Not that I care but... any persian in my little Fletcher?

Hello everyone I'm new here, nice to join this beautiful forum I've been lurking for a while and meet you all.

First off: I don't care if my cat is or is not purebreed, partbreed, semibreed, lookalike or nobreed. He is a cat, and he cats extremely well. He has no papers and I know he's considered a domestic long hair. He could be considered a doorknob for all I care he's the best cat I could ever have wished for. I love him and he loves me back.

So, first the pictures, next the questions:








A little backstory: this giant beast you see is now a little short of 11 weeks old and he weights 3.3 lbs. Yep, NOT a tiny kitty. In the pictures on the floor, the tile is 11.8". We adopted (no money involved) him when he was 6 weeks old: I KNOW, too early, I was so pissed off at the previous owners you can't even immagine. Let's say we did not have a say on the matter: it was either us or the local shelter, they were not willing to take the kittens to the vet anytime soon - not even for deworming or for a simple check up - but the little guy has always been happy with us and well taken care for.

So QUESTIONS now!

Previous owners, who wanted to get rid of the kittens as soon as possible, went around saying that papa cat was a purebreed persian and momma cat a persian mix. I saw picture of both of them: the mother looked nothing like a persian, just a very pretty DLH, while the father could have had some persian in him or even be a traditional-type persian. No pedigree whatsoever was shown, but again: I didn't care about having a pedigree cat. I don't even like persians that much.

Anyway, I was wandering: do you guys see ANY persian in him? Because I don't, but I'm no expert and he is my very first cat. I just started informing myself on cat breeds, and he really looks nothing like a persian to me, not even similar to a traditional one, but maybe an expert eye can see something I don't.

Also, how big he really is compared to the "standard" 11 weeks old kitten? 

And finally... about his fur. He is now an handsome black smoke colour, but he still has his kitten coat so I was wondering: in your experience, when it changes to his adult coat, will it darken or will it lighten up? Can you tell by those pictures how long is it going to get?  And at what age will it change from kitten coat to grown-up coat? I know every cat is different and I just have to wait and enjoy him while he is little (well... let's say not-so-big), but I'm just too curious and I hope that through your experience I could get a little peek on the future  

Well that should be all, sorry everyone for the wall of text I hope you enjoy at least the pictures!

 Well he sure is a handsome kitten!   he is cute now and he will probably get even more stunning.   

I agree with you;  I am sure not seeing a strong resemblance to Persian.     But it could be very difficult ( or impossible) to tell if a cat has a small amount of Persian ancestry.

I suppose it's possible ;  you said the sire looks like he might possibly be a Persian mix or even a "Traditional" type Persian.  But if so,  it was not enough to make this kitten look very typically Persian.   He has a rather short muzzle but hardly like a Persian.   and aside from that the head does not look Persian at all either from the front or the side.    Ears sure don't look Persian.  That long body is absolutely not like a Persian! 

 Coat texture might have some Persian influence?  

and re color, Smoke is pretty common in Persians.  but  that is far from being proof of Persian ancestry since the Inhibitor gene that is responsible for Silver & Smoke, has long been found in the general domestic cat population in Europe and America. 

re color you will probably see some interesting transitions as he grows up .   As an adult,  it will probably be lighter in some parts for ex the ruff.     Google some photos of Black Smoke adult cats to get an idea.

Coat length -- well I can just be conservative and say he's a semi-longhair .  I don't think he is going to be a longhair like a Persian.  but hardly any cats are,  because that coat is  the result of selective breeding.  that's  hard to say because not only is he a kitten,  but if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, it's summer.  and there is a seasonal factor.    ( and if you are in the Southern Hemisphere you still will have to wait longer because right now its winter  -- but he's a kitten.   

 He is bigger than average.... usually the average for kittens is  about 1 pound per month. 

Start combing him regularly now ( NOT brushing.  a brush tends to be less useful for longhairs especially if he gets a thick coat;  it can just damage the top coat while not getting down to get out the loose hairs in the undercoat which is where mats form.    You want a grooming comb or combs.  one comb( or one end of the comb) with wider spaced teeth ,  and one comb  ( or one end of the comb) with finer teeth.   and of course use the wider part first.    Look for "Greyhound style" type combs ( Greyhound is a brand. it's expensive but there are knock-offs for much cheaper. ) 

 It will be easier to get him used to a grooming routine as a kitten even if he does not need it as much yet.      and give him lots of petting, praise and a treat or two.  

Thank you for your reply! That's actually good news to me, that he's not persian-ish and that his hair won't grow that much.
I'm not a native english speaker, though, so I'm not sure what's the difference between brushing and combing. Right now we use a brush like this one, plus Furminator, plus a soft baby brush sometimes. That last one is more to get him used to the gesture of being brushed (combed?) with a softer approach. Am I doing something wrong?

I should also point out that I'm not strangling him in the first photo...

chiarabab said:

Thank you for your reply! That's actually good news to me, that he's not persian-ish and that his hair won't grow that much.
I'm not a native english speaker, though, so I'm not sure what's the difference between brushing and combing. Right now we use a brush like this one, plus Furminator, plus a soft baby brush sometimes. That last one is more to get him used to the gesture of being brushed (combed?) with a softer approach. Am I doing something wrong?

Click to expand...

The furminator would count as a comb.. the others, brushes.  As a rule, combs just have one row of 'teeth' and brushes are, well, brushes (like you've pictured).  And your English is excellent... it's very difficult to be funny in a second language

Your new friend is drop-dead gorgeous .

 Your English is so good I would not have guessed you weren't a native speaker!   

A brush  is a tool with many rows of 'teeth' or bristles.    Here are brushes on a pet grooming supply website:  http://www.petedge.com/thumbnail/Grooming/Grooming-Tools/Combs-Brushes-Rakes/Grooming-Tools/subsubCategoryId/478/pc/190/c/214/sc/276/214.uts?N=2568&Ns=PRODUCT_POPULARITY_PE|1&view=9

( 

 A comb usually refers to a tool with just a single row of "teeth".    And here are the combs: 

http://www.petedge.com/thumbnail/Grooming/Grooming-Tools/Combs-Brushes-Rakes/Grooming-Tools/subsubCategoryId/479/pc/190/c/214/sc/276/214.uts?N=2569&Ns=PRODUCT_POPULARITY_PE|1&view=9

 Both words are not only nouns for these objects,   but they are also verbs meaning  to use the object --  "to use a brush" or "to use a comb"  

  I don't want to say you're doing it wrong.   because it depends what works for your cat.  and right now he is just a kitten.     It sounds like you are doing a good job of getting your kitten used to some gentle grooming.

And I think   the 2 brushes you linked are fine.   (What you really should avoid is a pin brush that have some kind of little  round tips on the ends of the pins.    I have heard  breeders warn against that.  I think the little tips can get caught and pull out the fur.  A pin brush with just straight ends is OK .  but I really think they mostly just use a brush for "pricking out" the coat --  at the end they take the brush and use it to make the coat stand out more and look even more big and poofy. )    

But I do think it would be a good idea to ALSO get a grooming comb or combs,  something like the photo at right.   since a comb works better at untangling the fur  of the undercoat and preventing it from matting ( or getting the mats out )  


Some people say the Furminator is too harsh for cat coats.   I have  never tried it so I can't say from my own experience.  and  I think  they might now have better Furminators for cats than when it first came out.  I guess for a cat with a very thick double or triple coat   I can understand that something like that could be handy as a quicker way to get  hair out.  Just don't overdo it or you can end up with a  very chopping looking coat.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 Here is some grooming advice on the sit of a Persian breeder.    Probably a lot of the tips would also apply to a  Domestic Longhair or Persian mix.   http://www.pelaqitapersians.com/persian_cat_grooming.php

  I hope you will keep sharing photos of him ,  he is a beautiful kitten and it will be interesting to see how he grows up! 

 Oh my gosh  what extreme cuteness in those photos!  

  He is adorable! 

  It's interesting,  I think he looked more like a Persian mix in these photos when he was younger.   but maybe just because  young kittens are more rounded looking.  

LOL it seems your English is better than mine !    I wrote " a very chopping looking coat"  when I meant  "a very choppy looking coat".   "Choppy"  means uneven, rough.    

 If you use a tool with blades too much in certain parts of the coat you can end up   looking like chunks were cut out of the coat. 

maewkaew said:

 Oh my gosh  what extreme cuteness in those photos!  

  He is adorable! 

  It's interesting,  I think he looked more like a Persian mix in these photos when he was younger.   but maybe just because  young kittens are more rounded looking.  

LOL it seems your English is better than mine !    I wrote " a very chopping looking coat"  when I meant  "a very choppy looking coat".   "Choppy"  means uneven, rough.    

 If you use a tool with blades too much in certain parts of the coat you can end up   looking like chunks were cut out of the coat. 

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I'll make sure to buy a grooming comb then! Thank you.

And I must agree with you that he looked more "persian" back then. I used to explain to him very slowly that for no reasons he would have been permitted do develop that mean look some persian has looks like he listened! He's a really reasonable fella.

Jokes aside, I really enjoy him being little but at the same time I cannot wait to see what kind of cat will he become. Is that normal?

(I'm a brand new cat owner - or should I say cat-owned? - but I'm not new at raising pets. In my life I have had bunnies, a dog, hamsters, squirrels, turtles, every kind of bird including a chicken, fishes, a few frogs... but I feel like a cat is a completely different experience. Not better - I really miss my dog, years after she died - just really different! I never worried so much about a pet of mine, and I have raised newborn birds!)

(Oh, I lived in a city. Yeah, weird life.) 

Just agreeing with the others that you have an adorable "doorknob". :lol3:

@redvelvetone OMG, i sincerely hope that my door knob turns out half as beautiful as yours is! Truly handsome.
Fletcher has some reddish shades on his back like your cat, but is definitely a smoke, with all his grey areas. My boyfriend calls his coloring "a Clooney", after George Clooney of course.

ha ha I like that. Well now you have your breed name. You've got a purebred Clooney on your hands!