Hi everyone, question about old time cats

Hi all, I don't know if this is the right place to post this. My grandmother and several relatives used to have huge semi ferrel cats. These cats stayed outside as vermin control agents. My grandmothers cat's shoulders were up to her knees and the head was huge. They were all ginger in color and huge but not fat, a medium size dog would run the other way I'm sure. I have not seen any of these cats in years, would anyone happen to know what breed this would be, if there is a breed for them? I would love to have one if I could find one.

Thank you,

Char

I'm really sorry no one has answered your post.  And this your first one, too!  I suspect the reason you've not heard anything is because no one knows the answer without actually seeing a picture of one of the cats.   Did the cats have long or short hair?  I know cats with Maine Coon in their backgrounds get quite large and they are sometimes ginger tabbies..  It's doubtful the cats you describe were an actual breed, since they were barn cats.  There are large mixed breed ginger tabbies out there, though and you should be able to find one pretty easily.  And ginger tabbies are pretty wonderful, in my experience.  

We used to have a cat similar to the one you described- except he was black and white with LONG fur. We suspected he had Mainecoon in his background. He weighed 26 pounds and he was actually quite lean.

Another large breed of cat is the Norwegian Forest cat (also has long fur), although, that breed is much less common in the US.

Although, it is unlikely that the cats you described were actually a part of any certain breed. They were likely just large framed cats.

Char Clark said:

 
Hi all, I don't know if this is the right place to post this. My grandmother and several relatives used to have huge semi ferrel cats. These cats stayed outside as vermin control agents.

My grandmothers cat's shoulders were up to her knees and the head was huge. They were all ginger in color and huge but not fat, a medium size dog would run the other way I'm sure. I have not seen any of these cats in years, would anyone happen to know what breed this would be, if there is a breed for them? I would love to have one if I could find one.

Thank you,

Char

Click to expand...

My guess is, they were of the same type as the natural stock, from which the Maine coon were purebred from.  You dont write in clear if they were long fur, as Maine coon are, or short hair.

Still, its the same type, largish brutes whom are kept as vermin hunters outside.

And if you are friendly and nice to them, they can be friendly and very nice back.  

There tends to be a "type" of farm cat in particular areas. It mostly has to do with what kind of cat survives well in the area and what the local farmers favor. If you look around the farms of the area your relatives lived in, you may be able to find some decendants of those cats. They may not look as large though; we often overestimate in our memories of when we were small children .

Hi, Im sorry I didnt specify the hair length. I remember my grandmother feeding it scraps and it coming up to her knees, she was the only one the cat would go close to. They were short haired and my grandmothers was a ginger tabby. Unfortunately, all my relatives in western Va are gone now, so my search continues.

Thank you all