What breed is this kitten?

Does anyone have any idea what breed this is? This is my friend's rescue cat, found on the side of the road when she was very young. She is a little bit bigger that in this picture, but she has dark brown feet and tail, and a cream colored body and bright blue eyes. At first we thought she might be a Birman but her fur is short, so I don't think she is. Any ideas??



sorry the pictures are so small; they were taken with a camera phone.

Looks Siamese to me.

I don't know what breed but she is beautiful!

She is a lovely pointed mixed breed domestic shorthair.

Originally Posted by gayef

She is a lovely pointed mixed breed domestic shorthair.

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How lovely of your friend to rescue her!!

whats a pointed mix breed?

Originally Posted by Jasper

whats a pointed mix breed?

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Points are when certain parts of the cat are darker like with siamese the nose, tail, paws, and face.

A mix breed is an unregistered cat that is not pedigree.

I'm sure some one else will explain if you are still unclear.

Originally Posted by gayef

She is a lovely pointed mixed breed domestic shorthair.

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Ok. So let me get this straight. That cat looks siamese to me. But since it doesn't have a paper saying it's siamese, then it's not? Basically, my understanding is that the registration of parents and paperwork make the cat a purebred, not it's actual genetic makeup. Like, this siamese/Pointed DSH could have the same exact genetics as one of your registered siamese and yet, this one is just a DSH because we don't know its parents. Would that be correct?

I'm so confused!

I think thats the case plus he could be a good imitation of a siamese.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Ok. So let me get this straight. That cat looks siamese to me. But since it doesn't have a paper saying it's siamese, then it's not? Basically, my understanding is that the registration of parents and paperwork make the cat a purebred, not it's actual genetic makeup. Like, this siamese/Pointed DSH could have the same exact genetics as one of your registered siamese and yet, this one is just a DSH because we don't know its parents. Would that be correct?

I'm so confused!

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you cant say a cats siamese just becuase it looks like one without seeing its parentage as the traits that make it look siamese etc could occur naturally without an ounce of siamese blood being present.

looks siamese to me. but at my work the resceptionists have listed scottish folds as DSH, and maincoons as DLH, torties as calicos and tabby as tiger (i guess thast not correct..... the one doc gets annoyed with this one)


and my cat breed idenification is really bad, concidering most people who own cats are in the Humane society, or the found wondering the street type cats, not many people around here actually buy a cat from a breeder. the same goes for dogs, people around here are cheap like that when it comes to aquiring pets. but luckily for me many will go to the ends of the earth for thier pets when they are sick or injured. so i guess it balances out

She looks to me like a old style siamese, but you aren't going to know for sure without knowing her lineage. Maybe one of her parents was siamese? So I agree with the others that say she is a domestic shorthair with points. She is very pretty!

She is definetly not a Siamese. Her eyes are not crossed, she has a very round face thats fluffy, and fluffy body. Her hair is still short but she is not built like a siamese. I have no idea who her parents are, she was found next to her mother, who was hit by a car. My friend got her from the people who picked her up and didn't say what the mother looked like. She definetly isn't a Siamese, but I don't think she is just a domestic short hair either.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Ok. So let me get this straight. That cat looks siamese to me. But since it doesn't have a paper saying it's siamese, then it's not? Basically, my understanding is that the registration of parents and paperwork make the cat a purebred, not it's actual genetic makeup. Like, this siamese/Pointed DSH could have the same exact genetics as one of your registered siamese and yet, this one is just a DSH because we don't know its parents. Would that be correct?

I'm so confused!

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No...because the pointed gene can actually occur in moggies. For instance...we had a calico that gave birth to 4 siamese "looking" kittens. The dad "could" have been a siamese..but since we do not know the heritage..we say they are DSH with points.

Katie

Where did you get the idea that crossed eyes meant Siamese? All the show Siamese I've seen DON'T have crossed eyes - it would be a disqualification!

Anyway you can have a pointed DSH - just means that somewhere in the background there is siamese. We have pointed rexes - because when the early rexes came to America they were bred to the refined Siamese - thus they have always carried the pointed gene. But you'd have to go back 50 years to find the Siamese.

I agree with her being a mix. She is georgous!!

Actually, pointing, just like all cat traits, can be found in mixed breed cats and does not necessarily indicate that there is Siamese or any purebred cat in its background. With cats, every breed trait can be found somewhere in the general population, because that's what it was refined from.

She's a lovely little thing though, make sure you say our thanks to your friend for taking her in! For future reference, since you've already figured out she's not a Birman, Birmans are stockier and have white paws by necessity. That's the easiest way to tell a Birman from other pointed long/medium-hairs.

I've had friends who owned siamese with crossed eyes, and none of them were "show quality". In fact most people I know who own any type of purebred could care less about show quality features. They care about actually having pets and loving them and taking care of them, not trying to put them in contests.

Anyway, I'm confused about Annie the pointed kitten. If she is nothing more than a pointed DSH, it doesn't make sense. How many cats look like that are in shelters??? I have a lot of books about cats and NONE of them say that DSH with points can be in existence without some purebreed background in their blood.

Originally Posted by Jasper

Anyway, I'm confused about Annie the pointed kitten. If she is nothing more than a pointed DSH, it doesn't make sense. How many cats look like that are in shelters??? I have a lot of books about cats and NONE of them say that DSH with points can be in existence without some purebreed background in their blood.

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All breeds have genetic traits they take advantage of. All siamese are pointed, however at some point before the siamese breed was developed pointing occured naturally. Then someone took a pointed cat and breed it with anotehr pointed cat to eventually make it pure for pointing.

Its sort of the same with a persian, though that is a mutation. A flat-faced kitten appeared in a litter and someone was interested in that look so breed it to get more flat-faced kittens. At some point it occured naturally though.

The point is all colors/traits/patterns occur naturally. Purebreeds just guarantee that trait to show up.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Ok. So let me get this straight. That cat looks siamese to me. But since it doesn't have a paper saying it's siamese, then it's not? Basically, my understanding is that the registration of parents and paperwork make the cat a purebred, not it's actual genetic makeup. Like, this siamese/Pointed DSH could have the same exact genetics as one of your registered siamese and yet, this one is just a DSH because we don't know its parents. Would that be correct?

I'm so confused!

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Yup!

(Just editing my post - I'm not sure if it was your post Allie that triggered off about the pointed cats - but I know exactly what you are talking about. If that cat actually WAS from two Siamese parents, but it wasn't registered then it would be nothing more then a Domestic Shorthair)