Mixed Bag Litter! Wondering About The Breed Of One?

Raina · Sep 10, 2017

A litter of kittens showed up in my parent's neighborhood. This isn't too unusual as they live near a lake area and it's very common for people to drop off their unwanted pets there. My dad's plan was to capture the kittens and just release them elsewhere, making them someone else's problem, so...instead of letting that happen, I went and managed to wrangle up three of the four. My roommate works in a vet's office so unexpectedly taking in animals is par for the course. At their vet visit, we learned they're about 8 weeks old.

The kitten I couldn't catch was pure black. The other girl kitten, who we have already adopted out, was black with a white nose and white underbelly. This is the odd-one-out kitten we have decided to keep for ourselves because...well...:

We've decided on the name Octavia. Here she is with her remaining sibling, the only boy:

The vet assistant seemed doubtful that they were from the same litter, but she wasn't sure. Octavia does seem a bit physically "stouter" than her siblings, with shorter legs, but they are mostly the same size. Her personality is a bit different than the others, she is extremely confident and fearless, her tail usually straight up as she explores new places. Didn't bat an eyelash at being introduced to the very excitable dog, which was another large part of our decision to keep her.

The vet assistant thought she might have some Maine Coon in her, so I thought I'd ask here. The face shape doesn't look quite right to me, and I personally can't tell otherwise between a Maine Coon and a longhaired tabby. At least not until they're no longer kitten-sized. Thanks for looking!

daisyd · Sep 10, 2017

Omg she is adorable ! Looks like a bit of Maine coon somewhere along the lines ! Females can have one litter with different fathers so maybe this is what happened ! Anyhow she is lush whatever her mix ! Well done for rescuing them

abyeb · Sep 10, 2017

Yeah, I agree, maybe some Maine Coon influence! So cute! :loveeyes:

mama africa · Sep 10, 2017

She is a beauty !!! No need to explain why you decided to keep her.

StefanZ · Sep 10, 2017

Maine is most probable as one of ancestors, but I would rather compare to a Sibirian...

A sweet beauty. I understand why you took her, but I do like your decisive factor: she hadnt no problems with your lively dog, and apparently not he with her either.

We are humanly enough to appreciate extra the beautiful and the sweet, but the truth is, we do defent and help vigorously everyone, including these not so beautiful and in any color. Although we do appreciate good looks and do talk breeds, none of us is rascist nor elitist.

mightyboosh · Sep 11, 2017

High on the cuteness scale there. Beautiful.

mysticmama · Sep 12, 2017

Looks like a tabby with a touch of Maine Coon in her background. I'm guessing by the looks of her ear hair

Alejandra Rico · Sep 13, 2017

I am gonna add a third option, because to me her head looks more triangular than squarish, and her nose bridge looks too thin for a Maine Coon, I think.
She looks like some Norwegian Forest kittens I have seen recently advertised by breeders (not backyard, but standard ones, with pedigree papers). Time will tell, as her features will develop and may change as she grows up, so, as always, I would suggest uploading this thread every month or so. This way we can see how she evolves and admire her gorgeous looks.
Have I said she is divine?

KatsPurrrsians · Sep 13, 2017

She is stinkin adorable!!!!

Twinklelight The Cat · Sep 14, 2017

Could you try to catch the black one ? I mean it isn't safe for he or she be alone!

Alejandra Rico · Sep 14, 2017

Twinklelight The Cat said:
Could you try to catch the black one ? I mean it isn't safe for he or she be alone!

I guess she has already "tried", as she has already catch three of the four kittens, because she knows it is not safe for them to be outside on their own. This person is already doing her best to help the cats, so I don't think she needs more pressure. I understand that you are concerned about that poor black kitty, but I don't think

Raina would let the Cat on its ownnif she could help it. Asking her to catch the cat add unnecesary pressure on her.

Raina · Sep 14, 2017

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and help! You all have mentioned breeds that I didn't even know existed. I've owned cats my whole life, but they always just came from the pound or the porch and I never gave much thought into what they were.

We have also adopted out the last remaining boy to a good home and Octavia is proving to be every bit the princess she looks like.

Twinklelight The Cat
I did try to catch the black one, but it was much, much more skittish than its siblings.

The others I could get to come close to me and the food I was offering, but the black one wasn't so easily tricked. I stayed out as long as I could with the others in the carrier, the kitten and I watching each other for awhile as I offered food, but it wouldn't budge. The sun was almost completely set and I didn't have much light left. I already couldn't see it well, as it was blending into the shadows. I had to try and approach it before the sun went down completely, and it bolted as I was standing up. It didn't even give me a chance to get close.

My parents said neither of them have seen the black kitten since, but if they happen to see it again, I'll definitely try to go back and catch it. I was also worried about him, but I don't know that there's much I can do to wrangle him up (if he's even still in the area).

mazie · Sep 14, 2017

You've done your best, that's all any one can do. Who knows, maybe he will show up again, on the other hand....

She is a beauty, I must say. A little princess like you said.

She is so photogenic. Likes having her picture taken, I can tell.

tarasgirl06 · Sep 14, 2017

stefanz said:
Maine is most probable as one of ancestors, but I would rather compare to a Sibirian...

A sweet beauty. I understand why you took her, but I do like your decisive factor: she hadnt no problems with your lively dog, and apparently not he with her either.

We are humanly enough to appreciate extra the beautiful and the sweet, but the truth is, we do defent and help vigorously everyone, including these not so beautiful and in any color. Although we do appreciate good looks and do talk breeds, none of us is rascist nor elitist.

*I love the way you think. And the way you adopt.*

tarasgirl06 · Sep 14, 2017

Raina said:
A litter of kittens showed up in my parent's neighborhood. This isn't too unusual as they live near a lake area and it's very common for people to drop off their unwanted pets there. My dad's plan was to capture the kittens and just release them elsewhere, making them someone else's problem, so...instead of letting that happen, I went and managed to wrangle up three of the four. My roommate works in a vet's office so unexpectedly taking in animals is par for the course. At their vet visit, we learned they're about 8 weeks old.

The kitten I couldn't catch was pure black. The other girl kitten, who we have already adopted out, was black with a white nose and white underbelly. This is the odd-one-out kitten we have decided to keep for ourselves because...well...:

We've decided on the name Octavia. Here she is with her remaining sibling, the only boy:

The vet assistant seemed doubtful that they were from the same litter, but she wasn't sure. Octavia does seem a bit physically "stouter" than her siblings, with shorter legs, but they are mostly the same size. Her personality is a bit different than the others, she is extremely confident and fearless, her tail usually straight up as she explores new places. Didn't bat an eyelash at being introduced to the very excitable dog, which was another large part of our decision to keep her.

The vet assistant thought she might have some Maine Coon in her, so I thought I'd ask here. The face shape doesn't look quite right to me, and I personally can't tell otherwise between a Maine Coon and a longhaired tabby. At least not until they're no longer kitten-sized. Thanks for looking!

I'd say Wegie (Norwegian Forest Cat) mix. And other posters are right -- when in heat, a female cat may have many lovers and within a family ("litter") there may be many colors and features.
I do hope the little panther is safe and/or that (s)he allows you to capture and keep safe.

basscat · Sep 14, 2017

Raina · Sep 14, 2017

Twinklelight The Cat

Well, I know I said it was highly unlikely I'd catch the black kitten... but guess who showed up tonight? I thought you'd be relieved to hear that after much running around my neighborhood, the black kitty is now safe! Aaaand I may have managed to find and catch his mom while I was at it. >.>;

Here's the little guy (or girl, I'm bad at telling when they're little):

I know this forum is for identifying breeds and such, but I thought I'd give an update here. If the mods would like to redirect me elsewhere, that's perfectly fine!

My dad called me because the black kitten was on his porch so I drove out to see if I could catch it. In a fairly long ordeal, not only did I get the black kitten, I accidentally found the mother cat as well. She was curled up on a neighbor's porch. This particular neighbor is elderly and currently hospitalized--he hasn't been home in at least a week and is currently on life support. I don't think this is his cat and suspect she picked his porch because it's quite high up and had no human foot traffic for a long period of time; I didn't see anything that would indicate she was being fed there. She was very skittish and afraid of me, but was more hungry than scared. I managed to coax her with food, and only when I got her to come near me, after much negotiating and tempting, did the black kitten finally give in.

The mother is incredibly starved, but a very pretty cat underneath the wear and tear. She has a medium coat, a tail that I think will full and bushy once clean (it's matted right now), and a very long, painfully skinny body. I haven't got a good picture of her stretched out yet.

She's surprisingly docile now, despite how nervous she seemed when outside, and is accepting of pets and particularly fond of back scratches. I think she may have been domestic once upon a time, but with the condition she's in now, I think it's time for us to intervene. If the neighbors' family show up to check on the house, my parents are going to ask about the cat just in case.

Hopefully I can get some better pictures once she's cleaned herself up a little!

The previous kittens already ran us a considerable bill at my roommate's vet's office, so we're not sure what we're going to do about these two just yet. They'll have to be dewormed for certain, as the other kittens were, but it's the feline leukemia tests that are so expensive. If anyone knows of any resources to help rescued cats like this, we'd be grateful to hear about it.

dustydiamond1 · Sep 14, 2017

Raina said:
Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and help! You all have mentioned breeds that I didn't even know existed. I've owned cats my whole life, but they always just came from the pound or the porch and I never gave much thought into what they were. We have also adopted out the last remaining boy to a good home and Octavia is proving to be every bit the princess she looks like.

Twinklelight The Cat
I did try to catch the black one, but it was much, much more skittish than its siblings. The others I could get to come close to me and the food I was offering, but the black one wasn't so easily tricked. I stayed out as long as I could with the others in the carrier, the kitten and I watching each other for awhile as I offered food, but it wouldn't budge. The sun was almost completely set and I didn't have much light left. I already couldn't see it well, as it was blending into the shadows. I had to try and approach it before the sun went down completely, and it bolted as I was standing up. It didn't even give me a chance to get close.

My parents said neither of them have seen the black kitten since, but if they happen to see it again, I'll definitely try to go back and catch it. I was also worried about him, but I don't know that there's much I can do to wrangle him up (if he's even still in the area).

dustydiamond1 · Sep 14, 2017

Raina said:
Twinklelight The Cat

Well, I know I said it was highly unlikely I'd catch the black kitten... but guess who showed up tonight? I thought you'd be relieved to hear that after much running around my neighborhood, the black kitty is now safe! Aaaand I may have managed to find and catch his mom while I was at it. >.>;

Here's the little guy (or girl, I'm bad at telling when they're little):

I know this forum is for identifying breeds and such, but I thought I'd give an update here. If the mods would like to redirect me elsewhere, that's perfectly fine!

My dad called me because the black kitten was on his porch so I drove out to see if I could catch it. In a fairly long ordeal, not only did I get the black kitten, I accidentally found the mother cat as well. She was curled up on a neighbor's porch. This particular neighbor is elderly and currently hospitalized--he hasn't been home in at least a week and is currently on life support. I don't think this is his cat and suspect she picked his porch because it's quite high up and had no human foot traffic for a long period of time; I didn't see anything that would indicate she was being fed there. She was very skittish and afraid of me, but was more hungry than scared. I managed to coax her with food, and only when I got her to come near me, after much negotiating and tempting, did the black kitten finally give in.

The mother is incredibly starved, but a very pretty cat underneath the wear and tear. She has a medium coat, a tail that I think will full and bushy once clean (it's matted right now), and a very long, painfully skinny body. I haven't got a good picture of her stretched out yet.

She's surprisingly docile now, despite how nervous she seemed when outside, and is accepting of pets and particularly fond of back scratches. I think she may have been domestic once upon a time, but with the condition she's in now, I think it's time for us to intervene. If the neighbors' family show up to check on the house, my parents are going to ask about the cat just in case.

Hopefully I can get some better pictures once she's cleaned herself up a little!

The previous kittens already ran us a considerable bill at my roommate's vet's office, so we're not sure what we're going to do about these two just yet. They'll have to be dewormed for certain, as the other kittens were, but it's the feline leukemia tests that are so expensive. If anyone knows of any resources to help rescued cats like this, we'd be grateful to hear about it.