The rarest cats of the world are very treasured and efforts are made to protect and preserve these breeds. While some are hybrid breeds, some of the rarest cat breeds in the world are actually some of the oldest as well, and thus, efforts are made to preserve these natural treasures from disappearing from the face of the Earth. Curly, hairless or tailless, these are the rarest of them all:
1. The American Wirehair

This is a cat which originated in New York suffered a random mutation which gave the American Shorthair kitten a curly, wiry coat instead of a normal one. It is a very rare breed, with few to none existing outside the USA and only 22 cats registered today,
2. The Burmilla

The result of crossbreeding between Burmese cats and long-haired Chinchilla ones, the Burmilla is a very sociable breed which originated in the United Kingdom in 1981.They have beautiful, silky coat which may come in different colors: blue, black, brown chocolate and lilac.
3. The California Spangled

The California Spangled is not only one of the rarest breeds in the world, but it is also one of the newest, having been created in the 80 in order to resemble a small leopard. Despite its amazing look, which indeed is very close to that of the wild animal that the cat takes after, there is no single leopard gene in this cat. The California Spangled was created from many different breeds of cats. Today, the breed is fighting for survival, because it is not popular anymore, especially after the apparition of the Bengal cat.
4. The Elf cat

One of the rarest breeds in the world is most certainly the elf cat as well. It is not yet recognized by the cat associations. This is a hybrid which resulted after the crossing of the Sphynx and of the American curl. If you thought that the Spynx was weird, then this cat will surprise you even more: except for being hairless, it has strange, curled years as well.
5. The Turkish Van

One of the oldest cat breeds in the world, the Turkish van is nevertheless very rare, even in their hole land. They are white, with colored marks on the ears and on the tail and they are special because of their strange love for water. Unlike the other cats, Turkish Vans enjoy taking baths. It is not unusual that these cats have one amber eye and one blue eye.