestic Shorthair" litter, and a $600 "British/American shorthair mix". UK listings ran £25-550, with "selling her for cheap" copy and zero registry mentions across nearly all of 58 listings read. None of that is this breed's price. It is the price of ordinary kittens wearing the name. The full explainer covers why the confusion exists.
United Kingdom: a floor, and a structural reason
Pets4Homes' own breed page states "upwards of £300 for a well-bred kitten" and warns that few well-bred kittens exist in the UK in any year. Expect a waiting list. Our own searches found not one named, registered UK cattery with a published price. The structural reason is on the breeders page: the breed has no recognition because nobody has ever applied, so there is no UK infrastructure to price against. A UK aggregator's "£500-900" figure exists; it names no breeder.
Canada: the honest answer is that no figure exists
We found exactly one -registered Canadian cattery (Ashmole, in Lachute, Quebec, a silver-tabby specialist). Its website is currently unreachable, with no price on its reachable social page. Canada's registry directory () lists the breed as a selectable category and, like every registry directory, carries no prices. We publish no Canadian range rather than dress marketplace noise up as one. A Canadian aggregator's unnamed "$500-1,500" exists, for what an unnamed figure is worth.
Australia: one named breeder, no published price
Perfect Pets' own search tool says it plainly: "No results meet your search criteria." One named breeder exists in the directories (Blazer American Shorthairs, Samford Valley, Queensland), with no reachable website or price. A named NSW breeder biography confirms active breeding since 2016 with imported stock. The one circulating figure, A$800-1,500, comes from a retailer's blog naming no breeder: directional at best. If you want this breed in Australia, the price conversation starts with the breeder you manage to find, not with a listicle's range.
What no registry will tell you
Neither , , nor any Australian body publishes a kitten price for any breed; registry "price lists" are registration fee schedules. And adoption is its own honest lane. Shelter fees run roughly $75-150 US, and a shelter shorthair is almost always a domestic shorthair: a wonderful cat that is not this breed.
Four markets on one card (named sources, 17/08/2026)
| Market | What exists | The honest figure |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 4 named catteries with rate cards | $1,200-2,900; show tier +$300-650 |
| United Kingdom | Marketplace floor only, no named cattery | £300+ and a waiting list |
| Canada | One named cattery, unreachable | No sourced figure exists |
| Australia | One named breeder, no published price | No sourced figure exists |
The vet's take
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Frequently asked questions
How much does an American Shorthair cost?
From named US catteries (August 2026): $1,200-2,900, with pet quality mostly $1,200-2,000 and show quality $2,250-2,900. Cheaper "American Shorthair" listings almost always describe non-pedigreed kittens wearing the name.
Why are some American Shorthair kittens listed for under $200?
Because the term gets applied loosely to any short-haired kitten: several listings in our own samples were captioned "Domestic Shorthair" or named crosses by their own sellers while appearing under the breed's search term.
How much is an American Shorthair in the UK?
Rarely available: the market floor is stated at £300-plus with a waiting list, and we found no named, registered UK cattery publishing a price. The breed has no GCCF recognition (nobody has applied).
Is the American Shorthair expensive to adopt?
A pedigreed one rarely reaches rescue. Shelter adoption ($75-150 US typically) gets you a domestic shorthair, a different population, however similar the look.
Community questions
Got a question this page doesn't cover? Ask it: the best ones get published here with their answer.
This is information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot tell you what is wrong with your cat. Our rule is a simple one: if something is wrong with your cat, call your vet, and call an emergency clinic if it is out of hours. Nothing you read here is a reason to wait.
Medical information applies to every reader. Prices, legal duties and common practice do not: unless stated otherwise, they are given for the United States, and they differ in the UK, Canada and Australia, and often between states or provinces. Check with your own vet and your own local authority.
Our sources
- Silver Shorthairs pricing
- Kelloggs Cattery policies
- BiAmeriKitty kittens
- Lynzkatz American Shorthair kittens
- Milla's Kats
- Cacao Cattery
- breedlist.com breeder directory
- Pets4Homes American Shorthair page
- Pets4Homes live listings
- CCA-AFC breeder directory
- Perfect Pets breed guide
- NSW CFA American Shorthair
- Adopt a Pet, American Shorthair adoption
- CFA American Shorthair breed page
- TICA American Shorthair breed page
What kittens cost, breed by breed
Worth keeping a paw on
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