What breed is Estelle?

[micapeeka]

Hi,

I'm wondering what breed my mom's cat is. My boyfriend who is normally allergic to cats isn't allergic to my mom's cat, Estelle. I've never thought of her as a unique breed like the semi-hypoallergenic Siberian, but could she be? We rescued her as a kitten so we don't know anything about her history. She was abandoned with her brother and we fostered the two from a local animal shelter. Her brother was adopted out, and we kept fluffly little Estelle.  She is a very quiet cat that has spurts of energy but is normally very mellow. Let me know if you need any photos of personality traits to help you figure out what her breed is.

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

Here's photos of her when she was younger.

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

This is what she looked like as a kitten

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

This is what her brother looked like as a kitten

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[greylynn]

I attached an image, or sketch i found that shows Maine Coon (MC) Siberian (SB) Norwegian Forrest (NF) in profile. That may help you decide. I look at your photos and lean towards Siberian. I'd like to see a good side photo of her head to see the profile from the top of her head to the tip of her nose.

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• greylynn
• Mar 11, 2013

 

[micapeeka]

Thanks so much for your help, GreyLynn!

Here's some photos that show her profile more.

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 11, 2013

 

[greylynn]

You're welcome. I'm still leaning towards Siberian. I'll never be able to say she's 100% Siberian. Like you wrote: there is no history on the cat. If it helps any, i have a sweet little grey cat (Misty Rose) and I swear she is a Korat. I told a woman at a cat show who breeds Korats that I felt I owned the twin to the one she was showing. My vet describes my cat as a grey domestic shorthair. My vet is boring, LOL! So we show people pics of Misty Rose and tell them we THINK she's a Korat. And that good enough for us!

 

[StefanZ]

Yeah, if you want to think Estelle is a look alike a Siberian, why not.   Without good proofs we cant say anything more. She isnt a clear cut Sib- looking, I would say she is sooner something inbetween MCO and Siberian look alike...   In her, the pieces falling very nicely on their places, she being a pretty girl (and her bro very nice too).  Btw, have you possibility to get a couple of good photos of her bro  [edit: as adult] ?  Say you change photos with his owners...

I want to give you Micapeeka   a big plus for showing up several good photos. Quite a few of our askers send in a dim photo, perhaps even taken from several meters, and wants to get a serious answer...

Last but not least,  I want to welcome both of you,

Micapeeka and GreyLynn, to our Forums!

Good luck!

 

[orientalslave]

Siberians are a pretty new breed and therefore rare outside their country of origin, and it's highly unlikely that your cat has any Siberian blood in her.  However she might happen to have one of the genetic variations the Siberian has that is said to them less likely to cause allergies, or it might simply be her individual genetic makeup is slightly unusual and doesn't trigger your b/f.

She is a lovely cat.

 

[maewkaew]

Estelle ( good name for her!) is a pretty Blue Mackerel Tabby and White cat and, given her history of having been abandoned as a young kitten, it's likely your initial idea was right that she's not a specific breed. She does somewhat resemble a Siberian, but so do a lot of longhair moggies. It's possible she could be a Siberian mix (not that there would be many of those!). but could also be a 'pure domestic' descended from random-bred cats from your region.

I can sure understand why your BF's lack of allergic reaction would make you consider the possibility . Cats vary in the amount they have of the Fel D1 protein that causes an allergic reaction in some people. The median level for the range in Siberians does seem to be significantly lower than that for cats in general. But there are occasionally "regular" cats from somewhere else in the world who have such a low level that, like many Siberians, they don't have enough to cause a problem for some people who are normally allergic to cats.
Also, some people are allergic to other proteins, which cats may have in varying amounts.
I've definitely heard stories of people with allergies for some reason not being affected by one particular moggy. ( and about some pedigree cats. I've even heard someone say that about a particular Persian, though I don't think they are usually known for being hypoallergenic! )

To compare Estelle to the 3 "forest cat" breeds, she clearly looks more Siberian than Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat. ( I show cats and have seen all 3 breeds.) but it's not like she must be one of those 3. There are a lot MORE cats that aren't a breed, and they come in a great range of types. Many random-bred "domestics" in Western Europe and North America resemble one of these breeds -- especially Siberians which don't have extreme features ; it's not surprising that some cats elsewhere descended from cats from similar climates, would have turned out to look similar .

Siberian kittens would have come from a breeder. It just doesn't make sense that a breeder would have abandoned those two kittens. An ethical breeder would never do that even if money weren't involved. But even for a breeder who was just in it for money, why would they abandon two young Siberian kittens when they could sell them for $2000 or more?
The kitten photos look younger than most good breeders would sell kittens. But if someone had bought these young kittens and then immediately decided they couldn't keep them, why would they abandon kittens they had just spent thousands to buy, instead of returning them to the breeder and getting at least a partial refund -- at this age likely a full refund? or sell them to someone else if they didn't have a contract requiring them to return them to the breeder, or were dishonest and broke the contract?

It's possible she could be a Siberian mix -- not that there would be a lot of those either. but at least there are scenarios that seem less unlikely., like if someone bought an unaltered kitten and didn't get him neutered in time, and he got out and mated with some longhair ( or carrying longhair gene) moggy , and the owners abandoned the kittens. ( or the mother was a stray and she abandoned the kittens)

If you showed her as a Household Pet at an Allbreed and Household Pet show, you could get some expert opinions -- handling the cat in real life is better than photos. from someone seeing her in person and able to feel the coat texture etc.

Anyway, whatever her ancestry is , I'm glad she ended up getting rescued. I have to agree with Stefan, you have good photos. (And cute! I love the long one of her as a kitten lying on her side. and the brother is a little doll! I hope he got a good home.)

 

[micapeeka]

Thank you all so much for your help!

I never thought I had a purebred show cat on my hands considering she was abandoned. But I was really hoping I could figure out what kind of breed she is so I know what to look for when my boyfriend and I adopt our own. I'll try to keep my eye out for Siberian mixes in hopes that we can reduce chances of allergies that way. Let's hope I find another adorable cat like Estelle, and few allergens, too!

For the comments on her name - she was named by the humane society. They name each of their litters with the same first letter! So her brother's name also started with an "E" - I wish I could remember what it was! I'll ask my sister.  Unfortunately I don't have any photos of her brother as he was adopted out from the humane society I was volunteering for and don't know his family.

Maewkaew,I looked up the patterning of a Mackarel and that certainly does look like her patterning. Here's another photo of her. (it's hard to see that pattern now that her hair has grown so long!) I'll look for more photos of her pattern when she was younger so you can see it more clearly.

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• micapeeka
• Mar 12, 2013

 

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• micapeeka
• Mar 12, 2013

As far as what she feels or looks like in person, she's a definitely smaller cat. Of all of the cats I've ever had, she is the smallest full grown one. She doesn't weigh very much and is slender without being bony. Her hair is more soft than it is silky or rough. She never gets matted hair that we have to cut out.

Personality wise, she's not very vocal at all. She sometimes cries at night (which we are working on preventing) but other than that, the only other times she makes a noise is when she sees birds outside. She makes this silly chirping noise like she's trying to talk to the birds in their language! She's very mellow and likes to lay around like a typical cat, sometimes she gets a spurt of energy and darts through the house. She isn't big on playing with toys, she prefers bugs. And she isn't one for cuddling, she likes to sit on you and cuddle only on her own terms, she doesn't enjoy being picked up.

Thanks again for all of your help, I welcome any more opinions!

 

[maewkaew]

being small kind of argues against Siberian since they tend to be large. but with a mix, who knows? She really may be a DLH who happens to have less of the allergenic protein. But did you know she can still be a show cat? You can show non-pedigreed cats in the Household Pets class. I show (pedigrees) in TICA but have friends who show HHPs, they can earn titles and awards just like the pedigreed cats.

 

[mmommiz]

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• mmommiz
• Mar 12, 2013

This is Precious, the sister of Roosafee who's photo is posted below. I did not obtain them from a breeder, but I was told that they were both Blaze (main) Coons. I don't know really. All I know is that I am crazy about both of them!

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• mmommiz
• Mar 12, 2013

 

[angels mommy]

Hi micapeeka, welcome to TCS!  Your baby is gorgeous!!  "I love that spotted belly!!!"

 I'd be giving her kisses on that little belly!

 "What a cutie!"

 

[StefanZ]

Hi Mommiz.  Yes, they do look somewhat alike MCO, esp Roosafee  Now I dont know what Blaize MCO is supposed to be, so here I leave a reservation..

This being "told" is dangerous. If the teller WAS somebody knowleable, it can be rather reliable. But many are completely clueless what being purebreed is. If a random cat is a somewhat look alike, they immediately think he IS of this breed.

Try to interview this teller once again, why heshe thinks they are these Blaize MCO...  And if there are any proofs.   

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

 

[orientalslave]

The thing is that unless you are a judge or breeder and *know* what you are looking at should look like, and the cat / kitten is in your hands, lots of SLH tabby cats look like MCs, NFCs or Siberians to the inexperienced. 

Now that's not surprising as the breeds have been selected from the domestic cats of Maine (US), Norway and Russia, which means it's also not surprising that cats that look a bit like one of these breeds come along from time to time.

However the only way to be sure is that the cat is registered with a reputable registry (TICA, FiFE, GCCF for example) and has the papers and pedigree.