Two DLH cats, unsure what mix they might be

Hi everyone. I have 2 lovely DLH cats, Millie & Boobs (that's really his name! It was the first word he responded to and it stuck 
Here are both of them, with Millie in front, looking surprised (that's her normal look, along with judgmental face)


This is so you can see just how ridiculously fluffy they are


Here's Millie by herself

Hello there!

First of all I want to say that your cats are really lovely, they're so hairy and pretty! :3

About their breed, does your friend, the one who owns your cats' mum, know the breed of her cat? If your friend knows the breed of the mum that would let you know for sure what breed they partially are. If your friend doesn't know the breed of your cats' mum then it's gonna be quite hard to be certain what's on their ancestry, it could be any breed really, like they may even have some Persian in them or the genes of a breed that needs both parents to be the same breed for the kittens to actually look so, like Siamese cats. My Siamese girl had 3 babies, 2 tabby ones and 1 calico, who would guess they've got some Siamese genes!

And just like a domestic cat (either short or long haired) may have unknown ancestry of a specific breed, they may as well have "no breed" at all, by this I mean they may have no ancestry of any other recognized standardized breed.

If you think your cats may have NF or MC in their blood then this link might be interesting or useful for you http://mainecoon.org/maine-coons-vs-norwegian-forest-cats/

You could also try to contact a NF or MC breeder and ask them if they think your cats could have that ancestry.

I hope you and your kitties are doing OK, and it's great that they're enjoying themselves in their new home, that's great!

Cheers!

renflox said:

Hello there!

And just like a domestic cat (either short or long haired) may have unknown ancestry of a specific breed, they may as well have "no breed" at all, by this I mean they may have no ancestry of any other recognized standardized breed.

If you think your cats may have NF or MC in their blood then this link might be interesting or useful for you http://mainecoon.org/maine-coons-vs-norwegian-forest-cats/
You could also try to contact a NF or MC breeder and ask them if they think your cats could have that ancestry.

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This is absolutely correct. The vast majority of domestic cats have no 'breed' ancestry, unlike dogs, who nearly all can be traced to specific breeds. 'Breed' cats derived from local domestics, not the other way round, though these domestics had already naturally evolved to suit local conditions - long hair in northern forests, 'points' in hot climates, etc. So these two gorgeous featured cats are simply domestic long hairs, and probably their ancestors lived in northern cold climates where they needed to grow long hair to survive. They may share some genes with long-haired breeds, but they are almost certainly not direct descendants. Yes, occasionally a Siamese or Persian or other pedigree cat may mate with a 'moggie' and produce mixed kittens, but this is rare. It is a complete misconception to assume that almost every pretty cat must be at least partly a 'breed'.

JennyR said:

This is absolutely correct. The vast majority of domestic cats have no 'breed' ancestry, unlike dogs, who nearly all can be traced to specific breeds. 'Breed' cats derived from local domestics, not the other way round, though these domestics had already naturally evolved to suit local conditions - long hair in northern forests, 'points' in hot climates, etc. So these two gorgeous featured cats are simply domestic long hairs, and probably their ancestors lived in northern cold climates where they needed to grow long hair to survive. They may share some genes with long-haired breeds, but they are almost certainly not direct descendants. Yes, occasionally a Siamese or Persian or other pedigree cat may mate with a 'moggie' and produce mixed kittens, but this is rare. It is a complete misconception to assume that almost every pretty cat must be at least partly a 'breed'.

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I agree, even though it is possible that a domestic cat could have "breed" ancestry I feel like the most common case is that they don't.

Like I said, if your cats' mum (not to mention the dad) is a domestic of unknown ancestry then it's quite likely they have no breed; then again, you never know.

As for "breed" cats mating with "common" cats, I don't think it's such a rare thing to occur outside of the breeding and showing spheres, on the contrary, I think it's rather likely to happen since people outside of these spheres tend to not really care if their breed cats are going to have pure breed babies or not, well, that's what I think.

renflox said:

I agree, even though it is possible that a domestic cat could have "breed" ancestry I feel like the most common case is that they don't.
Like I said, if your cats' mum (not to mention the dad) is a domestic of unknown ancestry then it's quite likely they have no breed; then again, you never know.


As for "breed" cats mating with "common" cats, I don't think it's such a rare thing to occur outside of the breeding and showing spheres, on the contrary, I think it's rather likely to happen since people outside of these spheres tend to not really care if their breed cats are going to have pure breed babies or not, well, that's what I think.

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renflox said:

I agree, even though it is possible that a domestic cat could have "breed" ancestry I feel like the most common case is that they don't.
Like I said, if your cats' mum (not to mention the dad) is a domestic of unknown ancestry then it's quite likely they have no breed; then again, you never know.


As for "breed" cats mating with "common" cats, I don't think it's such a rare thing to occur outside of the breeding and showing spheres, on the contrary, I think it's rather likely to happen since people outside of these spheres tend to not really care if their breed cats are going to have pure breed babies or not, well, that's what I think.

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I understand what you are saying. But in most countries breeders of pedigree cats who sell cats to be pets do not allow the new owners to breed their cats, and either neuter them before selling them or make the new owner sign a contract to have the pet neutered within a set time. This is to preserve the quality of the breed, which any good breeder cares passionately about. Some may slip through the net, but on the whole this system works well.

JennyR said:

I understand what you are saying. But in most countries breeders of pedigree cats who sell cats to be pets do not allow the new owners to breed their cats, and either neuter them before selling them or make the new owner sign a contract to have the pet neutered within a set time. This is to preserve the quality of the breed, which any good breeder cares passionately about. Some may slip through the net, but on the whole this system works well.

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I didn't know that :O Now I understand your previous statement. 

That's quite all right. It is a complicated issue. When a registered pedigree cat has a litter (and the father is always chosen with great care to bring out qualities that the breeder wants to replicate), the breeder knows that there is no certainty that any of the resulting kittens will be good enough examples of the breed to be allowed to go on and breed again in their turn. Those that show promise are kept and put into cat shows to get the judgement of other breeders and experts as to their potential, and the successful ones are either sold to other breeders with breeding rights in the contract, or kept at their original home to further improve the bloodline. Good breeders will only sell cats with breeding rights to other breeders or to people well known to them, though occasionally of course, like I said before, one may slip through the net and end up in a kitten mill producing poor quality look-alike cats for people to buy at exorbitant prices. The majority of pedigree kittens are sold already neutered as 'pet quality' to people who would rather own a pedigree cat like a Siamese or Persian or Russian Blue than what most of us would call a moggie, though moggies can be just as stunning in looks and habits as any purebred. There is nothing wrong with wanting a pedigree cat, the problem comes when people think their moggie must be one because it has pointed ears or a vocal personality, or any of dozens of traits that occur quite naturally in the general population.

@JennyR  such a complex matter! As you can see I have basically no knowledge at all on how the whole breeding and showing spheres work out.

My girl is one of those "poor quality look-alikes" but I got her for very little money, and I don't think of her as a "poor quality" cat but that's of course because her value to me goes beyond her breed purity or the lack of it, she's my little girl

Exactly right! When I said 'poor quality', I was only referring to the standards set by the various breed associations, not to the intrinsic quality possessed by every cat! Leonardo da Vinci said 'Every cat is a work of art' and he was right. Every pet is the best cat in the world to its owner.

That's right! :3

Thanks, everyone for your replies - the friend didn't know what they were, just moggies, which makes sense to me. I didn't know about the idea that moggies don't have breeds in them like dogs - I kind of assumed that was the case, as it is for dogs. You learn something every day!

I agree that maybe their forebears were in cold climates though! Now we live in Chicago, their coats are pretty handy in the extremely harsh winters we have here

Thanks!