Editing Cyprus cat (section)

== Aphrodite breed development ==
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" |Aphrodite
|-
| colspan="2" |A semi-long-haired adult male
|-
!Other names
|Aphrodite Giant, Aphrodite's Giant Longhair, Aphrodite's Giant Shorthair
|-
!Origin
|Cyprus
|-
! colspan="2" |Breed standards
|-
!TICA
|standard
|-
!WCF
|standard
|-
! colspan="2" |Notes
|-
| colspan="2" |TICA recognition is only preliminary.
|-
| colspan="2" |Domestic cat (''Felis catus'')
|}
Local breeders began in 2006 to attempt to establish a standardized breed from local feral cats.  In 2008, a World Cat Federation (WCF) all-breeds judge visited Cyprus to work at a cat show<sup>[''citation needed'']</sup> and was introduced to a breeder of purebred cats developed in this trial breeding program from the Cyprus cats. Considering the cats distinct, he wrote a standard of points and named them '''Aphrodite Giant'''. The president and board members of WCF advised that these Aphrodite cats should be shown outside Cyprus to become better known within the cat fancy,<sup>[''citation needed'']</sup> but did not immediately accept the nascent breed. Subsequently, a group of interested people in Cyprus decided to form a club, which was named the Cyprus Cats National Breed Association (CyCNBA), which applied for government approval and started functioning in late 2009. CyCNBA applied to affiliate to the WCF in April 2012.<sup>[''clarification needed''][''citation needed'']</sup>

In addition, it was agreed that a letter be sent to a leading specialist in cat genetics,<sup>[''citation needed'']</sup> Leslie A. Lyons of University of California, Davis, asking whether she would agree to DNA-test a selection of Cyprus cats to see whether it was possible to genetically define them as a breed. The professor, who intended shortly to begin a further study of Turkish Van and Turkish Angora cats (whose ancestry has long been disputed), agreed to study samples submitted from Cyprus. A total of 248 cats were studied, including a number of random-bred Cyprus cats from the Malcolm Cat Sanctuary, for comparison. "All cats were considered in one large analysis. The analysis partitioned the cats based solely on genetic variation, not by any other identification." (L. Lyons – 2 January 2012) The January 2012 report concluded that "Cyprus cats are a distinct population within the Mediterranean" and that a "breed from Cyprus could be developed".

On 1 July 2012, the cat became a fully recognised breed of the WCF, originally as just the '''Aphrodite's Giant Longhair''' (though it is actually in the organization's semi-longhaired division) after the CyCNBA attended the WCF General Assembly in Gelsenkirchen, Germany and applied for recognition of the cats in April 2012.<sup>[''citation needed'']</sup> Today, WCF also recognizes a short-haired variant.

In September 2017, The International Cat Association (TICA) recognized the cats, under the name '''Aphrodite''', as a "preliminary new breed", in its own breed group and with both shorthaired and semi-longhaired varieties. Some TICA members have started breeding programs for the Aphrodite in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

In breeder terminology, this constitutes a natural or traditional breed – one developed from local stock to preserve its key characteristics, rather than created by breeders to have new features.

=== Breed standards ===
The WCF standard calls for the Aphrodite's Giant to be large, strong, and muscular but not cobby, and big-boned even as kittens.  The cats may be shorthaired or semi-longhaired and of any colors other than colorpoint or mink (which comes from the Burmese gene), nor with any white spots if otherwise solid-colored. "In bicolour, non-regular colour setting is desired." The coat should be soft and wooly, and is expected to be longer and with an undercoat in winter, and always lacking any top coat except possibly on the back. In detail, WCF calls for muscular hips and shoulders; back legs slightly longer than front (a trait shared with another insular breed, the Manx); medium-long, "well-plumed" tail, commensurate with body size (and visibly tapering in the shorthaired version); a long-triangular head with straight cheeks, long and straight muzzle, "strong" chin, rounded front of the face, slightly domed forehead and "a very slight dip under the height of the eyes"; wide-based, medium-large ears, forming an open V (rather than being straight upward); and olive-shaped, oblique-set eyes of any uniform color.  Weight range is not specified.

WCF has set no temperament or breeding rules for this breed, and defers on breeding points instead to the World Cat Congress (WCC), which permits no out-crossing, other than between the longhaired and shorthaired varieties of the breed.  Only WCC (a confederation of national and international cat federations, which does not itself issue breed standards, just breeding regulations) uses the term '''Aphrodite's Giant Shorthair''' for the latter. WCC asks that judges disqualify smaller specimens of both, to preserve the large-boned nature of the breed.

Under the TICA definition, Aphrodites may be shorthaired or semi-longhaired and have any color and pattern, except they may not be colorpoint or mink and should not have a "locket" spot on the chest.  The coat should be soft and lush and may seasonally vary in undercoat density (not required). They are "athletic, well-muscled, solid" and of medium to large build, but must have a gentle, non-aggressive temperament.  Fully adult male weight range is 15–18 pounds (6.8–8.2 kg); female, 10–14 pounds (4.5–6.4 kg), which is heavy for a female cat. On finer points, the TICA standard calls for hips and shoulders of the same width; back legs slightly longer than front; an overall long-triangular, straight-cheeked head with a squared but not flattened muzzle and slight concavity between nose and brow leading to a slightly rounded forehead; wide-based, wide-set and fairly large ears forming an open V; oblique, olive-shaped eyes of any color; a full-width chin of normal depth; medium-long, tapering tail consistent with the body and coat (and plumed in the longhaired version). Jowls are permitted in adult males. No out-crossing to other cats is permitted (though the two varieties of Aphrodite are a single breed for TICA purposes).

WCF and TICA sharply conflict with each other on the cat's speed of maturity, perhaps owing to different foundation stock for their breed variants.  The WCF standard says that they develop quickly, while TICA says they are comparatively slow to mature (another trait shared with the Manx), taking three to five years to reach full size.

TICA's overview of the breed describes them as affectionate and social and in some ways dog-like in behavior toward their keepers.