My Little Boy Fry... Suspecting Possible Arabian Mau In His Makeup?

[spazzayone]

I got a free kitten from a farm in Minnesota last December. A little red bicolor spotted mackerel tabby. He was the more social of the two brothers, but still not super cuddly. His sister was more of a brown tabby, but still had a white chest. I ended up adopting a total of 3 kittens all around the same age from different sources. I always just assumed he was a domestic shorthair with a tabby pattern, but after I discovered the Arabian Mau breed, I can't shake the feeling that he has at least some in his bloodline.

Of the 3, Fry is definitely more confident and adventurous. And I mean significantly! He has opened the window and gotten outside multiple times. He is very active, always running and climbing, and will jump up onto my head. And he slams into my bedroom door at night and has even pulled an outlet out of the wall. And he has to be the boss and frequently steals the other kittens food. He gives our pitbull and our german sheperd a run for their money! Honestly, he can be a little butt! I sometimes refer to him affectionately as my little demon. Of course, when he DOES settle down, he can be sweet to me and loves grooming me and the other cats. He's very fastidious. The other two kittens? Total sweeties! Additionally, I've always called him my little alien because his snout always looked so odd but cute to me.

I know that the frequency of an Arabian Mau in the U.S. is ultra rare, but his personality is just so... wild. I am so occupied with the thought that I actually considered a DNA test like some sort of.. crazy cat lady (a luxury I haven't even gotten for myself, hehe) Any input is appreciated!

 

[Willowy]

It is terribly unlikely that a rare purebred would end up being a farm cat! So probably not. But farm cats DO have to be pretty tough to survive so probably he comes from a long line of crazy tough kitties. Arabian Maus are street cats, so no surprise that they'd have a lot in common with other street/farm cats.

Also, I love the name!

 

[abyeb]

Fry is so cute! I would describe him as a red spotted tabby and white Domestic Shorthair. Fry does look like the pictures of Arabian Maus I’ve seen online. But, Arabian Maus are extremely rare in the US. They are street cats in the UAE, so it’s highly unlikely that one made its way to the US. Unless someone brought a whole Arabian Mau cat into the US who was then allowed to interbreed with the general population. So, not completely impossible, but very unlikely. And, you can totally get Fry DNA tested, but the tests I know of (Basepaws and UC Davis) don’t have Arabian Maus in their database, so, you won’t know if he has genetic similarities to an Arabian Mau, but similarities to another breed might still pop up.

About The Breed Index

Cat Ancestry

 

[spazzayone]

It is terribly unlikely that a rare purebred would end up being a farm cat! So probably not. But farm cats DO have to be pretty tough to survive so probably he comes from a long line of crazy tough kitties. Arabian Maus are street cats, so no surprise that they'd have a lot in common with other street/farm cats.

Also, I love the name!

That is a good point; he probably has some strong genes in his family tree! Kind of interesting how those similarities can arise so separately. Thanks for the input!

And thank you about the name! His "brother" is Bender and "sister" is Leela!

 

[spazzayone]

Fry is so cute! I would describe him as a red spotted tabby and white Domestic Shorthair. Fry does look like the pictures of Arabian Maus I’ve seen online. But, Arabian Maus are extremely rare in the US. They are street cats in the UAE, so it’s highly unlikely that one made its way to the US. Unless someone brought a whole Arabian Mau cat into the US who was then allowed to interbreed with the general population. So, not completely impossible, but very unlikely. And, you can totally get Fry DNA tested, but the tests I know of (Basepaws and UC Davis) don’t have Arabian Maus in their database, so, you won’t know if he has genetic similarities to an Arabian Mau, but similarities to another breed might still pop up.

About The Breed Index

Cat Ancestry

Thank you for all that! I'm a complete novice to cat breeds so I appreciate the in depth feedback! I knew it was very unlikely anyway, but I had to at least ask those who would know more! I love being able to have a specific way to describe things or "sort" things (part of the reason I was researching breeds in the first place) so I'm fortunate that his markings are so describable!

I appreciate the knowledge about their database as well! I think I still may look into DNA testing for my paw trio at some point!

 

[AllyY]

He is so cute and soecial

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi spazzayone and (a tad belated) welcome to the forum !

Wow, Fry and his sibs are just.........breathtaking!

I hope you'll allow me to make a suggestion right away, though: those collars appear to have a buckle/fastener that can only be released by a person.

That kind of collar is not used any longer by people who really know about cats.....because it can result in very serious and/or fatal injury to the kitten/cat. It can happen if it gets caught up in something, and the kitten can be severely injured or even strangled.

Today (for people who even use collars), a quick-release or "breakaway" type is the norm.

(Even here on this forum we have read horror stories from people who experienced accidents like this.)

You absolutely must posts more pics, you know! (we have no problem disclosing our addiction to those) Have a look through here: Fur Pictures and Videos Only!.

You know, you might start in the "New Cats" forum.....that way you can show - and name - everyone all at once!
.

 

[spazzayone]

.
Hi spazzayone and (a tad belated) welcome to the forum !

Wow, Fry and his sibs are just.........breathtaking!

I hope you'll allow me to make a suggestion right away, though: those collars appear to have a buckle/fastener that can only be released by a person.

That kind of collar is not used any longer by people who really know about cats.....because it can result in very serious and/or fatal injury to the kitten/cat. It can happen if it gets caught up in something, and the kitten can be severely injured or even strangled.

Today (for people who even use collars), a quick-release or "breakaway" type is the norm.

(Even here on this forum we have read horror stories from people who experienced accidents like this.)

You absolutely must posts more pics, you know! (we have no problem disclosing our addiction to those) Have a look through here: Fur Pictures and Videos Only!.

You know, you might start in the "New Cats" forum.....that way you can show - and name - everyone all at once!
.

Thank you so much for the compliments! I was very fortunate to find such beautiful babies! I will happily post more pictures; I only have a few thousand lying around!

And thank you for the concern on the collars! They are breakaway! They don't appear like they are with that latch style, and I was skeptical ordering them (they came from Etsy @ PugsToPersians), but I tested them and they release very easily and smoothly! Now I'm always fishing Fry's out of random vents and nooks, I'm amazed he hasn't lost it for good yet!

When I got my first kitty Macho in 2003 I didn't know about breakaway collars, but was I was always worried that he could strangle himself so I made his loose enough to slip off if needed. His pic in my signature has the traditional clasp, but I discovered the breakaway collars a couple years later and could breathe a little better!

I will definitely be checking out the New Cats forum! Thank you for the tip!