Thinking of adopting this cat... any guesses of the breed please?

Hi,

We saw this shelter rescued cat at out local pet store.

She's 4 month old.

We wonder

1) She already got neutered - wasn't it too early?

2) Is she too old to get used to us, is it better to get younger kitten?

3) What breed does she look like? (or what mix)  So we know what kind of cat to anticipate her to become

Thanks!!

I can't answer for the breed. Most cats look more or less the same to me if they don't have something very breed specific; I tend to assume if their in the shelter they're probably just a moggie, and just characterize them as domestic shorthair, domestic medium hair, or domestic long hair.

As for the fact that she's already spayed, that's actually rather normal. A lot of shelters do pediatric spays and neuters because they want to ensure that kittens that get adopted out won't potentially breed before the owner has them altered. Most vets agree that it's safe, and typically shouldn't cause a lot of issues, certainly not serious ones. My own kitten was neutered at 3 months old. My vet did warn me that young alters can be more prone to excessive weight gain, so to be careful to manage the diet and ensure they get a lot of exercise.

4 months old is actually a great age imo. An issue with a lot of younger kittens is that when taken away from other kittens their age, they're more prone to inappropriate 'aggressive' play. I got my little guy at two months, and while he's very dependent on me, in retrospect I would have liked he stayed with his brother and sister for at least another month, as he didn't learn good play behaviour. So it may be less likely in this pretty girl. As well, people adopt cats who are much older who end up becoming wonderful parts of the family. She's very young, and should have no problem coming to love her new family.

Oo, she is very pretty! I also don't know what breed she's a mix of, but since she's likely not a purebred it would be difficult to predict her personality based on her looks. Cats aren't bred quite as much for their temperament as dogs are, so they tend to be more variable.

Female cats can go into heat as early as 4 months, so no, it was not too early at all! Shelters typically spay and neuter as soon as the cat is 2 lbs (around 10 weeks) if they're healthy kittens, and they actually recover faster when they are younger because they are growing so quickly at that age.

No cat is ever too old to get used to a family, and a 4 month old is probably going to have a very smooth transition. Unless the kitten has some kind of trauma in its past that makes it more cautious, kittens that age will have fun and adapt to anyone! She's still at an age where she could benefit a lot from having a playmate, so if you would be open to getting a second kitten at all they would probably love each other, and she'd have someone to play with in the middle of the night instead of waking you up.

The only thing I'd be worried about would be that someone else adopts her first! With her unique coloring and her age, she'll be in high demand.

Great, thank you all for your detailed responses!
Sigh what a tough situation we're in now, we planned on the British shorthair kitten, but now we met her...))

One more concern thoughh whether the whiter nose is an early sign of Vitiligo?

How about both? 

That's interesting, I'm no expert on point coloration, but I've never heard of the pointed areas being lighter, so maybe it is vitiligo. It's rare, but it does happen. This is a thread showing off a vitiligo kitty: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/325174/vitiligo-schrodie-you-are-a-mess. Fortunately, it's a harmless condition!

denisgbrg said:

 
Hi,

We saw this shelter rescued cat at out local pet store.

She's 4 month old.

We wonder

1) She already got neutered - wasn't it too early?

2) Is she too old to get used to us, is it better to get younger kitten?

3) What breed does she look like? (or what mix)  So we know what kind of cat to anticipate her to become

Thanks!!

Click to expand...

1.  As said, in USA its rather standard with early fixing.  So nothing peculiar with this.

2- Its interesting question, the short answer is no, dont worry. Some breeders of purebred sell them at 16 weeks, among other reasons, to have the time to spay without forcing matters any.

The longer answer, is, when I was a kid, the discussion was, if it was best to adopt them out at 6 or at 8 weeks...  And the reason was t exactly your question, if they would bind nicely to the family....   As we do know, cats DO bind to the family if you are friendly and kind, at any age. So what this question tells us, if there is a core of thruth in it?  I think it hints, many of these cats were semi-ferale barn cats...  Not properly socialized to humans.   Seeing as so, its true, the easy way to socialize them is to take them young....   It is fully possible to adopt an older shy semiferale and foster it into a friendly family pet, but it takes time, effort and lotsa of love....

So in much it boils down, to what do you want?  A pet without problems to have around, or if you want to have a friend and loved and loving family member, and are prepared to work for it some...

3. She is a pretty domestic, but I presume you can compare her to a Chartreux.  Whom by the way are near cousing with British - often interbred with them.   So indirectly, you perhaps get here what you dreamed of.

But as Molly92 said, if you dream about a real British, you can buy him anyway.  Most cats do prefer to have a cat pal. They bind to their humans anyway.

Like 99% of cats in the world, she is almost certainly no particular breed, but My! she is pretty. I think she may grow up to be quite large, her head and paws are big, and also her fur may grow quite long - she already has that 'collar' of longer fur that is seen on long-haired cats. So you might have to keep her well-groomed. She seems to be playing nicely, so is well-socialised. It is quite an uncommon colour, solid grey, but I love it, very elegant. I think you have a little gem there,

She might have a Chartreux ancestor. Have you heard her meowing?. Is she quiet?.

She was super quiet, don't recall a sound in 20 mins of playing with her...

Now that you mentioned it, Chatreux seems to have a bit lighter mouth area too.. hmm

denisgbrg said:

 
She was super quiet, don't recall a sound in 20 mins of playing with her...

Now that you mentioned it, Chatreux seems to have a bit lighter mouth area too.. hmm

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It's too soon to tell, but I still think she might have a Chartreux ancestor.

Her mouth area is lighter for a couple of reasons...
1. The fur is shorter there and with blues, many have some silvering in the shorter furred areas like nose and feet.
2. The light reflects off the short (and silvery) hairs there more.

She is cute!

Here is my blue baby...
His nose and feet reflect the light more too and often look lighter than the rest of him. :-)

Also, if I were going to compare her to a breed I might say Nebelung, as she looks to have medium/longish hair.

KKoerner said:

Also, if I were going to compare her to a breed I might say Nebelung, as she looks to have medium/longish hair.

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This is also possbile. It inherited the copper eyes from another ancestor.

People often misunderstand cat genetics. Cat breeding only started about 200 years ago, and breeds like Chartreux are still very recent and uncommon. It is not the same as dogs, where every dog today can be said to have some breed ancestry, however 'mongrel' they look. A 'moggie' cat is the norm, and every ordinary cat will have in it some characteristics that can appear in 'breed' cats. But 'breed' cats come from ordinary cats, not the other way round. Cats spread out over the world and evolved naturally to adapt to their new surroundings. They developed thicker and longer fur in colder climes, a longer and leaner look in the desert, 'pointed' colours to deal with heat, larger ears to hear small prey, etc etc. Then when the first cat breeds were developed, these characteristics were selected as breeders developed the science of genetics to give us our many breeds of today. So it is never impossible that a stray cat may have a lost Siamese or even Russian Blue in its ancestry,but it is most unlikely. Much more possible that the stray has naturally some trait that also happens to appear in one of the recognised breeds and that has in the past been chosen and bred for. That does not detract from the beauty and wonder of the Cat. Leonardo da Vinci said 'Every cat is a work of art'.

JennyR said:

People often misunderstand cat genetics. Cat breeding only started about 200 years ago, and breeds like Chartreux are still very recent and uncommon. It is not the same as dogs, where every dog today can be said to have some breed ancestry, however 'mongrel' they look. A 'moggie' cat is the norm, and every ordinary cat will have in it some characteristics that can appear in 'breed' cats. But 'breed' cats come from ordinary cats, not the other way round. Cats spread out over the world and evolved naturally to adapt to their new surroundings. They developed thicker and longer fur in colder climes, a longer and leaner look in the desert, 'pointed' colours to deal with heat, larger ears to hear small prey, etc etc. Then when the first cat breeds were developed, these characteristics were selected as breeders developed the science of genetics to give us our many breeds of today. So it is never impossible that a stray cat may have a lost Siamese or even Russian Blue in its ancestry,but it is most unlikely. Much more possible that the stray has naturally some trait that also happens to appear in one of the recognised breeds and that has in the past been chosen and bred for. That does not detract from the beauty and wonder of the Cat. Leonardo da Vinci said 'Every cat is a work of art'.

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This exactly, which is why I said "if I were to compare her to a breed"
Because, while she is most certainly a domestic medium hair, like all cats, she will have this trait or that, which resembles a breed. This doesn't mean that she has that ancestor....but it could. It also means that she has genetics, similar to the cats, which bred and eventually were chosen to breed to create show specific breeds...only hers is naturally obtained from environmental and parental factors...and show cats (breeds) obtain theirs from artificial selection...breeding for type.