Domestic long hair cat is a term used to describe a standard cat with medium or long hair. Domestic longhair come in most shades of colour including, tortoiseshell, tabby, smoke, bi-coloured. Due to the mixed heritage the domestic longhair on average have a good temperament. They each have their own individual entity that will be moulded in their early months by their surroundings and owners. Constant interest and fussing will more likely lead to a friendly, home loving cat. The mixed lineage also means the domestic long hair come in numerous types of body shapes and sizes, ranging from 10 to 20 pounds (4 to eight kilograms) however the males are normally larger.
The long hair comes from a recessive gene, so you can see short hair offspring from them and vice versa from a domestic short hair.
Cat sitters love them for their long hair, but this results in them not being able to look after their own fur, so must to be brushed daily. This is a key part of cat care. Often experts advise that the domestic long hair be bathed every week or so. Though many breeders believe that if they are regularly groomed and they do not venture outside that this is unnecessary.
Bathing is not straight forward with a cat, unless it is introduced as part of regular routine to a young kitten.
The extremely long haired cats are very prone to matting, especially if they go outside. In extreme cases so bad that they sprout “wings”. The most difficult places for matting are under the legs and arms. This will infuriate the cat and inhibit his movements and on an outside cat, might result in him being caught in bushes or trees. The cats forcing away, could result in bald patches and sometimes injuries.  If the cat develops such matting, it is advised to use a de-matting comb should detangle it. The cat may not like grooming, but regular combing will ease the fur off and will slowly remove the matted areas.
New cat owners will be tempted to cut the mats away using scissors, rather than brushing it out. Take care with doing this, the skin may appear like a mat and you may cut the cat. If inclined to do this, take care, little by little and cutting away from the cat. An alternative is to use special grooming electric clippers, but be careful with these as well. Best is probably to use a professional cat groomer if there is any doubt. Many professional cat sitters such as London pet sitting will demat the cat as part of their regular visits.
The mats generally are full of bacteria, so be careful if you cut the cat and if you do, rapidly cleanup and disinfect the area.