Rare. Generally speaking, civet cats have short hair. Long-haired civet cats are very rare. The civet cat is a unique breed in China and has evolved through thousands of years of breeding. They are called Chinese garden cats. The most common ones are orange and black patterned hair. Normally, purebred civet cats have short hair. If the hair is long, it is likely that the cats’ genes have changed during mating. A long-haired tabby cat.