Help with Determining Breed

[sc2212]

Hi,

We adopted this kitty when he was about 4 months old (September). He looks like a Siamese lynx point, but also a Desert Lynx. He matches the personality description of the Desert Lynx perfectly. He has really faint/muted spots and stripes on his back legs. I was hoping the second picture would show it better. The rescue said he was larger for his age. Thank you for your help!

 

[lutece]

Both your cats and your child are very cute!

From your pictures, it looks like you have a black and white domestic shorthair, and a seal lynx point domestic shorthair.

Most cats are not any particular breed, and are not mixes of breeds, unlike dogs. That doesn't make them any less special, however -- domestic shorthairs are great cats!

Personality traits are not a reliable way to determine breed ancestry in cats. There is lots of variety in the domestic cat gene pool. Domestic cats display a variety of personality traits, and come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and hair types. Each one is unique

 

[sc2212]

I'll flag your post and ask a moderator to remove those photos for you

Oh thank you so much. I just searched how to edit a post but I don’t even see 3 dots, or the word edit, or anything else available on this! Again, thank you so much!

 

[lutece]

Oh thank you so much. I just searched how to edit a post but I don’t even see 3 dots, or the word edit, or anything else available on this! Again, thank you so much!

New members can't edit their own posts, but you can always flag a post and ask for moderator help. The moderators on this site are usually very responsive and helpful. Welcome to the site

 

[sc2212]

New members can't edit their own posts, but you can always flag a post and ask for moderator help. The moderators on this site are usually very responsive and helpful. Welcome to the site

Ah gotcha, that makes sense. Thank you !

 

[StefanZ]

Yes. Also, getting hold of a cat with a very striking looks - here a seal lynx point with white, its easy to ask; nice domestic or a some especial rare breed?
After all, it happens occasionally purebreed cats gets astray. There were lotsa of them after Katrina, for example. Later on the authorities changed their mind, and allowed to rescue / evacuate also pets. And encourages rescue actions. But disasters and getting astray happens still here and there.


But here we do have an apparent litter mate?, with the same face build and exact the same basic coloration; black with white; commonly called for tuxedo.
So the answer here is easy: however nice and even striking your point is, he is a domestic.

 

[sc2212]

Yes. Also, getting hold of a cat with a very striking looks - here a seal lynx point with white, its easy to ask; nice domestic or a some especial rare breed?
After all, it happens occasionally purebreed cats gets astray. There were lotsa of them after Katrina, for example. Later on the authorities changed their mind, and allowed to rescue also pets. And encourages rescue actions. But disasters and getting astray happens still here and there.


But here we do have an apparent litter mate?, with the same face build and exact the same basic coloration; black with white; commonly called for tuxedo.
So the answer here is easy: however nice and even striking your point is, he is a domestic.

Thank you for the reply ! The tuxedo is actually 2 years old and came from a different rescue. The other kitty, he’s 7 months old.

 

[StefanZ]

OK, so I misguessed. Standing corrected! An useful lesson: dont jump to hasty conclussions, even if they seems justified.

Being a look alike doesnt need they are the same... This is true to quite a few different situations.

 

[sc2212]

OK, so I misguessed. Standing corrected! An useful lesson: dont jump to hasty conclussions, even if they seems justified.

Being a look alike doesnt need they are the same... This is true to quite a few different situations.

No worries lol ! He’s quite big it seems for his age. She’s 2yrs and he’s 7 months. And he’s only slightly smaller than her. He’s just not as filled out yet.

 

[sc2212]

Hi Again! So as Purrcy gets older he’s getting more markings. For sure on his one side he has some large spots and on the other he has one or two arrowhead-looking marks and smaller spots. It seems like he might have some Bengal mixed in there? I did train him to sit for a treat but he won’t stay long enough to get good pictures once he’s eaten the treat lol. I have to try and catch him when he’s in the sink.

 

[lutece]

Hi Again! So as Purrcy gets older he’s getting more markings. For sure on his one side he has some large spots and on the other he has one or two arrowhead-looking marks and smaller spots. It seems like he might have some Bengal mixed in there? I did train him to sit for a treat but he won’t stay long enough to get good pictures once he’s eaten the treat lol. I have to try and catch him when he’s in the sink.

It looks like a normal spot pattern for a domestic cat to me. Spots in themselves do not indicate Bengal ancestry. The wild ancestor of the domestic cat had a "broken mackerel" pattern with both stripes and spots, and this continues to be a frequently seen pattern in the domestic cat. My Chartreux cats even have ghost spots when they are babies, and they definitely are not related to Bengals

 

[sc2212]

It looks like a normal spot pattern for a domestic cat to me. Spots in themselves do not indicate Bengal ancestry. The wild ancestor of the domestic cat had a "broken mackerel" pattern with both stripes and spots, and this continues to be a frequently seen pattern in the domestic cat. My Chartreux cats even have ghost spots when they are babies, and they definitely are not related to Bengals

I’m so néw to cats and so used to dogs that I still forget breeds aren’t a common thing with cats, like with dogs. Lol he probably wonders why I keep taking pics of him and stare at him frequently. But I guess we are even since he constantly follows me around and needs to be included in everything I do. Previously I had messaged a breeder (not a Bengal breeder) and she thought he may have Bengal in him because of his body and face but he didn’t have much for markings at the time. I then found a local Bengal breeder and she thought he may have some but couldn’t say for sure because again at that time you couldn’t really see the markings. Then he recently started getting markings. She hadn’t replied back yet so I thought I’d check here. Thank you again for your help !

 

[lutece]

Sure, it's always possible that he may have Bengal ancestry. Any cat without known ancestry might be part Bengal... and no one can rule that out completely by looking at a picture. It's just not statistically likely, since most cats aren't mixed with any breed, and I'm not seeing obvious signs here.

Breeders get questions every day from people who wonder if their cat is related to that breed... often, breeders say "maybe he has some in him" because that's what most people asking the question want to hear. If a breeder says bluntly "no, he isn't a Bengal" or whatever, people often get angry or argue with other "evidence" ("my vet said he was a Bengal!" etc.) It's a lot easier for most breeders to be friendly and say "sure, maybe he has some in him."

In any case, you have a wonderful lynx point cat with his own unique looks and personality. Suspected Bengal ancestry wouldn't make your cat any more special. He's great just the way he is

 

[sc2212]

Sure, it's always possible that he may have Bengal ancestry. Any cat without known ancestry might be part Bengal... and no one can rule that out completely by looking at a picture. It's just not statistically likely, since most cats aren't mixed with any breed, and I'm not seeing obvious signs here.

Breeders get questions every day from people who wonder if their cat is related to that breed... often, breeders say "maybe he has some in him" because that's what most people asking the question want to hear. If a breeder says bluntly "no, he isn't a Bengal" or whatever, people often get angry or argue with other "evidence" ("my vet said he was a Bengal!" etc.) It's a lot easier for most breeders to be friendly and say "sure, maybe he has some in him."

In any case, you have a wonderful lynx point cat with his own unique looks and personality. Suspected Bengal ancestry wouldn't make your cat any more special. He's great just the way he is

That makes sense. Never occurred to me other people probably do the same lol. He’s definitely unique or at least compared to our other cat. Our “tuxedo” is very much a stereotypical cat, or what I always thought a cat is like. Purrcy is just like our rescue dog. He even drinks with them and comes for treats with them (we have a pit/American bulldog and an English bulldog). Plays fetch, comes into the shower/obsessed with water, comes downstairs when we come home and follows us (the adults) around. Oh and he talks A LOT and even to our one dog. He sits in the middle of whatever I’m cooking or working on. We have to guard our food or he’ll take it. Lol. Quite a character.

 

[lutece]

He does sound like quite a character! I'm glad he has an owner that appreciates and enjoys his quirks

I also have several cats that fetch and are obsessed with water... but of course my cats aren't related to Bengals! Many cats do these things. Cat breeds for the most part haven't been selectively bred for behavioral traits, unlike dogs. Although there are a few generalizations you can make about temperament in specific breeds (for example, certain breeds are higher energy on average than others), each cat also has its own unique personality, whether it belongs to a specific breed or not. And there is lots of variety in the domestic cat gene pool, including variation in behavior.

 

[sc2212]

He does sound like quite a character! I'm glad he has an owner that appreciates and enjoys his quirks

I also have several cats that fetch and are obsessed with water... but of course my cats aren't related to Bengals! Many cats do these things. Cat breeds for the most part haven't been selectively bred for behavioral traits, unlike dogs. Although there are a few generalizations you can make about temperament in specific breeds (for example, certain breeds are higher energy on average than others), each cat also has its own unique personality, whether it belongs to a specific breed or not. And there is lots of variety in the domestic cat gene pool, including variation in behavior.

Omg yes we love him !

So it sounds like basically cats domesticated themselves, to some extent. Humans didn’t really have a lot of control in selecting over time, those desired qualities, as we did with dogs?

 

[lutece]

So it sounds like basically cats domesticated themselves, to some extent. Humans didn’t really have a lot of control in selecting over time, those desired qualities, as we did with dogs?

You got it! Most cats over the ~10,000 years of cat domestication have been going out and finding their own mates without humans getting involved. For most of human history, the only significant way that humans have been involved in this process has been in transporting cats from place to place on ships and caravans. While other domestic animals (dogs, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, even chickens and rabbits, etc.) were intentionally bred by humans for many centuries to produce breeds of animals perfectly suited for their various tasks, cats' natural hunting instincts made them already perfect for their assigned task of pest control, without any selective breeding needed.

Selective cat breeding started about 150 years ago, but this has always been a very minor (and honestly rather frivolous) human hobby, involving only a very few affluent humans interested in breeding fancy cats, and only a very small percentage of the world's cats. Most cats born in the world are still the product of cats choosing their own mates, either by sneaking out of their homes while in heat, or freely breeding in feral cat colonies.

 

[sc2212]

You got it! Most cats over the ~10,000 years of cat domestication have been going out and finding their own mates without humans getting involved. For most of human history, the only significant way that humans have been involved in this process has been in transporting cats from place to place on ships and caravans. While other domestic animals (dogs, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, even chickens and rabbits, etc.) were intentionally bred by humans for many centuries to produce breeds of animals perfectly suited for their various tasks, cats' natural hunting instincts made them already perfect for their assigned task of pest control, without any selective breeding needed.

Selective cat breeding started about 150 years ago, but this has always been a very minor (and honestly rather frivolous) human hobby, involving only a very few affluent humans interested in breeding fancy cats, and only a very small percentage of the world's cats. Most cats born in the world are still the product of cats choosing their own mates, either by sneaking out of their homes while in heat, or freely breeding in feral cat colonies.

That’s a great rundown of the history!!! Thanks for all the info. I’ve read a lot so far, mostly about how far back cats go, which big cat, domestic cats are most closely related and then where domestic cats actually came from. Not so much the details of domestication.

 

[lutece]

You might enjoy this short video about cat domestication. It doesn't really touch on the (very recent) history of cat breeding, though. Cat domestication: From farms to sofas | Nature Ecology & Evolution

 

[sc2212]

You might enjoy this short video about cat domestication. It doesn't really touch on the (very recent) history of cat breeding, though. Cat domestication: From farms to sofas | Nature Ecology & Evolution

Oh that was great! Thank you!