What Breed is My Cat?

[maewkaew]

Tom's  Red Tabby and White  and probably  one of the proud Moggy Majority.   The closest breed to him would be British Shorthair which originally started  from people breeding  attractive regular shorthair cats of the UK.      It's hard to tell a lot from one photo in dim light that doesn't show the entire cat,  but it looks like he  may have a similar muscular body type with rather heavy boning?       plus he came from the same country.     He's probably like the cats who were the original foundation cats of the breed before they were bred to exaggerate the features more.   

  He does look like a sweet boy.  

 And as Stefan says,  when a cat has a white body with color on the head and tail,   that's described as a "van pattern"   

 

[maewkaew]

 Very nice  color. and she has a cute face.  Marcelline  would be called a Blue Domestic Shorthair .  Grey like hers is called "Blue" in the cat fancy.    DSH  just means a shorthair cat of no particular breed /  unknown ancestry).  She's sure a pretty kitten. and  that is a pretty name for her.  

Something seems to be wrong on the animal planet site so  your link didn't work and I don't  know which breed it was.   But the truth is that most cats are not ANY breed.   Cats are not like dogs that have had a lot more selective breeding by humans..   Most cats have just bred randomly on their own and have a mix of ancestry from the general cat population in their area,  usually mostly or entirely  random-bred cats , not cats from breeders.    And it would be very unlikely for a pedigree kitten to be wandering around abandoned.    

Of course it's those random-bred cats that the breeds originally came from.   

The closest breeds genetically to Marcelline would probably be breeds like American Shorthair and British Shorthair   both of which came originally from the regular shorthair cats of their respective countries. (  &   American cats are predominantly from western European cats.   ) 

I will say that in that last photo of her lying down,  her smile reminds me of the Chartreux.   but that's a very rare breed and I am not suggesting she IS that breed.   but she might resemble them in some ways.  They're another breed that originally came from random-bred shorthair cats of  Western Europe, in their case France.   They're similar to the blue Brits.  There are differences in the coat texture,  ear set (chartreux has ears set higher up on the head ) ,  and somewhat in the body type.  ( Chartreux are described as a potato on toothpicks.  they do have a weird thing of having a heavy built body ( i don't mean they should be fat)  but  more delicate feet.      When she gets older she may look more like one breed or another.   

The lines you're seeing on her are a 'ghost tabby'  pattern.   Every cat has the genetic code for some kind of tabby pattern.  but in cats with black-based color,  it takes a separate gene called Agouti  to make the pattern really show up very distinctly.  But even without that gene,  the pattern often does show through,  especially  in kittens -- and it's pretty normal for it to start showing up more when a kitten is a few months old.  but usually fades more again by the time they're a year old.    It still does sometimes show  in adults, especially when seen in some kinds of bright light.

She is still considered a solid blue cat. 

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• liddoterry
• Aug 20, 2013

What breed is my cat?
Her name is marceline.
At first it was all grey but now is showing some lines

I took this cat in when it followed me home. love this cat so much. She's very friendly. Really active. Can entertain herself. Doesn't really need me unless is to feed her or clean the box Lol.
I did the breeder test and there was one that did look like her and its this
http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/catprofile.do?id=201

What do you think?

 

[liddoterry]

Thank you so much for helping me find her breed and saying those kind words about my Marceline . Now when someone asks now I got something to say lol.
Plus that link I sent you is the chartreux lol. I know she aint that full breed but she does look like it...just a bit..more in the face
thankyou again for helping me out

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• liddoterry
• Aug 21, 2013

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• liddoterry
• Aug 21, 2013

 Very nice  color. and she has a cute face.  Marcelline  would be called a Blue Domestic Shorthair .  Grey like hers is called "Blue" in the cat fancy.    DSH  just means a shorthair cat of no particular breed /  unknown ancestry).  She's sure a pretty kitten. and  that is a pretty name for her.  
 
Something seems to be wrong on the animal planet site so  your link didn't work and I don't  know which breed it was.   But the truth is that most cats are not ANY breed.   Cats are not like dogs that have had a lot more selective breeding by humans..   Most cats have just bred randomly on their own and have a mix of ancestry from the general cat population in their area,  usually mostly or entirely  random-bred cats , not cats from breeders.    And it would be very unlikely for a pedigree kitten to be wandering around abandoned.    

Of course it's those random-bred cats that the breeds originally came from.   

The closest breeds genetically to Marcelline would probably be breeds like American Shorthair and British Shorthair   both of which came originally from the regular shorthair cats of their respective countries. (  &   American cats are predominantly from western European cats.   ) 

I will say that in that last photo of her lying down,  her smile reminds me of the Chartreux.   but that's a very rare breed and I am not suggesting she IS that breed.   but she might resemble them in some ways.  They're another breed that originally came from random-bred shorthair cats of  Western Europe, in their case France.   They're similar to the blue Brits.  There are differences in the coat texture,  ear set (chartreux has ears set higher up on the head ) ,  and somewhat in the body type.  ( Chartreux are described as a potato on toothpicks.  they do have a weird thing of having a heavy built body ( i don't mean they should be fat)  but  more delicate feet.      When she gets older she may look more like one breed or another.   

The lines you're seeing on her are a 'ghost tabby'  pattern.   Every cat has the genetic code for some kind of tabby pattern.  but in cats with black-based color,  it takes a separate gene called Agouti  to make the pattern really show up very distinctly.  But even without that gene,  the pattern often does show through,  especially  in kittens -- and it's pretty normal for it to start showing up more when a kitten is a few months old.  but usually fades more again by the time they're a year old.    It still does sometimes show in adults, especially when seen in some kinds of bright light.

She is still considered a solid blue cat. 

 

[sweetdreamsxox]

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 21, 2013

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 21, 2013

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 21, 2013

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 21, 2013

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 21, 2013

This is my 11 week old kitten mushroom (named by my 4 year old child)
I've been told by a few people that he looks like a bengal cross? I would like to know if you think that's true...

Personality wise, he's constantly on the go, extremely playful, sometimes acts like a puppy would-chewing teddys, carrying things about in his mouth, is fascinated with water and practically follows me everywhere
In the house. He also extremely loving, very smart and sneaky and will find away around anything he wants.

I've been doing some research on bengal cats, and they have a silky coat, however mushrooms coat is very rough on his upper half, and soft on his belly, under neck and inside legs.

I would love to know what you guys think x

 

[kidufresne]

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• kidufresne
• Aug 21, 2013

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• kidufresne
• Aug 21, 2013

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• kidufresne
• Aug 21, 2013

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• kidufresne
• Aug 21, 2013

This is my cat, Leo. I got him from my local humane society.

he has medium hair and golden eyes.

all of his siblings were completely orange with tiger stripes. one was short hair and two were long hair.

Any idea what breed(s) he is?

Thanks for your time!!

 

[callista]

Leo is beautiful! I can't see a breed, really--I'd call him a domestic longhair. His coloring is red and white.

So is it true about orange boys--is he as sweet as they're supposed to be?

 

[kidufresne]

Than

Leo is beautiful! I can't see a breed, really--I'd call him a domestic longhair. His coloring is red and white.

So is it true about orange boys--is he as sweet as they're supposed to be?

thanks for the info! I've always heard that male cats car sweeter.. In his case he's very sweet but also 90% of the time he is in play mode. He is 6 months old right now. I'm hoping in another 6 months he will mellow out

 

[sweetdreamsxox]

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 22, 2013

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 22, 2013

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 22, 2013

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 22, 2013

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• sweetdreamsxox
• Aug 22, 2013

There is more photos on a post, a few before this one.


This is my 11 week old kitten mushroom (named by my 4 year old child)
I've been told by a few people that he looks like a bengal cross? I would like to know if you think that's true...

Personality wise, he's constantly on the go, extremely playful, sometimes acts like a puppy would-chewing teddys, carrying things about in his mouth, is fascinated with water and practically follows me everywhere
In the house. He also extremely loving, very smart and sneaky and will find away around anything he wants.

I've been doing some research on bengal cats, and they have a silky coat, however mushrooms coat is very rough on his upper half, and soft on his belly, under neck and inside legs.

I would love to know what you guys think x

 

[StefanZ]

I think Mushroom is a domestic short hair, "moggie" as they say.  You can perhaps compare him with a American Shorthair or rather, their foundation cats.

The pattern is Tabby with white.  The tabby, being broken mackerel, gave here some spots.  Not that unusual!   Perhaps you can even call it for Spotted Tabby  and White, I dunno, dont see clear enough.

So do I think.

Very sweet and pretty cat!

Good luck!

 

[subzero00]

What breed is my cat?
His name is Enzo.

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• subzero00
• Aug 22, 2013

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• subzero00
• Aug 22, 2013

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• subzero00
• Aug 22, 2013

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• subzero00
• Aug 22, 2013

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• subzero00
• Aug 22, 2013

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• subzero00
• Aug 22, 2013

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• subzero00
• Aug 22, 2013

 

[StefanZ]

Subzero.  Enzo is a domestic long hair. But what he is look alike?  He looks alike as a something in between  Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat.

Lets settle for, he is alike the foundation cats from which the Maine Coon was purebred from.

The pattern is  Tabby and White.  

Exact which tabby pattern I dont see on this my computer Im sitting at - though you send so many good photos.  Darkish pics become even darker on this my monitor.

Good luck!

 

[azdeha]

Hi there. I'm just wondering if anyone has heard of tabby Abyssinians. 

I found this little baby in a pet shop in Athens, Greece, where they were giving her away. She'd been found on the street with her siblings and her mum was dead nearby - hit by a car I think. They were only 3 or 4 weeks old so I took her home and started bottle feeding her, which she didn't take to at all, but luckily my dog stepped in and took over as a wet nurse until she was about 12 weeks old (weird as my dog, also a rescue brought over with me with from the UK, has never ever had puppies - she just started lactating cuz Miku (the kitten) started suckling). Anyhoo...stories of my beautiful, loving dog aside, Miku is now almost 2 and a complete joker. She's learned to open doors, eats with her paws after imitating me eating sandwiches, hates the cold with a passion, choosing to sleep on cushtie duvets even in the Greek summers, licks all the sweet chili flavouring off my crisps, terrorises my parents Westies and despises the vet. Thing is, she's still really tiny. My other cat - a black and white DSH from the Cats Protection and a farm in Wales, is also pretty small in terms of UK cat size. No idea why, but she's at least a bit more bulky. Miku is really tiny. Like skinny allet cat tiny. I don't know how many of you have been out in Greece and seen how slinky the strays can get....she's a little bit smaller. She has has very distinct features - large eyes, big ears, triangular face, and ticked hairs - all of which point to an Abyssinian...she even has the dark line down her spin to the tip of her tail. However, she's very much tabby, and has a white chest and socks. I've never seen any pictures of a cat like her. I'm not wondering if anyone can pinpoint the other breed because that's impossible...it's probably common Greek street cat (usually a mixture of the Aegean cat) but I'd like to know if anyone else thinks she has Abyssinian in her. The first 2 pics are to show her features..the rest is for her coat. The one with my dog is for cuteness factor

 

[GoldyCat]

Hi there. I'm just wondering if anyone has heard of tabby Abyssinians. 

I found this little baby in a pet shop in Athens, Greece, where they were giving her away. She'd been found on the street with her siblings and her mum was dead nearby - hit by a car I think. They were only 3 or 4 weeks old so I took her home and started bottle feeding her, which she didn't take to at all, but luckily my dog stepped in and took over as a wet nurse until she was about 12 weeks old (weird as my dog, also a rescue brought over with me with from the UK, has never ever had puppies - she just started lactating cuz Miku (the kitten) started suckling). Anyhoo...stories of my beautiful, loving dog aside, Miku is now almost 2 and a complete joker. She's learned to open doors, eats with her paws after imitating me eating sandwiches, hates the cold with a passion, choosing to sleep on cushtie duvets even in the Greek summers, licks all the sweet chili flavouring off my crisps, terrorises my parents Westies and despises the vet. Thing is, she's still really tiny. My other cat - a black and white DSH from the Cats Protection and a farm in Wales, is also pretty small in terms of UK cat size. No idea why, but she's at least a bit more bulky. Miku is really tiny. Like skinny allet cat tiny. I don't know how many of you have been out in Greece and seen how slinky the strays can get....she's a little bit smaller. She has has very distinct features - large eyes, big ears, triangular face, and ticked hairs - all of which point to an Abyssinian...she even has the dark line down her spin to the tip of her tail. However, she's very much tabby, and has a white chest and socks. I've never seen any pictures of a cat like her. I'm not wondering if anyone can pinpoint the other breed because that's impossible...it's probably common Greek street cat (usually a mixture of the Aegean cat) but I'd like to know if anyone else thinks she has Abyssinian in her. The first 2 pics are to show her features..the rest is for her coat. The one with my dog is for cuteness factor

What a cutie! Love her ears. I have to say the ears are the only part of her I can see that resembles an abyssinian. Her face is a little too round. It's hard to tell her body type when she's curled up.

I would say she's a DSH (domestic shorthair) with a brown patched mackerel tabby pattern. The dark stripe down her back is common to almost all tabby patterns. It probably isn't mentioned in the descriptions because it isn't unique to any one tabby pattern. It is mentioned in the abyssinian breed standard because it's the only "stripe" that's allowed.

Here are some pictures of my cats for comparison.

Merlin (abyssinian) and Shareena (DSH). You can see the shape of Merlin's face is more triangular than round. They weigh almost exactly the same, but Merlin's body is long and slender where Shareena is more round and compact.

Merlin1yr-Shareena3yr.jpg

• GoldyCat
• Aug 22, 2013

Merlin in profile

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• GoldyCat
• Aug 22, 2013

This is Iris, one of my brown patched mackerel tabbies. Her tail was curled under her (or maybe under the other cat), but you can see the dark stripe down her back.

IrisBackStripe.jpg

• GoldyCat
• Aug 22, 2013

 

[azdeha]

Thanks GoldyCat. I did wonder because, I forgot to mention it in my post, she is very long and slender and has a really long tail, and her back legs are stupidly long too. We call them her supermodel legs lol. I wish I could get better pictures but she won't sit still. Her temperament fits that of an Abyssinian as well, overly friendly, affectionate, annoyingly curious with a short attention span, gets on with other animals, etc, unlike my other cat who thinks she's a princess and acts accordingly, and since I was told they're not really ideal as outdoor cats, I was wondering if she could be partially Abyssinian as we're moving back to the UK to the countryside and I want her to be able to go outside. Seems like she should be ok then. If there's any in her it'll be trace amounts. 

 

[catspaw66]

I think Mushroom is a domestic short hair, "moggie" as they say.  You can perhaps compare him with a American Shorthair or rather, their foundation cats.

The pattern is Tabby with white.  The tabby, being broken mackerel, gave here some spots.  Not that unusual!   Perhaps you can even call it for Spotted Tabby  and White, I dunno, dont see clear enough.

So do I think.

Very sweet and pretty cat!

Good luck!

He looks like he is wearing a loud spotted tuxedo, with white gloves and spats.

 

[jourdanseelye]

I am trying to figure out what breed/breeds my cats could be. I've been looking through other cat breeds and I've noticed a strong resemblance to the Ocicat. The only thing that throws me off is that they do not appear to have an spots. Every other feature is that of an Ocicat. They were also born in Michigan and the Ocicat was first bred in Michigan. And they have the same personality as the Ocicat, however I don't think they are as smart. That could be because they are only 5 months old. But I am wondering, what other breeds could my cats resemble to explain why they are only striped but have no spots. The first two photos are of them when they were 2 months old, so they are bigger now, but their features are the same. As you can see they do have an M on their foreheads which could point towards a Maine Coon, however they are nowhere near the size of a Maine Coon. The third photo is about a week old, but I do have a filter on it so the color is off. As you can see they do have some spots on their bellies. The 4th photo is also updated but also has a filter, distorting the color. 

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• jourdanseelye
• Aug 23, 2013

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• jourdanseelye
• Aug 23, 2013

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• jourdanseelye
• Aug 23, 2013

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• jourdanseelye
• Aug 23, 2013

 

[maewkaew]

 They are darling little Brown Mackerel Tabby Domestic Shorthair  kittens,  with the cute spotted bellies often seen on tabbies,  especially as kittens -- and the "M"  on the head that also goes with a tabby pattern.. They are no particular breed,  like the vast majority of cats.   Those are great photos!    I hope we'll get to see more of them!  

I honestly am not seeing much strong resemblance to Ocicats ( besides the general tabby cuteness! ) .   and I do see Ocicats at shows.    But they're not a very extreme breed in type   so I can understand how you may see some similarities...........

    but I think your main misunderstanding might be just in thinking that cats  are like dogs and must be some breed or mix of breeds.   In cats that's just not true.  There has been much much less selective breeding of cats.     In dogs the purebreds are a slight majority,     then there's quite a few dogs that are a cross of 2  breeds.    In cats  the purebreds are only like 3% of pet cats. and most of them are altered as kittens and not running around making mixes.    

Most cats have just bred randomly on their own and have a mix of ancestry from the general cat population in their part of the world ;  and chances are their ancestors would be mostly or entirely descended from other random-bred cats,  with few or no cats from breeders.   They are almost  more like a wild species,  in terms of their reproduction. . 

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• maewkaew
• Aug 23, 2013

In fact,   speaking of wild species,  these kittens have the  original wild type cat coat pattern that came from their wild ancestors,  Felis silvestris lybica,  the African Wildcat. they have stripes or stripes  broken up into spots   and their coats usually have a lot of " ticking"  

 You are correct that   Ocicats have well defined spots,  that look like randomly placed,  not  broken up vertical stripes.  They do occasionally come in  a " classic tabby"   pattern ( swirls / marble look)    but not in stripes. 

These kittens'  connection to Ocicats would be that Ocicats were partly bred from American Shorthairs  which is the pedigree version of  " domestic shorthairs."   but that's a pretty small connection

The M on the head has nothing to do with Maine Coons or any breed.   It's  a part of tabby markings,   seen in tabby-pattered cats all over the world.    Unfortunately a television show  put this huge mistake into a script and  has confused a lot of people! 

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• jourdanseelye
• Aug 23, 2013

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• jourdanseelye
• Aug 23, 2013

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• jourdanseelye
• Aug 23, 2013

 

[atlantamay]

My baby Marballs I don't know what breed his is thou can u help me please x

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• atlantamay
• Aug 23, 2013

 

[StefanZ]

Marballs, is she white on the body and has a black tail?  In that case the pattern is called a Van pattern. After the Turkish Van cat.  Now, the Turkish van is a rare breed, while the pattern as such is not uncommon at all.

If she is much black on the body, she is Black and White.  If the black on the body is like a coat, with tumma and breast white, she may be called popularly for a tuxedo.

If the black are splotches, it may be called for Harlequin...

It would be easier with a couple more of good photos for description!

What breed you ask. There arent so many breed cats. Perhaps 3% of them all.  And most of these are the wellknown, popular breeds like Persian, Ragdoll, Maine Coon, Siamese, Bengal... The others are even more scarce, like the mentioned Turkish Van.

Most cats, about 97%, dont belong to any especial breed, and are called domestic cats, or popularly for moggies.

Shorthair or longhair.

Yours is a domestic shorthair, with the pattern as skissed above.

Good luck!

Welcome to our Forums!

 

[dominocat]

This cat was abandoned on the farm where I live and I took him in and castrated him to make sure there weren't any more wild cats around here. He is a very sweet cat and I wonder what breed he might have in him and if you have some tips on how to take care of his fur. I brush him every day and give him a bath twice a month.

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• dominocat
• Aug 24, 2013