Colorpoint Shorthair cats are basically Siamese cats that come in colors other than those recognized for Siamese. They have the same distinctive features as Siamese, making them equally recognizable. Colorpoint Shorthair are very affectionate cats, and enjoy being around people. In fact, they enjoy the company of humans so much that they will let their human companions know when they are feeling left out. They are very vocal cats with readily recognizable voices. They tend to get along best with other Colorpoint Shorthair or Burmese, rather than other breeds of cats and can tend to be especially bossy of longhaired breeds. Some Colorpoint Shorthairs do very well around children, others are less patient. This temperament should be taken into consideration when looking for a family pet.

Colorpoint Shorthair cats were first bred to expand the color options of Siamese cats. The breeding programs began by concentrating on Siamese cats with red or cream points. Once these hybridizations were successful, breeding programs were expanded to other colors. There are two solid point colors of Colorpoint Shorthair cats: red points and cream points. Both types have white bodies with their respective colored points; the points may range in shade from pale buff to light pinkish for the cream point and from bright apricot to deep red for the red point. The paw pads and nose leather are flesh or coral pink for both varieties. Beyond solids there are tabby varieties, which are referred to as lynx points. These include seal lynx point, red lynx point, cream lynx point, chocolate lynx point, blue lynx point, and lilac lynx point. There are also tortie-point or parti-color varieties.

Colorpoint Shorthair cats have wedge shaped heads with large ears. The ears are set in line with the jaw line, so that a continuous triangular line is formed. They have deep blue eyes that are set on a slight slant. Their eyes should be exactly one eye-width apart. Their hind legs are longer than their front legs. Their coats are short and fine, requiring little or no grooming.

On average, a litter of Colorpoint Shorthair is six kittens, although larger litters of ten or even more are not terribly uncommon. Colorpoint Shorthair cats are not prone to any specific diseases or ailments and often live fifteen years or longer.