DSH vs DMH

I don't know if this goes here, but it seemed like the best place.

My new kitty, Kink, is just over 9 weeks old. When I took him to the vet a few weeks ago I noticed that they noted on his paperwork that he was a domestic medium hair. How can you tell the difference between a DSH and DMH? Especially when they are so small. Here are some pics in case they help. Thanks.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...t/DSCN1203.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...t/DSCN1219.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...ink5082807.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...ink3082807.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...t/DSCN1230.jpg

He looks like he could be. Root is a DMH too. Here is a pic of Root


And just to show the difference, This is Tubee who is a DSH.


They are just a little longer fur. Hope that helps.

Manda

Thanks proudmomof3cats.

Hmmm. So would Merlynn (gray tabby) be DMH too? While Picolino (brown tabby w/ white) DSH?

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...lynninsink.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...ModelShot3.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...Picoeating.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...t/DSCN0927.jpg

Aww he's so sweet looking - nice brown tabby and white.

As far as coat length - IMO he 'may' get longer hair. He has a little ruff around the neck and the spiky fur down the spine and a little fluffier tail; but I would guess he's more of a DSH at this point.

They can loose the kitten spiky fur and be short coated. The vet may wind up being wrong. I don't think he as enough "fluff" to be considered a medium long hair.


Now IMO Root is a DSH - not a medium hair - its just dense and not close laying. You should go by what he has on the tail - is the tail short coated or is it more fluffy? I've seen more medium longhair cats that have a fluffy tail, short body coat and a little ruff around the neck. Root has none of it - only density.

Merlynn and Pic are both DSH - not medium hairs. I think both of you are confusing a denser coat with a longer coat. A British SH cat has a dense coat that stand out from the body - but its a shorthair - not a longhair. For example:

British SH (you can see the density of the coat)

http://www.cfa.org/breeds/profiles/british.html

Turkish Angora (shorter body coat, long fur on tail/ruff)

http://www.cfa.org/breeds/profiles/turkish-angora.html

Balinese (short body coat, fluffy tail)

http://www.cfa.org/breeds/profiles/balinese.html

Persian (full long coat on body and tail/ruff)

http://www.cfa.org/breeds/profiles/persian-bic.html

Thanks for the great info GoldenKitty45. Okay then...I guess I was pulling at straws trying to figure out how they thought Kink was a DMH. I didn't get it since I always believed both Merlynn and Pico to be DSH.

I'll keep a look out for the kitty spiky hair to see if he loses it or not. Thanks!

Oh and thanks for the complimets. I'll pass them along. I always get such great compliments for Pico (tabby w/ white). He's my little model. But I love them all.22222222222222222 haha. I'll leave the mutiple 2's. That was Kink.

Roots fur is longer that it looks. His fur is always very tight against his body. If we compare the length of his fur sticking up to tubee or Samba's it is a little less than double the size. I don't know for sure, but the vet, the place we got him from, and one of my friends who breeds Siamese kitties, say he is DMH. I personally didn't even know about DMH until Root. So do you think he is a short hair?

Manda

IMO all the cats in this thread are shorthair.

Root does not have the fluffy tail for a medium long or longhair - he just has a denser and slightly longer hair then a shorthair - but not enough IMO to consider him a longhair.

Let's put it this way - if he was in the household pet class in a show, he would be listed as a shorthair - no doubt. For show classification, you go by how fluffy the tail it. He has short fur on his tail. If you look at the Balinese you will see the tail if fluffy and the body coat is pretty short in comparison. The Balinese could be considered a medium longhair.

My Ling probably has a similar coat - you might consider her body coat as "long" - its longer then Charlie's coat but she is a shorthair cat

absolutely, all these kitties mentioned and pictured in this thread are without a doubt DSH.

When I took my Cat in to see the vet she also told me that mine was a DMH. Here's some pics of her. I would pretty much just describe her hair as feeling very soft and fluffy .

It's very hard to tell with young kittens... Once Kink gets older it should be obvious whether he is a shorthair or medium.

Here are some photos of a kitten I'm pretty sure is going to be either medium or longhair:
Kitten 5 weeks

Fuzzles, I would classify your cat as a medium long hair.

And will agree the little 5 weeks olf kitten will be a longhair when grown up

I see, said the blind man. Okay. I was always under the assumption that both Merlynn and Pico were short hairs. Guess I just started getting confused with the density of their fur.

And didn't get why Kink could be possible medium hair. But I think I understand now. It's more of the whispiness of the fur and the tail is a definite factor.

Thanks everyone!!