Huge Tabby Or Something Else?

[Ebsyn]

Sam's Background: mother was a domestic American shorthair, Calico patterned. Very small, maybe only 10 lbs. I saw what I thought was his Dad from a distance and he was huge orange tabby. I thought just because he was a Tom.

Sam is 2 and weighs in at 16 lbs. He is about as big and tall as my Corgi (or a medium sized dog). He has no other discerning features that would make me think was anything else other than an Orange Tabby. But, his size and structure has always seemed different to me. And he has this super long tail. I have been reflecting on how weird he grew lately because I have an orange tabby foster who looks completely different from Sam.

Is 16 lbs normal for a Tabby? Do the orange guys just grow really large? Or have I found myself with some weird mix of a cat?

Edit: Have a photo of his suspected Dad that I could also post.

 

[lutece]

He's such a cute guy! He looks very friendly, too

I would describe him as a red ticked tabby and white domestic shorthair. He might also have an indistinct mackerel or spotted tabby pattern (sometimes red cats have very indistinct tabby markings that are hard to see, and he also may be genetically solid). 16 lbs is large, but not unusually enormous for a neutered male cat. Most cats are not any particular breed and are also not "mixes" of breeds (unlike dogs), but there is enough genetic diversity in the domestic cat gene pool that it's totally normal for different cats to look different from each other, even without any specific breed ancestry.

FYI, domestic shorthair is what we call a shorthaired cat with unknown ancestry, while American Shorthair is a pedigreed breed that has been selectively bred for over 100 years (at this point it looks much closer to the British Shorthair than to most domestic shorthairs).

 

[Ebsyn]

Thank you for clarifying all that. I can definitely see the Red Ticked and Mackerel. His sister (same mother) has the same pattern but is a Brown Tabby.

 

[Ebsyn]

Also, he does have an amazing personality. My dog has basically raised him and he's very social for a cat. He loves having other cats around, especially goes crazy to play with other kittens. Likes to go outdoors and walk on a harness with his Sister. He is generally just the best, most well behaved cat I've ever owned.

 

[Hoslund0821]

Sam's Background: mother was a domestic American shorthair, Calico patterned. Very small, maybe only 10 lbs. I saw what I thought was his Dad from a distance and he was huge orange tabby. I thought just because he was a Tom.

Sam is 2 and weighs in at 16 lbs. He is about as big and tall as my Corgi (or a medium sized dog). He has no other discerning features that would make me think was anything else other than an Orange Tabby. But, his size and structure has always seemed different to me. And he has this super long tail. I have been reflecting on how weird he grew lately because I have an orange tabby foster who looks completely different from Sam.

Is 16 lbs normal for a Tabby? Do the orange guys just grow really large? Or have I found myself with some weird mix of a cat?

Edit: Have a photo of his suspected Dad that I could also post.

Hes definitely a big boy!! I would say that 16 is not unheard of, but maybe a little heavier than most! He looks strong!