are my cats part maine coon or norwegian forest cat?

[lilyfenster]

they're shelter cats so i'm sure they're not any kind of purebreeds, but i don't think they're just regular domestic longhairs. what you can't see: the boy is huge, and they have "pants". i can tell you anything about their behavior if you want.

 

[Maurey]

Heya! What lovely big floofs you have! :> I'd describe them as cream solid domestic semi-long hairs. My weakness -- my darling Juma is a cream solid as well, though she's still not really grown out of her ghosting as much as I'd have expected by now!

They don't look like they share any significant features with Maine Coons to me (as opposed to any other large fluffy cat) -- their ears are small and not set correctly on the head (according to MC standard, specifically), and the head shape is much too triangular. Maine Coons, especially the boys, have really prominent boxes (muzzles), with a very wide, almost hexagonal head shape. They're also lacking a ruff (or a mane, if you will), and don't have long belly floof or a cape, which is uncommon outside of young cats -- which, perhaps they are, I don't believe you mentioned how old your kiddos are! ^^

They share some similarities with Norwegian kitties in their head shape, imo (though I'm way more experienced with Maine Coon standard out of the big fluffy breeds), but, unless they're really young, they're not fluffy enough to resemble Weegies all that much. Weegies will tend to be recognised by their sweet face with big, round eyes, a delicate muzzle, and small ears, as well as their absolutely ridiculous levels of fluff!

As crosses are really rare in the feline world, especially nowadays, I wouldn't think it's particularly likely they have recent ancestry with any of the big fluffy breeds, but it's certainly possible, though I'd think it's 3 to 4 generations back, at the least :> Out of any of those big breeds, my bet would be on Weegie ancestry, if any, though! ^^ If you're curious, you could always send off for something like an Embark DNA panel. Some vets may tests for breed ancestry nowadays, as well!

 

[lutece]

I agree, your cats look like beautiful domestic longhairs. Most cats are not any particular breed, but that doesn't make them any less special... domestic longhairs are great cats!

With longhaired cats, people often want to compare them to specific longhaired breeds. However, the longhair gene is simply a recessive gene that is very widespread in the domestic cat gene pool. Long hair doesn't indicate that a cat has longhaired breeds in its ancestry.

As for their color, they could be either red (orange / ginger) or cream, which is the dilute version of red. Red and cream can vary a lot in intensity, so it can sometimes be difficult to tell from a photograph if a cat is red or cream. Do you have more pictures of your cats? In this picture, the one in front looks a bit lighter in color, and the one in back looks a bit darker.

All red and cream cats have tabby markings, because the gene that suppresses tabby markings (non-agouti) doesn't work on red pigment the same way that it does on black pigment. Your cats appear to have mackerel tabby patterns.

 

[lutece]

If you're curious, you could always send off for something like an Embark DNA panel. Some vets may tests for breed ancestry nowadays, as well!

Embark does not have a DNA panel for cats. Vets also cannot test cats for breed ancestry. "Breed tests" don't make as much sense for cats, compared to dogs. For cats, it is possible to get fairly good results when comparing your cat against broad geographic areas of origin (such as Western Europe, South Asia, etc), but most cats simply don't have specific breeds in their ancestry for a "breed test" to detect.

Here is a recent post that gets into more detail about ancestry tests for cats.

Help! What breed do you think my kitty is

Hey everyone! I have a kitten who is about 6 months now. When I got him he was labelled as a Domestic Shorthair but the ladies at the shelter kept saying how he has a bengal appearance. After owning him for a few months, I can definitely see the bengal in his personality. He is fascinated with...

thecatsite.com

 

[Maurey]

Norwegian Forest Cats have triangular faces, with almond shaped eyes, and medium to large ears. They also have a very distinctive straight profile. Maybe you are thinking of a different breed?

I think I might've translated terms too literally. Sweet-faced is essentially a synonym to triangular where I am (because cats with a narrow muzzle and wide forehead look sweet, ig) , and I've heard a judge describe a Weegie's eyes as 'large set in face' at a show before, though I might have misunderstood.

Embark does not have a DNA panel for cats. Vets also cannot test cats for breed ancestry. "Breed tests" don't make as much sense for cats, compared to dogs. For cats, it is possible to get fairly good results when comparing your cat against broad geographic areas of origin (such as Western Europe, South Asia, etc), but most cats simply don't have specific breeds in their ancestry for a "breed test" to detect.

Might be regional differences re:vets. They do them at my local vets' (along with the typical coat/colour and health genetics tests), but who knows why, really. As you said, won't necessarily show a huge amount.

I think I confused Embark with another dog DNA site that also started doing cat DNA, but can't remember the company name for the life of me atm. There are few other alternatives, including basepaws, mycatdna, and orivet. Granted, I think they're mostly worth it for the health profiling of non-purebred animals, rather than getting a distinct answer about breed!

 

[lutece]

Might be regional differences re:vets. They do them at my local vets' (along with the typical coat and health genetics tests), but who knows why, really. As you said, not likely to show a huge amount. Embark doesn't do cat tests (though I could've sworn there was a canine DNA test company that also started to test cat dna fairly recently), you're right, though there are few alternatives, including basepaws, mycatdna, orivet, and a few others that aren't coming to mind at the mo.

I think you might be confusing cat DNA tests with "breed tests." There are a lot of companies that do cat DNA tests, but very few do cat "breed tests." MyCatDNA and Orivet do not offer "breed tests" for cats.

 

[lilyfenster]

They're also lacking a ruff (or a mane, if you will),

they do have ruffs, though, especially the boy. more so in the winter - this picture was taken in the summer, when they're less fluffy (and they were about 2 years old). he has the lynx ears, too, which i just realized you can't really tell from the picture thanks for the input!

 

[lutece]

they do have ruffs, though, especially the boy. more so in the winter - this picture was taken in the summer, when they're less fluffy (and they were about 2 years old). he has the lynx ears, too, which i just realized you can't really tell from the picture thanks for the input!

Yes, I can see the small lynx tips in the picture. Small lynx tips like these are seen on many longhaired cats, as well as some shorthaired cats; they don't indicate specific breed ancestry. Maine Coons are bred for much larger and thicker lynx tips. Ruffs are also normal for longhaired cats in general. Your cats are lovely

 

[mcrow]

We have had several Maine Coons. It's possible they might have some Maine Coon but most likely domestic longhairs.

Things to look for in Maine Coons:

#1- Males tend to be giants. Our buddy Sushi was 24 lbs in his prime and he wasn't overweight. He could stand on his hind legs and take stuff off the countertops and turn doorknobs.

#2- Lion's mane. Maine coons have a very obvious and pronounced mane.

#3- Lynx tips are typically very pronounced and they have tufts of long fur on their cheeks.

#4- Paws. Main Coons have proportionately larger paws than most cats and they also have more fluffy fur around their paws than other cats.

#5- Water: Maine Coons tend to love water. Not that some other cats don't as well but Maine Coons generally love playing in water.

#6- Coat. Their fur has a little bit of a waxy/oily coat on it. Water will run off of their fur a lot more than a typical cat would.

 

[mcrow]

Oh... and the tail of course. Their tails are generally longer and fluffier than other cat breeds, this is so they can wrap up in them like a blanket to stay warm.

Looking at your kitties I see the fluffy tail, slight lynx tips, slightly fluffy paws. That's why I wouldn't rule out Main Coon but there's not enough there for me to be certain.