Aphrodite (Cyprus cat)

It is Cyprus's long-established cat, a natural population of the island that became a breed in 2012. Cyprus has a very old relationship with cats: at the Shillourokambos site a cat was found buried beside a person some 9,500 years ago, although there is no evidence that today's Cypriot cats descend from it. A legend, impossible to verify, also says that St Helena sent shiploads of cats to the monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats, near Akrotiri, to get rid of the snakes. The WCF recognised it in July 2012 under the name Aphrodite's Giant, first in semi-long coat and later in short coat too, and TICA gave it preliminary recognition in 2017 as the Aphrodite. It is a medium to large, athletic and muscular cat, with a long triangular head, broad ears and hind legs slightly longer than the front ones; according to the TICA standard, males weigh 6.8 to 8.2 kg (15–18 lb). In character it is affectionate, sociable and very attached to its people.

The semi-longhair needs brushing once or twice a week, a bit more during the spring moult, when it sheds its winter coat; the shorthair, once a week. It is large and athletic: tall, well-anchored scratching posts, shelves to climb and daily play. It adapts well to flat life if it has vertical space. If you bring one from Cyprus, it will need a microchip, a rabies vaccination and the right travel paperwork (within the EU, a European pet passport), and it is wise to test it for FeLV and FIV before it meets other cats.

As a natural breed, it has no inherited diseases of its own described, although there are no specific studies either. Its risks are those of cats in general: tartar, cystitis, kidney disease in old age and excess weight, which in a large cat strains the joints. Those that come off the street may bring parasites or viruses. Annual check-up and blood tests from the age of seven.