A mix with "big" breeds?

[mountaindont]

Hercules will be 7 months on February 14th. According to my digital scale, he's 9 LBS, but according to my analog scale, he's 10 LBS. I just need to know what breed you guys think he might be made up of, or if you think it's worth getting him tested to see. I need to figure out how big he can get so I can determine if I should start teaching him to walk on a leash. (I don't trust carriers beyond a certain weight. I know it's ridiculous, but I'm afraid some of them aren't sturdy enough for big cats, and I don't want to risk him getting hurt.) My mom and I are thinking he may have some Maine Coon in him, but we're not sure. Any help would be appreciated!

IMAGE 1: He doesn't have the ear tufts like a Maine Coon, which makes me think that he doesn't have any in him. But he does have a very slight, scruffy mane around his neck that used to be more noticeable when he was about two months old. The fur around his neck and tail are longer and only slightly more coarse than the fur around the rest of his body. The rest of his fur is silky smooth, but incredibly thick. It's water-resistant and makes it impossible to put flea medicine on him properly. (I can never get through that undercoat.)

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• mountaindont
• Feb 6, 2017

IMAGE 2: I wanted to get as good of a picture of his entire body, tail included, that I could. But since he's so squirrely, he ends up photogenic and not really practical. I can tell you that his tail is bushy, and the tail itself (minus the fur) is thick and only tapers very slightly from the base to the tip. The fur doesn't hang down, but it is bushy. You can also sort of see how thick his legs are. They look disproportionately big to me; is that just a part of being a male cat?

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• mountaindont
• Feb 6, 2017

 

[mountaindont]

I'm not sure how to edit the original post, but I just wanted to say that I don't know if he's long-haired or medium-haired. The length seems to vary depending on the location on his body. The fur on his chest, neck, and tail is long. The fur on his body is medium, but sleek and close to his body. The fur on his legs is short. And the fur on his stomach is medium and scruffy, but still silky smooth. He also has tufts of fur between his toe beans. If potential breeds are difficult to determine, though, I'd be happy with hearing possible predictions on his future weight.

 

[Kieka]

He definietly is a mix and I would agree that I don't see anything making me think Maine Coon. That face shape is very distinctive looking though.

I'd head more in the direction of some Norwegian Forest Cat or Turkish Van between the size and face shape. The coat color isn't right for the later and too short for the former but a few generations removed and some.mixing thrown in can explain that.

If the coat get longer/fuller next winter then it is most likely more towards the Norwegian. He is very pretty and I have had a cat with similar coat before. She was a bengal/Maine Coon mix and had more of a mane when she hit 2 than at 1. The face was different though and coat pattern but similar bushy tail and beginning of a mane at around that age. If he is like mine was you'll need to be careful with grooming because those mats can sneak up on you when the coat is longer in some areas than others.

If I am remembering correctly they will be about half their adult weight by 6 months. If he is 9 pounds now that would put my guess in the upper teens. I know my Link was about 7 pounds at 6 months and he is now 13 pounds. Link is a mix with one of the larger breeds though and has continued to grow even though he is almost 3 years old. I think he is close to full grown now because he is starting to fill out his frame and add more muscle where he was just lanky for the first 2.5 years. Likely your boy is a larger breed which means you can probably guess mid teens weight by 1.5 years old and then adding a little slowly over time until reaching full size at 3-5 years old. I would conservatively guess about 15 to 16 pounds wouldn't be too suprising. Go for the heavy duty cat trees if you buy one to save replacing it later to support him. Lol Also, monitor body condition rather than wieght to make sure he doesn't become overweight. I think it is easier for people to overfeed the larger cats. Its only 20-35 calories per pound which doesn't make a huge difference in portion size between enough and overfeeding.

 

[mountaindont]

He's got a very wild look about him, especially in the face. It's one of the adorable things about him. I'm very glad that he's a mix, because it gave him a very pretty look and the most amazing temperament. I'm sure that whatever he's got in him, it's diluted enough that his fur won't get too incredibly long, but if he does grow a mane, it'll make cuddling that much more comfy. I'll keep an eye on his body shape as well. Last thing I want is for this boy to get so fat that he breaks his hip jumping off a counter. Plus, his sister is about 6-7 LBS and he feels MUCH heavier when I pick him up, so I'm worried my scales are off by a couple of pounds. I'm going to have to get him to the vet pretty soon for an accurate weight, I think.

Thanks for the insight! It's nice to have some idea as to how big he'll get in the future. For transportation and cuddling reasons.

 

[mountaindont]

I went ahead and made an appointment for Hercules, since it's been suggested to monitor his body condition, and I want to make sure that he's actually a big cat and not just overweight. He's my first "big" cat, so I want to be extra careful and make sure I'm on the right track. But the more I look at Norwegian Forest Cats, and even Siberian Forest Cats, the more I realize that they have big, bulky legs just like him. So I think he may have some of one or the other in him. Thanks for helping out; it sets in stone the accommodations I need to make for him! (Now I gotta buy a big dog bed so he can snuggle with his siblings at night.)

 

[Kieka]

I went ahead and made an appointment for Hercules, since it's been suggested to monitor his body condition, and I want to make sure that he's actually a big cat and not just overweight. He's my first "big" cat, so I want to be extra careful and make sure I'm on the right track. But the more I look at Norwegian Forest Cats, and even Siberian Forest Cats, the more I realize that they have big, bulky legs just like him. So I think he may have some of one or the other in him. Thanks for helping out; it sets in stone the accommodations I need to make for him! (Now I gotta buy a big dog bed so he can snuggle with his siblings at night.)

Link is the smaller end of big and he likes to spread so I know the joys of having cat products being too small sometimes. LOL.

Kitty mansions has a deluxe tree that is good for the big boys (and girls). But if your are related to those breeds they like height and scratching so a cat tree that can stand up to them is a good investment. Just because I've run into it with Link because he plays hard the sturdier the better when it comes to everything. Link loves these little caterpillar toys and I buy them in sets with some hidden in drawers so when he tears it apart I already have a back up.

Keeping up with the vet appointments and being mindful of body condition really is the best way to go. Once you hit full grown and he levels out on the scale you can just monitor to make sure you don't tip into overweight. More strain on joints is not what our big fluffs need.

 

[mountaindont]

I learned the hard way that heavier cats can suffer from more than just illness. One of our oldest cats is overweight, and she got a hip fracture by jumping off a tree. We made her a strictly indoors cat since then, and she healed up fine, but now she's gained even more weight because she doesn't go out anymore. I just don't want something like that to happen to Hercules, so he and all of our other cats are indoors only from now on, and all spayed/neutered. Fortunately, he's not much of a jumper/climber, but he LOVES scratching, so I'll get him one of those big cat trees. (Especially since his littermate loves climbing, and their sister loves staring at people from dark places.) I'm sure having some extra room in those hidey-holes will make it easier for them to cuddle, too. Thanks for all the advice. No clue what to do for big kitties.