Upon his return from Tanzania, a Hollywood scriptwriter, wanted to create a cat that resembled the wild, spotted African leopard but gentle as a lamb. In order to reach this goal, a long breeding and selection programme started in the 1970s, crossing several breeds, including Siameses, British Shorthairs, American Shorthairs, Manx, Abyssinians, and a line of Egyptian and Asian street cats. It took eleven generations before type was fixed. The breed was formally introduced in 1986. The California Spangled is so named because he's born in California, and his coat resembles the round, dark markings of certain birds. The California Spangled is rare in Europe.

The sculpted head is of medium length and width with a slightly domed forehead. The California Spangled has a slight nose break and his cheekbones are prominent. His full, well-developped muzzle is of medium length and the chin is strong. Well-open almond shaped-eyes are set at a slight slant and they are well apart.  The colour varies from gold to brown, in accordance with the coat colour. The strong neck is of medium lenght, muscular and cylindrical.

The body is muscular and moderately long. It has solid thighs. The bone structure is strong and the musculature is well-developped. The hind legs form nearly a 90° angle, giving the appearance that the cat is sitting back on its legs and lowering the body close to the ground. The tail is moderately long, with thickness at the base equal to that at the tip. It has dark rings and a dark tip on the ground colour.

The coat is short, except on the belly and tail where it is longer. Spots covering the back and sides of the body are round, square or triangular in shape and must be well-defined and separate. The head, throat, legs and tail are covered of stripes. Eight varieties of coat colour are accepted: black, brown, blue, bronze, charcoal, red, gold and silver. 

The California Spangled is a lively, energetic, extremely active cat, though certainly not aggressive. Though wild in appearance, the California Spangled is social, affectionate, and gentle.

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