Adoption Papers say she's Abyssinian but looks nothing like one

[merlewae]

I adopted my cat Lara (originally named Kiga) from "The Cat Lady" at petco about 2 years ago.

She was 6 months at the time and was the youngest one they had.

Her adoption papers say she is an Abyssinian, however she looks nothing like it. I figured she was just a ticked tabby, but i'd like to hear what some of you think

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• merlewae
• Apr 18, 2016

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• merlewae
• Apr 18, 2016

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• merlewae
• Apr 18, 2016

A quick side note- She recently got her annual vaccinations, the vet asked if she was a tom cat because she said her jaw is big. Does she look like a tom cat to you guys?

Thanks!

 

[sivyaleah]

When you say "The Cat Lady" do you mean the adoption events Petco holds?

I'm assuming as much.  If this is the case, I wouldn't trust anything they wrote as far as breed.  Many rescue organizations and shelters will put a specific breed in order to entice people, thinking they have some rare, expensive breed.  It's something I have a big issue with because there is nothing wrong with what we call a "Justa" cat - ; just a cat!  Or moogie, mixed, etc.

It's very difficult to say if a cat is a specific breed without them having actual papers on file with one of the major cat registrations, such as TICA.  It's all guess work if not and many cats are able to birth "look a like" kittens because the gene pool is so large.  It just takes 2 cats with the right genetics to sometimes wind up with a cat that appears like a pure breed (Maine Coons being one since that breed is a natural occurring one in some areas).

Your cat is a beautiful ticked tabby as you suspect. The Abyssinian is a pretty lithe looking cat; lean and muscular.  And no, she doesn't look (too) tom cattish to me at all. The only time I can really tell the difference in gender is I see an intact male because they do tend to be much more large in the jowls/muzzle area.  I'm more confused why your vet asked, when he could have just looked for himself - it isn't like the penis disappears when a male cat is neutered LOL

 

[kittylove53]

I believe you are correct. She looks like a ticked tabby to me also.I do not think Abyssinian cats have stripes. They are usually just ticked.

 

[taomom]

Go to Google Images and type in abyssinian in the search  

 you can see the difference 

 

[Kat0121]

 

http://cfa.org/Breeds/BreedsAB/Abyssinian.aspx

 

[Willowy]

She does have kind of a boofy face, more so than most females. Not quite at tomcat levels though!

On shelter intake computer forms, there's a dropdown box for breed. They have to pick one, and "domestic" might not be on there, or the employee may not know it's on there. Which is why so many shelter cats are identified with a breed. And Abyssinian is first on the list . But since she's a ticked tabby they might have picked it on purpose, hard to say.

 

[merlewae]

Thanks a bunch guys

Yeah, I figured she was just a ticked tabby, thanks for all of y'all's feedback! I appreciate it ^^

 

[Kat0121]

 
Thanks a bunch guys

Yeah, I figured she was just a ticked tabby, thanks for all of y'all's feedback! I appreciate it ^^

She's a beautiful girl. I adore tabbies. I worked in a small office once that had an office cat who was a tabby. What a sweetheart he was. Very handsome too. 

 

[inanna]

A ticked tabby is also sometimes referred to as an Abyssinian Tabby

http://www.catster.com/cats-101/tabby-cat

That maybe why her adoption papers were slightly misleading. Beautiful cat though!!! And no, she doesn't look Tom cattish to me either.

 

[blu goat]

If I saw this cat outside, I would think it was mine and take it home. I've seen a good many of them around but few with the black, long haired ridge down the spine, as on your cat and mine. My vet said it's a common domestic cat (a bit of everything)

 

[blu goat]

She looks like a mackerel tabby, like my guy

 

[taomom]

My cat has abyssinian in him, he is a chausie cat

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• taomom
• Apr 19, 2016

 

[mackiemac]

Looks A LOT like Claudia, a sweet clinic cat from a practice I worked at back about 15 years ago! She had that same sweet round face. 

Pretty ticked tabby there!

And yes, I have seen those Petco adoption events... pit bulls being adopted out as "terrier mixes", "Boxer mix", Staffordshire terriers... nothing against pit bills (except in homes with cats UNLESS the two are WELL socialized, and even then with great caution, and yes-- I know it can work out just fine). I have no problem wit pit bulls. I have more problems with liars and cheaters than I do with pit bulls. 

If someone adopts one of those pits that's being adopted out as something else, and then is ordered to get rid of the "very obvious" pit because it's a lease violation... I would thing the pet owner-adopter would have a case for fraud if it can be proven that the "breed misidentification" was intentional.If someone adopted that dog knowing that there was a breed ban in their community and only adopted THAT dog because of a tag that ID'ed the dog as something else and an approved breed and finds out it's not what they thought... it's fraud.

If someone falls in love with a kitty or poochie... it wouldn't matter if it says "mutt" or "moggy" on the cage tag. They'll fall in love anyway.