My furbabies :)

Hello!

        I don't know a lot about cat breeds, just the basics.  I'm assuming my cats are "mixed breeds" (is there a term like mutts for cats?) but I was just curious to see if anyone had any thoughts on my babies.

Norah is the most unique one and the one I'm most curious on.  As she gets older it has all faded together nicely but when she was a kitten her description at the vet that he wrote down was (I kid you not lol) "Spotted Tabby Calico Tortoiseshell"  because no one could literally determine what the heck she is.  She is orange/brown/black mottled (Orange and browns on back, sides, head, and ears, black on bottom of legs/feet only) and a white patch on her chest.  It looks like she has a light faded orange brown torty markings with dark brown stripes over the top.  The stripes have gotten much less noticeable and have faded in more as she gets older.  Her tummy is weirdest part - it is white with black/brown spots.  (I can't find a pic of her tummy - sorry).  She's very small and dainty (probably around 7-8lbs) with medium thickness short fur. 



Now for my other two cats (Norah's babies - literally)!  They are only 7 months but I don't anticipate them getting much bigger than Norah as they're quite small too.

Luna is a really pretty grey and is a little fluffier than Norah and Lillie.  Still short and smooth haired but it seems to stick out a little more.  She almost seems to have a little silver in her grey.  Her eyes are more slanted than Norah and Lillies too - they both have more round eyes.  I call Luna my "exotic" looking kitty


Lillie I already know is a Tortoiseshell but I'll post a pic of her just to show her off

Oh my !!! Cuteness over load !!!

You certainly have some beautiful kitties

Cats are not like dogs with regards to their gene pool. Less than 3% of cats in the world are considered pedigree breeds of cats. This means that most cats are not actually a mix of different breeds- they actually do not have any pedigree breeds in their background at all. Most pedigree cat breeds came from the domestic cat population (domestic cat population was here a long long time before pedigree breeds existed ) where they were bred to enhance specific traits, so some domestic shorthairs/longhairs may resemble specific breeds just because the breeds got their looks from traits that were found in the domestic cat population already. For example the Maine Coon breed was bred from native populations of longhaired cats in the New England area, and you may still find cats in that area today who resemble the Maine Coon but actually have no pedigree Maine Coon blood- they are related to the native cats who gave rise to the purebred Maine Coon breed.

Hope this helps

juliamarie32 said:

 
Hello!

        I don't know a lot about cat breeds, just the basics.  I'm assuming my cats are "mixed breeds" (is there a term like mutts for cats?) but I was just curious to see if anyone had any thoughts on my babies.

Norah is the most unique one and the one I'm most curious on.  As she gets older it has all faded together nicely but when she was a kitten her description at the vet that he wrote down was (I kid you not lol) "Spotted Tabby Calico Tortoiseshell"  because no one could literally determine what the heck she is.  She is orange/brown/black mottled (Orange and browns on back, sides, head, and ears, black on bottom of legs/feet only) and a white patch on her chest.  It looks like she has a light faded orange brown torty markings with dark brown stripes over the top.  The stripes have gotten much less noticeable and have faded in more as she gets older.  Her tummy is weirdest part - it is white with black/brown spots.  (I can't find a pic of her tummy - sorry).  She's very small and dainty (probably around 7-8lbs) with medium thickness short fur. 

Click to expand...

The vets description was not so bad.  The word he was seeking was Torbie, which is tortoiseshell and tabby.  Or rather, torbie with white.

Here he wanted to descriibe the tabby as a spotted tabby.  And he wanted to add white.

Calico demands clear colored blotches.  Which she hasnt, thus, no calico.

My homemade rule of thumb is,  if the coloring and pattern seems bewildering, and you dont get head nor tail out of it, the pattern is usually  torbie...   

Luna you can compare with a pet quality Russian blue.  The Scandinavian type shall have  oblong eyes, not round...  A decent RB shall of course have green eyes...  So you must contend yourself with the title of Maltese cat.  Which are all blue cats without any clear cut breed definition.

When you say mutt, you are seeking for the word domestic, I think.   As the non pedigreed cats are usually called.   Or sometimes moggie.

Good luck!