Norwegian Forest Cat or Maine Coon??

I have a buff/cream tabby kitten from the SPCA who is approximately 4 months old.  The personality traits of the Norwegian Forest Cats and Maine Coons that I'm finding online seem almost identical to me, lol!  He has the long ear hair of both of them (which led me to them and others in the first place as guesses for his breed).  He is strong and curious, good with my dog, tolerant, and highly adaptable.  He's already mastered "Out" and "Here, Trip!" (and this is at the meager age of 4 months, of which I've had him for 2).  He'll try anything once, even non-cat usuals, including bread, applesauce, and green beans (and has decided to continue with the bread).  He'll even gnaw on the dog's bones and sticks, which is entirely adorable.  Chicken, turkey, shellfish, white fish, hamburger, and pork are all seemingly delicious.  He is growing very quickly in both size and weight, so I'd wager he'll be a large and sturdy cat.  When I adopted him he was smaller than my dog's head, and covered in about 5-6 dozen fleas.  Terrible that the SPCA would allow so many fleas on an adoptee, and not even warn potential owners! (I found out 3 days later when giving him a bath and noticing that all his "dirt" suddenly started moving!).

To me he doesn't look like any specific breed at all, the color is correct though, he's cream. The breed description would fit to several other breeds as well so I wouldn't pay much attention to those unles you have registered purebred cat or a moggie with purebred parents (and proof of that).

OT but goodness how beautiful your dog is (and I'm a cat person [what a surprise])!

My mutt?  Thanks!  You must like her cuz she luvs cats.     Yup, I did a DNA test for her, and by themselves several of the breeds don't make sense but mixed together, they sure do.  She's part Alaskan Malamute (the pattern shows, though diluted colors); Whippet (runs like one and has the cat-paws); Pyranese (fur is entirely that texture, plus the color and double dewclaws show, and the slanted eyes); Red-ticked Coonhound (doesn't show in the build but she does have the ticking); and English Setter (trace amounts, doesn't show at all).  I got the kitten for her recently since she can't stand other dogs but loves cats.  And now the cat is taking after her, following her around and gnawing on bones, lol!  (I have a video of this bone gnawing thing).



P.S. Don't mind the chain.  We've since upgraded to a fence.

Both your kitten and your dog are beautiful!

Welcome to TCS!

One of my cats is a Maine Coon mix.  Bender weighs about 13 pounds with long shaggy fur but short legs!  I recently met someone who owns a Norwegian Forest Cat and this cat fetches a ball when thrown and also weighs 28 pounds!

Such a cutie!!

I'm not sure, but if you could get a profile it might help since the slope of the nose is different for each.  However, she's most likely a blend like my rescue Precious.

Your dog is gorgeous and your kitten is adorable. 

As small as the kitten is, I would say it is just a very long haired baby.    It is likely mixed with lots of different "breeds" and nothing is obvious or specific.  See the cat in my Avatar?  The is my little bottle baby and he too is no specific breed but darn cute and ridiculously long-haired. 

Sure!  This one's from the day I brought him home:



And this one's from today (like 5 minutes ago):



He wasn't much a fan of this one though:

NorthernGlow said:

To me he doesn't look like any specific breed at all, the color is correct though, he's cream. The breed description would fit to several other breeds as well so I wouldn't pay much attention to those unles you have registered purebred cat or a moggie with purebred parents (and proof of that).

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Agree, this kitty is a domestic longhair.

 

As Domestic Long/Short-Hair is basically a fancy term for "mutt," I'm still thinking his dominant breed would be Wegie or Coon.  I figured I'd be getting a 'mutt' cat seeing as he came for free from the pound.  Like my dog is a mutt, but I could call her a "mostly malamute" since that breed is so immediately recognizable.    Most people think German Shepherd when she's relaxed, or Husky when her tail is raised, but that wolfish charm of hers makes sense once I say Malamute.  Purebreds are basically domestics/mutts that have had certain traits brought forth and others weeded out over time, whether by our doing or by natural selection, so it makes sense that a mutt displaying enough traits of certain purebreds would have similar characteristics and health issues (or strengths) as well... ones not caused by inbreeding, anyway.  That's the curiosity here, is I've found two rather similar breeds (and popular enough to end up in a pound mutt) that could be his dominant, and I was hoping someone with knowledge of them could lean toward one or the other (or an entirely different medium-silky-furred, large-pawed, long-tailed, hair-coming-out-of-the-ear breed).  That ear hair of his sure helped narrow down the possibilities at least, since more breeds don't have them.

Fiammata said:

As Domestic Long/Short-Hair is basically a fancy term for "mutt," I'm still thinking his dominant breed would be Wegie or Coon.

That ear hair of his sure helped narrow down the possibilities at least, since more breeds don't have them.

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The fact is, the percentage of purebreds in the world is really tiny compared to moggies/domestics - and there's nothing wrong with owning a domestic!

All long haired kitties have ear furnishings.

Unlike dogs, the majority of cats are not a mix of different breeds but rather are just domestic cats that have no specific breed background. Or if they do have some breed that was blended in it is likely a small percentage of their heritage so it would not be accurate to call them a __(breed name)__ mix.

Yup I love my mutt dog too.  And it's especially cool that she has 5 breeds, and I have 5 nationalities!  (No, that was not a pre-determination for adopting her, we found that out afterward)  ^_^

But I'm fascinated with genetics.  And I like to narrow things down whenever possible, though the current cat dna testing technology isn't quite as tested-and-proven as the dog dna testing technology.  Darn!  Here are some interesting examples in HUMANS if we know our own genetics:

If you're Irish (especially with red hair), you're more likely to sunburn easily.

If you're Asian, you're highly likely to have "flushing" if drinking alcohol, and if you ignore this and drink anyway, you get a high risk of esophageal cancer.

If you're African, you're less likely to contract malaria from an infected mosquito, but you're more likely to develop sickle cell anemia.

Left-handed people are quite likely to be creative and artistic, as the right side of the brain (creative, emotional side) controls the left side of the body, and the left side of the brain (analytical, mathematic side) controls the right side of the body; however, cultural upbringing has a strong hand to play in this too.

Etc. etc.

Fiammata said:

though the current cat dna testing technology isn't quite as tested-and-proven as the dog dna testing technology. 

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I wouldn't call the dog tests proven either, I know more than a few breeders who've gotten very wrong results back

I love the pix of the dog and kitten together, absolutely adorable! Both are beautiful. Cat DNA cannot be tested ofr a 'breed' like dogs can be. This is because most 'pure' breeds were selected from the native populations that evolved naturally in different parts of the world. Gradually specific traits were encouraged and bred to, to become the breeds we know today, which are still changing as breed societies change their ideals. So cats that looked like your kitten in Northern parts of the world where longhaired larger cats evolved naturally to deal with the cold, were gradually bred to become Maine Coons or Norwegian Forest or other longhaired breeds. Similarly 'pointed' cats evolved in hot regions to deal with the heat. Amd then breeders took a 'hot' pointed cat and bred it to a 'cold' longhaired cat to produce pointed longhairs! It is natural that your lovely little guy should show some traits that have remained to become parts of these 'bred' cats.

Love the photos of the two of them togeather.  Your kitten is truely scrumptious, if I was in your house and had large enough pockets...  I'm sure he's a mutt kitten, and no less special for it.

It doesn't look like she's a Norwegian Forest Cat, but she is a beauty.

I just checked and her profile doesn't meet the Maine Coon or Siberian nose either.

I have nothing to add but just wanted to say both your pets are adorable.

I have a rescue kitten too (I was told he was a maine coon mix when I went to look at him, but have since realized the rescue person calls all long haired cats a "maine coon mix", which is not how it works. I don't care either way.

Your cat and dog are both super sweet looking

He's got a bit of a roman soldier thing going on with his nose, doesn't he?