What Breed is My Cat?

[StefanZ]

About getting sore, or at least, disappointed.

Here we discuss those who asks "what breed is my cat".  

Now, if you ask, you must be prepared to get answers.

I think it must be worse for those who believe they do have a breed cat.  Say, they do show up here with their siamese, perhaps even bough as siamese. Payed money that would buy them a pure breed siamese, at least of pet quality. AND got to know here this is no siamese.  Not only without papers, but probably also a product of two random non pointed moggies.

This must be unpleasant for the new forumist.

 

[ilovmykitten]

i wonder if my cat breed is

537255_305284589589772_1684213864_t.jpg

• ilovmykitten
• Jan 3, 2013

 

[missymotus]

i wonder if my cat breed is

537255_305284589589772_1684213864_t.jpg

• ilovmykitten
• Jan 3, 2013

No breed, like all others in this thread he's a domestic

 

[minka]

I can't quite explain it, but unless you have already been in this atmosphere for knowing that most cats are moggies, *most* people seem to assume that their cat is a mix of something, just like their family dog.
When i got my first cat, I tried to figure out what she was, but gave up because it was too difficult to pin down an ear or face type because I had no experience. I think I narrowed it down, but it was so long ago, I don't remember. I might have even come to a forum to ask.


I'm of the standing that I don't think it matters if you tell someone their cat looks like such and such. (Emphasis on LOOKS) Nothing is going to come of it. No civilizations will come to their demise, no tsunami is going to hit.

I still tell people that their cat is a domestic short/longhair, but I think this topic gets taken WAY too seriously.

 

[missymotus]

Most don't even slightly resemble any breeds though

 

[minka]

Oh I know. I've never had a situation thus far where I've seen that a cat that resembled anything, I'm just saying if there Was, I don't see an issue with saying your cat resembles a blankety blank.

 

[StefanZ]

someone might want them to be some sort of a blue blood aristocrat who either lost their status in a revolution or their family lost their estate because of some crazy ancestor sleeping with a horse or something.

Ah, and the idea that a breed is only with papers

Thanks for the reply about my kitten being a common working class domestic

That picture IS alive with me, touching strongly my emotions. (Yes, Im an emotional one).

  I woulndt like to deny someone its ancestry, even if it isnt proved or not pure.

That is one reason Im participating in these treads.  Most of them ARE moggies yeah, but not so few are somewhat look alikes, and some, now and then - are decent looking look alikes, in such degree you can really speculate if they may have more than distant ancestry.

In these cases I do say it.  Sometimes even in a PM.

Technically they are still "broad masses of common working class",  but if you read in between the lines the owner can take their conclussions.

 

[kittymom88]

Since we're playing "what breed is my cat"- tell me, what breed does my colorpoint appear to be? 

JackandWIllie.jpg

• kittymom88
• Jan 10, 2013

 

[minka]

Since we're playing "what breed is my cat"- tell me, what breed does my colorpoint appear to be? 

JackandWIllie.jpg

• kittymom88
• Jan 10, 2013

Looks VERY oriental to me, but I'm no expert

 

[orientalslave]

If you have papers I suspect they say it's a seal-point Balinese, but if there are no papers it's a domestic longhair.

 

[kittymom88]

Nailed the breed but not the color he's a blue point. My 15 year old blue point!!! I don't think I even realized how dark he had gotten until I took this picture!

 

[orientalslave]

The light in the photo is probably making him look a lot darker and warmer than he is - in person I'd check the pads if I had any doubts.

 

[callista]

Not harsh, truthful.  There is a lot more to being a Siamese than being a shorthair with blue eyes & points and large ears and there seem to be plenty of places where the ferals are having pointed kittens.  Plus the pointed gene is in plenty of breeds other than Siamese.

To be a good look-alike it needs the right body and head shape and coat texture, as well as the points & blue eyes, and in my view to be a Siamese it needs papers. 

Wouldn't "domestic" also be incorrect, though? We call them "domestic" rather than "mixed breed" because they don't have any identifiable breed heritage at all. Their ancestors are rarely purebred, and if there is a purebred ancestor, it can't be told now from looking at the cat.

A cat which obviously has some breed heritage can't be called "pedigreed" because... well, it doesn't have a pedigree. You can't tell who, exactly, its parents were. But if you can tell from looking at the cat that one or both parents were almost certainly from one breed or another, then wouldn't "mixed breed", or "Breed X mix", "Breed X lookalike", or "unregistered Breed X" be a better term to use? I think of "domestic" cats as the generic cats with their wide variety of color, shape, and personality--the cats that happen when cats breed at random. An obvious mix of a breed, or a cat which is probably a purebred with lost papers, or a stray purebred, really isn't "domestic".

 

[kittymom88]

Wouldn't "domestic" also be incorrect, though? We call them "domestic" rather than "mixed breed" because they don't have any identifiable breed heritage at all. Their ancestors are rarely purebred, and if there is a purebred ancestor, it can't be told now from looking at the cat.

A cat which obviously has some breed heritage can't be called "pedigreed" because... well, it doesn't have a pedigree. You can't tell who, exactly, its parents were. But if you can tell from looking at the cat that one or both parents were almost certainly from one breed or another, then wouldn't "mixed breed", or "Breed X mix", "Breed X lookalike", or "unregistered Breed X" be a better term to use? I think of "domestic" cats as the generic cats with their wide variety of color, shape, and personality--the cats that happen when cats breed at random. An obvious mix of a breed, or a cat which is probably a purebred with lost papers, or a stray purebred, really isn't "domestic".

Domestic is the identifier one would use if you were submitting Household Pet (HHP) registration for CFA or ACFA (not sure how TICA registration of non-purebreds works). So Domestic Shorthair/Domestic Longhair would be the proper usage 

 

[orientalslave]

Wouldn't "domestic" also be incorrect, though? We call them "domestic" rather than "mixed breed" because they don't have any identifiable breed heritage at all. Their ancestors are rarely purebred, and if there is a purebred ancestor, it can't be told now from looking at the cat.

A cat which obviously has some breed heritage can't be called "pedigreed" because... well, it doesn't have a pedigree. You can't tell who, exactly, its parents were. But if you can tell from looking at the cat that one or both parents were almost certainly from one breed or another, then wouldn't "mixed breed", or "Breed X mix", "Breed X lookalike", or "unregistered Breed X" be a better term to use? I think of "domestic" cats as the generic cats with their wide variety of color, shape, and personality--the cats that happen when cats breed at random. An obvious mix of a breed, or a cat which is probably a purebred with lost papers, or a stray purebred, really isn't "domestic".

The only acceptable term in my view is 'Breed X lookalike' as that's what they are.  You can't all them a mix or an unregistered cat as you have no idea what the parents are.  Also people not used to seeing genuine quality pedigree cats seem to some 'obvious breed heritage' in lots of cats which really, honestly don't look like aby breed in particular.  I would add that I've seen a lot of cats especially since I have a friend I stay with who runs a boarding cattery, and I've seen one cat that was a fair look-alike for a British Shorthair, and she has one that's got some of the features of the breed.  But then BSH was selected from the moggies of the UK, so it's no surprise the odd look-alike is a random-bred moggie.

 

[missymotus]

If you have papers I suspect they say it's a seal-point Balinese, but if there are no papers it's a domestic longhair.

I would have said seal, possibly chocolate. Not blue as the cat looks very brown, unlike any blue I've seen, even highly rufoused ones.
Just shows how photographs can distort things doesn't it

 

[missymotus]

Also people not used to seeing genuine quality pedigree cats seem to some 'obvious breed heritage' in lots of cats which really, honestly don't look like any breed in particular. 

Agree, and so often wonder where people are pulling these resemblances from, even majority of pet q cats deeply resemble their breed
Only to the trained eyed having a short tail, ear set too high/low, slightly incorrect pattern, a week chin etc. but still easily identified as the breed they are
One would not purchase a pet q Persian that grows to look like a Bengal for example

 

[courtney2287]

Hello! I was recently talking to a vet who was sitting at my bar and we were talking about the breed of cat I have. She said he sounds like a van cat. I have done some research and every description fits him perfectly. I would like some opinions though, do you think he looks like a van? I know unless he is pedigree I wouldn't know exactly but his father looked the same way and his mother was all black so maybe he is half van?

papa.jpg

• courtney2287
• Jan 12, 2013

papa1.jpg

• courtney2287
• Jan 12, 2013

papa2.jpg

• courtney2287
• Jan 12, 2013

papa3.jpg

• courtney2287
• Jan 12, 2013

 

[Willowy]

That pattern is called the van pattern, but he probably doesn't have an Turkish Van in him. Unless you live in Turkey .

 

[missymotus]

Not a true Van pattern, I'd call him a black & white bi-colour. 

Van pattern is colour on the top of the head only, and tail with the tail being solid base to tip. In pedigree TUV's they can have a certain amount of random spots on the body as well. 

Vets, unless they are involved in showing or have a lot of breeder clients generally know very little about breeds.