Does anyone have maybe an idea of what breed my cats may be?

reamark

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Hello I done a bit of research into what breed my Cloud and Luna might be? So far I have found quite a few pictures of Sokoke that look almost identical to my female (LUNA) and some that could look like cloud. I know there mixes but just want to see if i can pin point it for future care more or less. They are litter mates I got two of the five about five years ago this June. They both are full of  energy and love to chat, they require a lot of attention sometimes and others none. I dont know if any of this helps but photos will be posted as well. 








 

GoldyCat

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Like the vast majority of cats, they are probably no specific breed. They are gorgeous DSH (Domestic Shorthair) cats with a classic tabby pattern.

As far as being Sokoke, it's unlikely. For one thing, Sokoke is one of the rarest breeds in the world, and that's in a world where only about 5% of all cats are purebreeds. I don't think you could even call them Sokoke lookalikes. From what I can see in your pictures, the shape of the head and the body type don't fit the breed standard.

The pattern of the fur with the swirls is called classic or blotched tabby. It's found in a number of different breeds and is not uncommon in the general non-breed cat population.

If you're interested in learning more about the Sokoke cat, CFA does not recognize the breed and it's listed as a preliminary new breed in TICA. You can find a link to the TICA breed standard here. Sorry I can't give you a direct link, but it opens as a PDF file.
 

maewkaew

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Agree with GoldyCat on all points -- including that these cats are gorgeous! 

 As GoldyCat said they have a pattern called Classic Tabby ( aka Blotched Tabby)   That is from a recessive gene,  so it has to be inherited from both parents,  and in most places it is less common than the Mackerel Tabby ( the tabbies with stripes) . Classic tabby seems to be seen more in the UK  and the pattern is thought to have originated there.  or at any rate somewhere in Europe. 

Being less common,  when people see it they sometimes think it must mean the cat is some particular breed.  but it is just a special beautiful pattern that can turn up in domestic cats if both of their parents have the gene. 

 It's not known for sure how this pattern from European cats, otherwise not seen in native cats of Africa or Asia, , ended up in the Sokoke cats from East Africa.     but Kenya was a British colony  and it seems quite possible that some British government officials,  planters, etc  may have brought some pet cats from home and they mated with the local cats and spread this gene around.

 Then the pattern got combined with more ticking ( the individual hairs being banded/ striped) than usual , both in the 'background' and in the dark pattern.

I agree with Goldycat,  I'm not sure these cats really have the Sokoke type except for the coat.     

In the 2nd photo of your 2 cats,  the cat on the left is Brown Classic Tabby.   and I actually think the one on the right,  with the lighter 'background' color,  may be a Black Silver Classic Tabby,  but with the "tarnishing" often seen in random-bred cats .  Actually the "tarnishing" can look cool.    but it is called that by breeders who breed to accentuate the contrast of the Black Silver Tabby pattern so that the lighter areas are practically white.  

Black Silver Classic Tabby is the most popular pattern in the American Shorthair breed  ( which is basically like the pedigreed version of the regular domestic shorthair cats from the USA.  But it's been a pedigreed breed for a very long time,  going back to the 1800s. )  
 
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reamark

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THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! That set my mind straight :) I had a lot of people telling me a lot of different things  But now I have an answer that is informative. I'm very happy to hear you both think gorgeous as well thank you.
 
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