Is my kitten going to be a long haired cat?

skrumtuoscatlayd

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Hi, I recently had a litter of kittens and was wondering if one of my white kitten will be long/medium hair? His coat seemed somewhat longer than his siblings and he was also more affectionate (he's super affectionate, he would lick all over me, my face, my hand my hair whenever he sees me)
VideoCapture_20211003-082140.jpg

The coat around his neck and face is short but it gets longer towards his lower body especially his tail
Any idea? It would be helpful if I could get a picture of a long/medium haired cat when kitten and after growth
From looking at him now my projection of his growth looks somewhat like this (except for odd eye)😊
20211003_084739.jpg

Do you think my expectation is too high?
 
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GoldyCat

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From the length of the hair on her tail I'd say longhair. Many longhair cats actually have fairly short hair around the face and head and it gets longer as it goes down the body.
 
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skrumtuoscatlayd

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Idk because I've seen other kittens who looked fluffy when kitten but ended up with sleek short hair when adult. Besides his parents are both short haired
Here's better picture of the boy
20211003_094616.jpg

He's mama's favourite
To compare with her brother,
20211003_094546.jpg

The brother has slightly shorter hair. Difference is hardly noticeable
One thing I noticed as well about my kittens is that their head is also smaller compared to other kittens. Wonder what that indicates
 

Caspers Human

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Do you know whether either or both of his parents had long hair?

If both parents are long haired, all kittens should be long haired. If one of the parents is long haired, kittens might be long or short haired, depending on which genes either of the parents carry.

Since you know that all the other kittens in his litter are short haired, it would be an infinitesimally small chance that both parents could have long hair. Two long haired parents will produce long haired kittens virtually all the time. So, by process of elimination, we already know that both parents can't have long hair. This means that it comes down to whether a short haired parent had a dominant or recessive gene which controls hair length. Here is where things get funky.

If one parent has long hair but the short haired parent has a dominant gene, all kittens should be short haired but, if the short haired has a recessive gene, it's a 50/50 shot whether any given kitten will have long or short hair. This does not mean that 50% of the kittens will be short and 50% will be long. It means that God flips a coin for each kitten then, if it's heads, that kitten will be long and, if tails, that kitten will be short.

If both parents have short hair but one of them has a dominant gene, there is a 75% chance of the kittens being short and a 25% chance of them being being long. Remember, that means chances for each kitten, not the whole litter. It is theoretically possible for all the kittens to be short haired or the other way around.

If both parents have short hair and both of them have a dominant gene, it's a virtual slam dunk that all kittens will be short.
(Like one in a zillion! ;) )

Remember, when we're talking about probability, we're not talking about the whole litter. We're talking about probability for each kitten. Even though flipping a (fair) coin gives a 50/50 probability of being heads or tails, it is still possible to flip a coin 100 times and have all flips come up tails.

See? I told you this was going to get funky! Didn't I? ;) ;) ;)

Now, I forget a lot of the math. I studied this a long time ago and my memory is faded. However, if you boil it all down, I think that the chances of having a long haired kitten should be along the lines of 35%.

Imagine this: Put 100 colored marbles in a bag. 65 black ones and 35 white ones. Every kitten that is conceived it gets to pull a marble out of the bag. If it's black, the kitten will be born with short hair. If it's white the kitten will be born with long hair.

I think your kitten LOOKS like it has long hair but, sometimes, kittens have poofy hair when they are little but end up short after they grow up.

If you can tell us whether one of the parents had long hair, I'd say that your kitten is long.

If both parents were short haired, then it would be a crap shoot whether your kitten is short or long.
 
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skrumtuoscatlayd

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Do you know whether either or both of his parents had long hair?

If both parents are long haired, all kittens should be long haired. If one of the parents is long haired, kittens might be long or short haired, depending on which genes either of the parents carry.

Since you know that all the other kittens in his litter are short haired, it would be an infinitesimally small chance that both parents could have long hair. Two long haired parents will produce long haired kittens virtually all the time. So, by process of elimination, we already know that both parents can't have long hair. This means that it comes down to whether a short haired parent had a dominant or recessive gene which controls hair length. Here is where things get funky.

If one parent has long hair but the short haired parent has a dominant gene, all kittens should be short haired but, if the short haired has a recessive gene, it's a 50/50 shot whether any given kitten will have long or short hair. This does not mean that 50% of the kittens will be short and 50% will be long. It means that God flips a coin for each kitten then, if it's heads, that kitten will be long and, if tails, that kitten will be short.

If both parents have short hair but one of them has a dominant gene, there is a 75% chance of the kittens being short and a 25% chance of them being being long. Remember, that means chances for each kitten, not the whole litter. It is theoretically possible for all the kittens to be short haired or the other way around.

If both parents have short hair and both of them have a dominant gene, it's a virtual slam dunk that all kittens will be short.
(Like one in a zillion! ;) )

Remember, when we're talking about probability, we're not talking about the whole litter. We're talking about probability for each kitten. Even though flipping a (fair) coin gives a 50/50 probability of being heads or tails, it is still possible to flip a coin 100 times and have all flips come up tails.

See? I told you this was going to get funky! Didn't I? ;) ;) ;)

Now, I forget a lot of the math. I studied this a long time ago and my memory is faded. However, if you boil it all down, I think that the chances of having a long haired kitten should be along the lines of 35%.

Imagine this: Put 100 colored marbles in a bag. 65 black ones and 35 white ones. Every kitten that is conceived it gets to pull a marble out of the bag. If it's black, the kitten will be born with short hair. If it's white the kitten will be born with long hair.

I think your kitten LOOKS like it has long hair but, sometimes, kittens have poofy hair when they are little but end up short after they grow up.

If you can tell us whether one of the parents had long hair, I'd say that your kitten is long.

If both parents were short haired, then it would be a crap shoot whether your kitten is short or long.
Yeah I know the probablity and gene theories. Both parents are short haired. But its still possible for the parents to carry recessive long haired gene from their own parents right? Or is long haired gene only come in dominant form?
Funny thing is when I met one of person who wanted to adopt my white kittens they told me they were long haired! I was undoubtedly thinking that they were short haired because I know their parents are short haired and I know how fluffy long haired cats are even when they are kittens. It might be that their hair may seem longer than they rwally are because they have leaner body with smaller head compared to other kittens
 

Maurey

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Yes, SH parents can produce LH kittens because the LH gene is recessive. Based on the tail, I’d say LH, but only time will tell for certain.
 
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skrumtuoscatlayd

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Yes I found that out too after a google search. I thought gene that expresses longcoat would be dominant but turns out it was recessive
Still I doubt he'd be "long" long haired cat
As for tail, the tail of short haired mom cat is also longer than other part of her body but it still looks slim and not poofy as those of long haired cats, as they are all pointing towards the tip of the tail. So I don't wanna put my hopes up just by looking at his tail, but as you said only time will tell
Can't wait til he grows up
 
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