Could he be a medium or longer haired cat?

[karagraaf]

Someone who is interested in him asked me and I don't know. I'm assuming no since mom is a shorthair and I don't know the dad. But compares to his siblings he looks fluffier and his fur even feels more plush (which is why i think she asked) so I wasn't sure. Here is Ozzie right now at 4 weeks old.

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• karagraaf
• Dec 10, 2013

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• karagraaf
• Dec 10, 2013

 

[karagraaf]

Here is one of his siblings, his fur is much less fluffy (at least to the touch, not sure if you can see it here although in person you can tell a difference ) his name is Theo and is the one we want to keep

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• karagraaf
• Dec 10, 2013

 

[maewkaew]

 They both look shorthair to me.  It just looks like he has a bit more kitten floofyness.    I would expect a fluffier tail in a longhair.

But the mom being shorthair ( or even both parents being shorthair) would not rule out a kitten turning out longhair,  because longhair is recessive,  so it could potentially be carried hidden by both parents,  and if they BOTH gave a longhair gene to a kitten,  the kitten would be longhair. 

Within both general categories of shorthair and longhair ,  there's a range of exactly how long.  So he could be a shorthair but with a longer, plusher coat than average.  

SUCH sweet little kittens.   I'm kind of wondering if Theo might be a silver.     ( ... that's right -- I remember,  the mother  looks like a  blue silver torbie .  and  I thought you may have some silver  and smoke kittens. 

 

[karagraaf]

Here's possible black smoke kitten. There is definitely white at the root of the hair, I was thinking maybe a fever coat or a black on black tabby.. Or is that pretty much what a black smoke is?
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• karagraaf
• Dec 11, 2013

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• karagraaf
• Dec 11, 2013

 

[maewkaew]

That looks like black smoke.   In a Smoke, especially a shorthair,  you can often see their tabby pattern,  even though they are not a true tabby.  ( Every cat has a genetic code for some kind of tabby pattern.   but it takes a separate gene called "Agouti" to sort of flip on the switch and make the background hairs banded with a lighter color , which makes the tabby pattern show up distinctly.   The exception is that cats with red based color show their tabby pattern whether or not they have that Agouti gene.) 

There really isn't officially or genetically a " black on black tabby" ,  although it IS a good description  of the appearance of some black smokes.   But they're not categorized as a tabby because they are non-Agouti.

  A black tabby  -- a tabby cat where the darkest markings are black -- is  commonly called a brown tabby,  because the background is often brownish ( but can be more grey in the background) .   and if they also have silver ( the Inhibitor gene)  it

 I just explained about silver in another thread,  the one called "Are Tabby Markings Unusual in Tortoiseshell Cats?"

 In fever coat,  normally it would be entire hairs white ( because it started at the root)  and then gradually dark hairs would grow in to replace it.   In a smoke   -- well  it  can be very weird in the kittens.  they can go through some interesting changes as they grow up.    They may start out coal black.

But here 's some photos of a Black Smoke British Shorthair http://www.freewebs.com/brilcats/blacksmokekittens.htm   

Here's the tabby version of the same  with the Agouti gene making the tabby pattern stand out more .

http://www.freewebs.com/brilcats/whiskaskittens.htm