Help with breed

[briarcat]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the site (I joined a month ago, but was lurking until now):

I have two beautiful girls. One was an ex-feral who I hand-raised when she was 5 weeks old (her mother had been struck by a car). The other I adopted from my local shelter. Both have really unique markings and I was just wondering what they could be.. any help would be greatly appreciated!

This is Talia. I rescued her from our local SPCA shelter a year ago (she's petite). She's extremely playful and LOVES her food, but tends to ignore my other kitty. She LOVES to chase butterflies outside. Could she be a grey/broken mackerel tabby DSH??

talia.jpg

• briarcat
• Mar 9, 2014

And this is Dayzi (the feral kitten I hand-raised from almost birth)- she almost looks like a mini tiger to me! She's very reserved but her affectionate side will come out and she'll occasionally sit next to me on the couch. She loves to play as well but isn't as outgoing as her sister.

This pic is of her about a month ago (she's also really small):

dayzi.jpg

• briarcat
• Mar 9, 2014

 

[alainasmom]

Welcome to the site. 

Your girls certainly are very unique and gorgeous - I was surprised to read that Talia was rescued from a shelter (rather than bought from a breeder). Did she have a previous owner who had bought her? She looks almost like a silver spotted Bengal to me, but I'm not sure - her facial shape is that of a Bengal. 

Dayzi could either be a unique tabby DSH or she could be a Toyger, which is a relatively new and rare breed. It's not very likely that you'd find one as a feral kitten wandering out by itself, but it could be possible. Her fur looks like that of a Toyger's though.

I don't know much about identifying cat breeds, but this thread certainly surprised me. Maybe another member will be able to pitch in. Very cute kitties. 

 

 

[mservant]

@BriarCat, was that picture of Dayzi taken with a filter or does she have that lovely ginger tone to her fur naturally? I have only seen one other tabby with such a red tone to their lighter colour stripes and she was a very striking youngster!  (Her fur looks darker now but she is still stunning of course - she is a long haired tabby with cream throat and belly).   Dayzi does indeed look like a little tiger here. 

Talia is stunning and I agree she has a Bengal look to her markings which are beautiful, however I think she is most probably a spotted or broken mackeral short haired grey tabby, especially as she is petite like you say.  

You have two very striking and unusually beautiful cats here and I am so happy that they have found a safe and loving home with you after their earlier, less settled lives.  I am sure many would believe you if you said you were adoptive parent to a little Toyger and a Bengal or Ocicat though no papers, genetic history or other clues to their history.   The beauty of natural cat genetics can be just as triumphant as years of human attempts to manipulate them me thinks, if not more so! 

 

 

[laralove]

Talia has oceloid spots. She is absolutely beautiful. Dayzi is also gorgeous!