Colorpoint Shorthairs are the first cousins of the Siamese and the Cat Fanciers' Association is the only registry that recognizes them as a standalone breed. In all other registries, they are part of the Siamese and Oriental breeds. These cats are distinguished by their elegance in sixteen different "point" colors beyond the four Siamese colors. The Colorpoint Shorthair shares body style, personality, coat length, and pointed color pattern with the Siamese, but in the untraditional colors of red, cream, tortoiseshell, and lynx (tabby) points. Two separate schools of thought exist about the Colorpoint Shorthair: those who think that since these cats are pointed like a Siamese, they should be considered Siamese, and those who deem the Colorpoint a Siamese hybrid. In fact these cats were initially created by hybridizing Siamese with American Shorthairs, the same hybridization that created the Oriental breed of cats.

Colorpoint Shorthair is the name the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA), a United States breed association, uses to refer to pointed cats of Siamese ancestry and type in colors other than the four "traditional" Siamese colors (seal, chocolate, blue, and lilac point). This name is also given to cats of Siamese ancestry in the four recognized colors whose eight generation pedigree show ancestors with other colors. In registries of other countries, however, "Colorpoint (or "Colourpoint") is the name given to cats of Persian type and pointed coloring, as in Himalayans.