Is my cat a main coon?

lexi342

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I adopted sid last year when he was 5 with no information about his breed, his extremely big (over a meter Long when he stretches out) and fluffy, I've researched his coat, face shape, ear shape but I still can't figure out if his a main coon, norwegain forest cat, a mixture of both, or mix of neither, if any of you could help me to figure out what breed he is that'd be great!
 

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goingpostal

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Domestic long hair, cats aren't generally breeds, mixes of breeds would be even less likely, purebred cats are a very new thing and very rare compared to domestics. So cats are described by their coat length, color and pattern.
 
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lexi342

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I had a pure Maine Coon. No yours doesn't look it. Yours looks like a domestic long hair.
Probably, I was unsure cause of his size cause his of his size, his probely just big for his breed haha.
 

amethyst

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Probably, I was unsure cause of his size cause his of his size, his probely just big for his breed haha.
Domestic cats can range in size a lot based on genetics, it's like saying what is the size of a human. You can have everything from small dometic cats that are less the a foot long, to big ones that are 2-3 feet long. Length is measured from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, and does not include the tail.

Unlike dogs where about a quarter are purebred, only about 2% of cats are purebred. So the odds that a random cat at a shelter is a specific breed or even a mix are unlikely. Though it is common for shelters to claim, purely based on looks, that it's a mix just to get them a better chance of being adopted.
 

Emmypeps

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To me it looks like he could be part maine coon! I rescued both my cats and my tuxie Rue turns out is 22% Maine coon and 11% Norwegian forest cat (looks similar to a Maine coon!) I highly suggest doing what we did and getting a cat DNA kit!! It’s very fascinating!
 

amethyst

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To me it looks like he could be part maine coon! I rescued both my cats and my tuxie Rue turns out is 22% Maine coon and 11% Norwegian forest cat (looks similar to a Maine coon!) I highly suggest doing what we did and getting a cat DNA kit!! It’s very fascinating!
I would keep in mind those DNA tests are really "just for fun" when it comes to breeds, they can tell you what breeds the cat is most similar to but not actually what breed(s) it is for sure. So for example your cat shares 22% genetic ancestry with Maine coons and 11% genetic ancestry with Norwegian forest cats, but that doesn't mean you cat is part Maine coon or Norwegian forest cat just that the ancestry of cats that when into making those breeds are that percent similar to the ones in your cat. Similarly, depending on the test you used, some also tell you what percent it's similar to wild cats species too, but that doesn't mean it actually is part tiger for example. Those tests can be useful for getting a look at the genetic health of the cat, like if your cat is genetically predisposed to or a carrier of any genetic issues though, so if you are interested in that it's worth it, but cat breeds simply aren't unique enough to give breed results like you can get with dogs.
 

Caspers Human

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So for example your cat shares 22% genetic ancestry with Maine coons and 11% genetic ancestry with Norwegian forest cats, but that doesn't mean you cat is part Maine coon or Norwegian forest cat just that the ancestry of cats that when into making those breeds are that percent similar to the ones in your cat.
Percentiles are easy to misinterpret. They do not mean that a thing has X-percent of a certain characteristic. They mean that a thing shares a particular charactersitic with a given percentage of others.

If a genetic test says that your cat is "22 percent Maine Coon" it actually means that your cat has a genetic marker that 22 percent of other cats also have.

It's a subtle difference but an important one to understand.
 
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