What’s Massachusetts’ Most Popular Cat Breed? (PHOTOS)

Here's a tough question(especially if you're a cat lover who's a fan of all felines): What's your favorite BREED of cat? I know, right? So many to choose from. There are longhairs and shorthairs. Birman or Burmese? American or British? Persian or Siamese?

The list goes on and on from American Bobtails to Turkish Angoras and everything in between. And there are several cats of certain breeds that look almost identical to cats of completely different breeds. You have to really know your felines to be able to tell them apart.

Let's say you already have a favorite feline breed. You knew it right away. Do you think the rest of the Commonwealth agrees with you? I don't know if I have a favorite breed because I just love them all. If I were forced to pick one, I'd probably go with Bombay:

My soulmate Tonya and I kept getting visits from a stray cat last summer(right around Independence Day) and after he stole our hearts, we brought him to our friends at the Berkshire Humane Society so they could give him some love and check his health.

After the BHS did their best to make sure he didn't belong to anyone else, we got Prince(named by our granddaughter Isabelle) microchipped and took him to his new home where he's been King(perhaps I should say Prince?) of the Castle ever since.

Anyway, Prince is a Bombay breed(with probably a touch of Siamese thrown in there). And, as I previously mentioned, if I were forced to choose a favorite breed, I'd go with Bombay because I sure do love that little guy.

Recently Shane Co, the largest privately-owned jeweler in the country, conducted a ranking on every state's most popular cat breed based on Google search trends over the past five years.

Here are some of the interesting things the team at Shane Co discovered. Overall, the most popular cat breed in the United States is...well, actually, it's a tie between Javanese:

And Sphynx:

Both the Javanese breed and the Sphynx breed were the most searched in 5 states each. Also of note are the Sphynx(which is hairless) and the Javanese(which is low-shedding) are both perfect for pet owners who may have allergies. By the way, Javanese was the most popular in--ta-da--Massachusetts! And speaking of ties, there was a three-way tie for the next most searched cat breeds. Three breeds each took 4 states. They were American Shorthair:

Birman:

And Peterbald(sounds like a brand name for farming equipment):

And lastly, another 3-way tie for the most searched cat breed. Three different breeds each took 3 states. Exotic Shorthair:

Persian:

And Russian Blue:

Awww, he's an adorable fellow, isn't he? Also of interest, every New England state has a different breed as its most popular. As we mentioned above, it's the Javanese for Massachusetts.

In Connecticut, Turkish Angora is the most searched breed. In Maine, it's the(no surprise here!) Maine Coon breed. Meanwhile, for New Hampshire, it's the Russian Blue. The Exotic Shorthair ranks most popular in Rhode Island and for Vermont, it's the American Shorthair.

See the full list of the most popular cat breeds for every state in the country by checking out Shane Co's website here.