Hey, all. Recently, I began to think about my cats, and wonder about their lineage. Mostly, this is for my own amusement, but part of me also wonders if knowing more about my current kitty's background could help me to provide her with better healthcare, etc (I know in dogs, for instance, different breeds have very different expectations with health, disease, etc). Both of my cats have been rescues, and are undoubtedly mixed breeds, but I wonder if anyone has any thoughts that could lead to a more accurate guess than the seemingly generic Domestic Long Hair and Domestic Short Hair distinctions they came with.
This is Denver, my former cat. I lost him a month ago after 13 years together. If he was 2, as I was told, when he came to me, he lived to be 15. He was never formally diagnosed with anything, but my vet believed that he had cancer. In his prime, he was 12 lbs, and although he had long hair and a big bushy tail, I always wondered if only one of his parents were long haired. He was sweet, and a very friendly, social cat. He didn't like to be picked up, but loved to sit on laps when it was his idea, which it was more often than not. I've considered both Main Coon and Long Haired Tabby (although I'm not sure the latter is much more accurate than DLH).
Next is Patches, my current little girl. She came to me a week after losing Denver, so she's new. I'm still learning her ways, behaviors, etc. She's a year and a half old, and she was described as a Domestic Short Hair Tortoiseshell. She's smaller than Denver at 8 lbs and a considerably smaller frame. Her head is smaller and her face is less (full) than Denver's was. Her coat is beautiful, and very soft. So soft that anyone who's met her has mentioned it. Her tail is long and quite thin. So far, she's less cuddly than Denver was, but she loves attention, and she follows me all around. She's much more vocal than I remember Denver ever being, and certainly more so than he was in recent years.
This is Denver, my former cat. I lost him a month ago after 13 years together. If he was 2, as I was told, when he came to me, he lived to be 15. He was never formally diagnosed with anything, but my vet believed that he had cancer. In his prime, he was 12 lbs, and although he had long hair and a big bushy tail, I always wondered if only one of his parents were long haired. He was sweet, and a very friendly, social cat. He didn't like to be picked up, but loved to sit on laps when it was his idea, which it was more often than not. I've considered both Main Coon and Long Haired Tabby (although I'm not sure the latter is much more accurate than DLH).
Next is Patches, my current little girl. She came to me a week after losing Denver, so she's new. I'm still learning her ways, behaviors, etc. She's a year and a half old, and she was described as a Domestic Short Hair Tortoiseshell. She's smaller than Denver at 8 lbs and a considerably smaller frame. Her head is smaller and her face is less (full) than Denver's was. Her coat is beautiful, and very soft. So soft that anyone who's met her has mentioned it. Her tail is long and quite thin. So far, she's less cuddly than Denver was, but she loves attention, and she follows me all around. She's much more vocal than I remember Denver ever being, and certainly more so than he was in recent years.
