Not sure what my Jaja is...

[4rescuedkitties]

This is one of our furbabies who was rescued from the school where I used to teach. We used to think she was just a tabby, but have started wondering if she could be a li hua after watching cats101. Any thoughts?

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• 4rescuedkitties
• Jun 25, 2013

 

[maewkaew]

 Hi!  Welcome  to TCS to you and your kitties!  

I can't see a lot from just one photo but Jaja  looks like she is a pretty girl with a lovely head shape and big eyes,  and that most ancient of cat coat patterns passed down from their wild ancestors, Felis silvestris lybica - - Brown Tabby ( genetically really a Black Tabby)            

In this photo,  her pattern looks like either Brown Spotted Tabby or a Brown Mackerel Tabby with what's called a "broken mackerel tabby" pattern -- vertical stripes that are broken up.  I'm guessing the latter if you are thinking she looks  like the Li Hua,  since Li Hua cats are  Brown Mackerel Tabbies  ( usually  broken mackerel pattern and with distinct ticking.) 

But unless this school where she was rescued is IN China, it is pretty close to impossible that she would  be a Chinese Li Hua cat -- basically a type of Chinese tabby cat considered a "natural breed" ,  that has recently been recognized as a breed by some major cat associations and is now selectively bred as a pedigreed breed,   but there are very few of them in other continents and not likely to be out running around loose.  So if you are  in quite a different part of the world, it would make a lot more sense that Jaja and her ancestors are cats from the general cat population in her own area, not some Chinese cats that are incredibly rare where she is .  That doesn't mean there aren't other cats who resemble them in some ways.   But breed is not just about appearance, it is about ancestry. 

Not knowing Jaja's ancestry , she would (like most cats) be classified as a "Domestic Shorthair" which =  no particular breed / unknown ancestry,   like the vast majority of cats.  

This of course does not make her any less special.!   

Thanks for rescuing  Jaja!   We'd love to see more pictures! 

 

[4rescuedkitties]

Thanks for your help! That was really informative.

We currently have 4 cats... all rescues. Hence, the name.