Is my cat mixed with an Egyptian Mau or other wild cat?

[LittleRiceBall]

My boy Henry here is a 7-month-old kitten that wandered up to me at 4 months. So of course I had to keep him! As he grew, I noticed how long he was, how big his paws were (and how black with red undertones his toe beans were), how his fur has a white shimmer on the edges with a bronze undercoat, how his eyes were bright green with a funny angle, and DEFINITELY how talkative he was! That's his most defining feature (aside from his nose, which is a congenital defect): he constantly, and I mean CONSTANTLY, trills and chortles to talk to me. He meows sometimes, but it's mostly constant chortles.

I recently took a picture of him and did a reverse Google search and "Egyptian Mau" showed up first. His markings don't seem to line up, but all of his other features do. He has the extra skin on his hind legs for flexibility, is very long, has shorter front legs than back legs, and has the characteristic facial angle. Can anyone tell me what he might be?

 

[lutece]

Henry is absolutely gorgeous! I would describe him as a brown mackerel tabby domestic shorthair. Most cats are not any particular breed, so we call them domestic shorthair or longhair based on their coat length. Brown mackerel tabby is considered to be the "wild type," which is the original color of the domestic cat before any color mutations, and Henry looks like an outstanding example of the original domestic cat to me. What a handsome boy he is!

I don't think that Google is very good at identifying cat breeds... we often have people coming here with interesting suggestions from Google. I am not seeing a strong resemblance to the Egyptian Mau breed in Henry's head or body structure. Note that it's perfectly normal for domestic cats to have longer hind legs than front legs, and to have loose skin on the belly; these characteristics are not exclusive to the Egyptian Mau.

(Also note, I'm not sure what you meant by "wild cat" in the post title, but the Egyptian Mau is a domestic breed without wild feline hybridization, unlike the Bengal breed.)

 

[jefferd18]

Henry is one good-looking puss and I think the shape of his long but elegant body does look like he has Mau in him.

 

[jefferd18]

Henry is absolutely gorgeous! I would describe him as a brown mackerel tabby domestic shorthair. Most cats are not any particular breed, so we call them domestic shorthair or longhair based on their coat length. Brown mackerel tabby is considered to be the "wild type," which is the original color of the domestic cat before any color mutations, and Henry looks like an outstanding example of the original domestic cat to me. What a handsome boy he is!

I don't think that Google is very good at identifying cat breeds... we often have people coming here with interesting suggestions from Google. I am not seeing a strong resemblance to the Egyptian Mau breed in Henry's head or body structure. Note that it's perfectly normal for domestic cats to have longer hind legs than front legs, and to have loose skin on the belly; these characteristics are not exclusive to the Egyptian Mau.

(Also note, I'm not sure what you meant by "wild cat" in the post title, but the Egyptian Mau is a domestic breed without wild feline hybridization, unlike the Bengal breed.)

:

The shape of his body suggest some Mau in him.

 

[lutece]

The shape of his body suggest some Mau in him.

I'm not sure why you think that? The Egyptian Mau has finer boning than Henry, and does not have a long body... the Egyptian Mau's body is medium long.

 

[jefferd18]

I'm not sure why you think that? The Egyptian Mau has finer boning than Henry, and does not have a long body... the Egyptian Mau's body is medium long.

Really?- you can tell Henry's bone structure from these photos?

 

[lutece]

Really?- you can tell Henry's bone structure from these photos? Medium long?- okay.

Yes, the OP talks about Henry's large paws, and you can see his big paws and strong boning in the pictures. He's a gorgeous young man with his own special look

 

[LittleRiceBall]

Henry is absolutely gorgeous! I would describe him as a brown mackerel tabby domestic shorthair. Most cats are not any particular breed, so we call them domestic shorthair or longhair based on their coat length. Brown mackerel tabby is considered to be the "wild type," which is the original color of the domestic cat before any color mutations, and Henry looks like an outstanding example of the original domestic cat to me. What a handsome boy he is!

I don't think that Google is very good at identifying cat breeds... we often have people coming here with interesting suggestions from Google. I am not seeing a strong resemblance to the Egyptian Mau breed in Henry's head or body structure. Note that it's perfectly normal for domestic cats to have longer hind legs than front legs, and to have loose skin on the belly; these characteristics are not exclusive to the Egyptian Mau.

(Also note, I'm not sure what you meant by "wild cat" in the post title, but the Egyptian Mau is a domestic breed without wild feline hybridization, unlike the Bengal breed.)

Thanks for responding! This is very helpful. His face always looked peculiar to me so I thought he might have something interesting mixed in with him, but I think you might be right. Even if he doesn't have Mau in him, he sure acts like one! VERY talkative with high social needs. He's certainly a very special man and I love him bunches

 

[lutece]

Behavior isn't a reliable way to determine breed ancestry... Although there are general behavioral differences between breeds, individual temperament can also vary a lot from cat to cat. Compared to dog breeds, cat breeds have not been in existence for very long, most cats do not belong to any breed, and most cat breeds weren't selectively bred for their behavioral characteristics.

My cats all belong to a breed that is known for being extremely quiet, but occasionally I have a super extrovert kitten that constantly jumps up on my lap, talks all day and will NOT shut up

Henry sounds like a wonderful cat and I'm glad that you have each other!