Help need to know what breed my new kitten is

oscarsmummy · Nov 9, 2016

Hi we have just welcomed a kitten into our home his name is oscar i was told by the lady i got him from that he is a ragdoll and ive taken him for his first vet check and vet also confirmed that he is a ragdoll but i cant help but to have a slight doubt that he may be a cross as he has very short fur and doesnt seem to have a ragdoll temperament. I would be grateful for anyones views on this

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oscarsmummy
Nov 9, 2016

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oscarsmummy
Nov 9, 2016

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oscarsmummy
Nov 9, 2016

I have included some pics of him for reference

Kieka · Nov 10, 2016

You definitely have a little pointed kitty. Pointed refers to the points (legs, tail, ears, nose) being darker than the rest of the body and is caused by a mutation in the enzyme that is involved in melanin production. Most people immediately identify it as Siamese but it is seen in several cat breeds, randomly in no specific cat breeds and in other animals. Typically the "Cleaner" the coloring the closer to one of those pure breeds you have. A clean one will not develop darker coloration at other spots along their body or have random white spots. Over time a pointed cat can start to darken with changes in temperature as the enzyme that causes the coloration is temperature sensitive (which is also why a newborn pointed cat will be pure white, they were evenly warm in their moms).

All that said, Ragdolls are one of the pointed breeds. They are newer and developed in Riverside, CA in the 1960's. They are large long haired pointed cats that were naturally occurring until Ann decided to start breeding specifically for personality and appearance and developed the breed. The key there is that the physical and personality characteristics are naturally occurring. You can have a cat who looks and acts like a Ragdoll but has no real genetic link to the actual recognized breed.

So is yours a ragdoll? Did you get papers? Did the parents of your kitten have papers? If it is no to both of those then it is a no to yours being a Ragdoll. Pure breed cats only can be called such with proper documentation because those traits can pop up randomly. Sorry, you do have a lovely point kitten. Don't worry about the lady or your vet calling him Ragdoll; people like to label things and unless you paid big dollars for a Ragdoll it might have been simply the lady self identifying her cat as such. Although.... if you plan on getting insurance you might want your vet to change it so you don't have to pay premium for a purebred cat.

I am leaning towards short hair because I don't see toe tufts or ear tufts that I normally see in a kitten that will be long hair at full growth but I have been surprised by a kitten suddenly fluffing. Your kitten might be similar to a ragdoll in coloration and temperament but cat genetics are a wonderful thing and we get wonderful personalities and looks from what are essentially mutts in the dog world but we call cats with no discernible breed a moggie (I think it is much cuter, don't you?).

We can lovingly call those pointed of no discernible breeds: Moggie Pointed Domestic Short Hairs or Moggie Pointed Domestic Long Hairs. Here is my Link (a Moggie Pointed DSH, probably got his pointed from Siamese relations due to his body shape and who my vet has labeled a Snowshoe Siamese) displaying how the pointed coloration can change with age: