Is my kitten a snowshoe?

[Madisonw66]

I adopted my kitten Goose from the shelter several months ago when he was barely 2 months old he was pretty much all white except from some light shading. After a week of having him he slightly darkened, he very vocal, loves attention, constantly has to be touched or talked to, super energetic runs around the house playing with our small puppy, Everytime I end up taking a bath he has to come in and watch me and play with the water. Now at the age of 4 months he is a lot darker in shade mask on face like a V shape, his back, and ears. He is so smart it’s incredible. Do anyone know how to actually find out for sure if I have a Snowshoe Cat?

 

[amethyst]

I highly doubt your cat even has snowshoe in him, let alone is a snowshoe, they are a very rare and new breed (less then 30 years as a recognized breed) and look nothing like your kitten. If you know the parents and know they are snowshoes that is really the only way to know, there is no DNA test like they have for dogs, the best you can get is what your cat is most similar to (meaning even a purebred comes back as having traits of multiple breeds). I would call your cat a tan and white domestic short hair.

The darkening could simply be that the kitten had fever coat, if the mother was stressed, sick, or running a fever while pregnant it can cause the kitten's fur to not have correct pigment at first. It doesn't hurt the kittens, they just look light or even white at first and darken to their correct color as they grow a bit older.

 

[lutece]

Goose is adorable! I would describe him as a blue lynx point and white domestic shorthair. Blue is the term that we use in the cat fancy for gray, and lynx point means "tabby point." Most cats are not any particular breed.

It's normal for pointed cats to darken with age. Here is a good example of mama africa 's lynx point cat Missy getting darker over several years: Lynx Point Coloring

 

[StefanZ]

Agree, blue lynx point and white. He does darken up quicker than some other pointed cats, because he is a tabby too... And some pointed tabbies tend to darken on the body, its their tabby cover on the body which darkens up...

A lovely cat!