Adopted cat, formerly thought to be Himalayan...

Hi, everyone! I adopted my cat from the shelter almost 2 years ago. I don't know much about cats in general, breed wise. When I saw her, her tag said Himalayan, she was fluffy like a Himalayan, and had piercing blue eyes like a Himalayan. So, needless to say, I went with Himalayan. I took her to the vet shortly after and the vet didn't correct me on the Himalayan subject, so I assumed she surely was. Now...I know that not all Himalayans are going to look the same, and I realize that she could very well be a mix, but is there a chance she's a LH Persian or something else instead that could be easily confused? Her facial structure is much different than the pure bread Himalayans. It's not as...scrunched in the middle. It's flat, but not AS flat as the pictures I've seen of Himalayans. Also, her eyes are more almond than round. If she is indeed just a mixed Himalayan, any chance you could tell me what she's mixed with? Thanks in advance, everyone! (Not sure if this matters at all, but before we adopted her, she had 3 kittens while at the shelter and they all came out looking like little fluffy "Himalayan" kittens.)

She looks Himalayan to me but without knowing her history your never really going to know. She is very beautiful regardless!!!

Originally Posted by ldpeterson

She looks Himalayan to me but without knowing her history your never really going to know. She is very beautiful regardless!!!

Click to expand...

Thank you! We love her dearly, and what breed she is has no impact on our love for her, but her face doesn't really look anything like the Himalayan cats shown here: http://www.chocolatecats.com/himalayan-cats.htm

The main differences I can see facially have to do with the placement and shape of her eyes and nose. Her eyes aren't round, and her nose, although it's higher than most cats, isn't as high as the noses seen on most Himalayans. It also seems to stick out more. Her eye shape, though, is the most prominent difference to me. It's the facial feature that first got me thinking she may have some other stuff in her. (Not that I expect my adopted cat to be a former show cat, but you never know!)

Maybe there's different types of Himalayans? Hopefully that's what someone here can tell me!

Hm...Just stumbled across some pictures of Ragdoll cats and she looks pretty similar...

Anyone think she could be a Ragdoll or something similar?

Totally agree with idpeterson...

The coat looks too long to be a raggie or birman...looks like a himi mix to me!

Originally Posted by adoptedcat

If she is indeed just a mixed Himalayan, any chance you could tell me what she's mixed with?

Click to expand...

More than likely she's just mixed with a domestic.

Very pretty girl

I think she looks purebred Himalayan, pet quality though. Himalayan is a color division of the Persian in CFA.

Probably a Himi mix. Himalayans are a color division of the Persian. They are a pointed persian. Some associations still separate them by 2 different breeds; others just have it as a sub-division.

Pet quality Himi's would not have an extreme face.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Pet quality Himi's would not have an extreme face.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response! I had thought that she may possibly just be a "normal" Himi, while the ones that tend to be uploaded on the net are cats who have been thoroughly bred to be of show quality, hence the more drastic facial characteristics. I should have assumed that show cat owners would be more interested in displaying their cat to the internet, hence why they all look so...scrunched! (Opposed to mine!)

Originally Posted by missymotus

More than likely she's just mixed with a domestic.

Very pretty girl

Click to expand...

I wonder if the Himi gene is just much more dominant, making mixed cats appear more on the Himalayan side?

If all three of her babies also looked like Himis, she might have been a pure bred pet quality cat. Both the colorpoint gene and longhair gene are recessive, which means that to have three kittens that look like himis, the father cat must have been a colorpoint longhair as well.

Originally Posted by FerrisCat

If all three of her babies also looked like Himis, she might have been a pure bred pet quality cat. Both the colorpoint gene and longhair gene are recessive, which means that to have three kittens that look like himis, the father cat must have been a colorpoint longhair as well.

Click to expand...

I had assumed that since her kittens were all Himalayan, that she was probably bred with a Himalayan before she was either abandoned or lost. They found her on the streets.

She looks pet quality Himmi to me or what is called a doll face Himmi.
Colorpoint is recessive and in order to get it you must have 2 parents that carry the gene to produce it. You can breed a carrier to a non carrier and get no CP.

If all her kittens werr colorpoint, she was probably a pet Himmi now many are sold without papers so its very possible.
Daisy