Ollie, the forest cat?

[mkendrick3]

We found Ollie 2 years ago when he was a stray 3 month old kitten. At the time people suggested he was some kind of Maine coon mix. As he has gotten older though, he does not seem to be Maine coon, but he does have similarities to other forest cats like the Norwegian and the Siberian. What do you guys think? Is he related to a forest cat or is he just a domestic long hair? Your thoughts and comments are appreciated!!

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• mkendrick3
• Sep 21, 2016

 

[mkendrick3]

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• mkendrick3
• Sep 21, 2016

 

[mkendrick3]

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• mkendrick3
• Sep 21, 2016

 

[StefanZ]

Wow, that was a lot of handsomeness gathered together in one single place! He seems to be a classical tabby in pattern - may be difficult to see on a longhair.

I dont get the vibes of a Norwegian, sooner a Siberian- look alike.

 

[ganesha0]

I'm not a Geneticist, and I'm not a breed standard,expert, so this is pure speculation, Nevertheless, I'll be very glad to help you out..This cat is very good looking, and it seems pretty well suited to the taiga climate, I don't think this is a domestic long hair. Period.

I love the Maine Coons, Wegies and Siberians, Never had the privilege to meet one, but I´ve seen thoushand pictures, I've read a ot abou them, and I have a good grasp of their appearence. This cat doesn´t look like a Maine Coon.

This is a very interesting case

The muzzle is longish, more similar to the Wegies´s. However, the eyes are not almond shaped. They´re oval shaped. more similar to the Siberian.s. Both breeds have tufted ears, but your cat´s ears are smaller and rounder in the tips, more similar to the Siberian's.

However, your cat is not as stocky and as heavy boned as the Siberian. Its Body is slendersih,, more similar to the Wegie's.

I think I need more info about his temperament; Is he active?. Vocal?. Very affectionate?. Prone to jump great heigts and to perform dizzyng acrobatics, both indoors and outodrs?. If so, he might have a Siberian ancestor..

Is he on the quieter. lazier side when he's indoors?. Is he a bit more reserved?. Does he come alive in outdorrs and show great athetic conditions?. If so, he might have a Wegie ancestor.

Regardles of genetics, I think your cat rules. You´re lucky to live with such a magnificent feline.

 

[biancavd]

Funny how we all think differently. To me, he does give off some kind of Norwegian fibe. It's surely a mix of larger (domestic) long-haired cats, and the facial shape to me leans more towards Norwegian, if I had to pick any of the larger forest breeds that he could possibly look like. As a Siberian breeder, I simply don't see it. I am also very familiar with the Norwegian and the Maine Coon; The Norwegian has more of a triangle-shaped face, the Maine Coon overall is more square-like. To me, this face has a triangle shape. The profile is also rather flat, also more like a Norwegian than a Maine Coon. That being said, he is most likely a mix of some very stunning long haired cats - we can never know if one of those was of a specific breed.

And as our dear @StefanZ  said, he has a classic pattern. The color would be mentioned as 'Black Tabby Classic'.

A stunning boy, congratulations!

 

[angels mommy]

He's beautiful! 

I've often wondered the same thing about a neighbor kitty of my parents. He is gorgeous, with beautiful ice blue eyes!  

Here are some pictures I took of him. (I think it's a he, too much fluff to see) LOL!

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• angels mommy
• Sep 26, 2016

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• angels mommy
• Sep 26, 2016

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• angels mommy
• Sep 26, 2016

 

[ganesha0]

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• angels mommy
• Sep 26, 2016

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• angels mommy
• Sep 26, 2016

Beautiful!.. He's definetely a mix. Blue eyes ... tabby face ... white paws ... I'm just speculating, but he might have a Birman ancestor. How distant?. I cannot tell. I'm just a rookie

.

 

[angels mommy]

Thanks!  Well, you know way more than I do, so thank you for the input! I always thought he was so beautiful. I wish they'd keep him inside, but I think he just stays between the 3 houses. Doesn't wonder too far, I think.

 

[ganesha0]

 
Thanks!  Well, you know way more than I do, so thank you for the input! I always thought he was so beautiful. I wish they'd keep him inside, but I think he just stays between the 3 houses. Doesn't wonder too far, I think.

You're welcome. Yes, it would be better to keep him indoors, away from dangers and illnesses.

 

[raina21]

We found Ollie 2 years ago when he was a stray 3 month old kitten. At the time people suggested he was some kind of Maine coon mix. As he has gotten older though, he does not seem to be Maine coon, but he does have similarities to other forest cats like the Norwegian and the Siberian. What do you guys think? Is he related to a forest cat or is he just a domestic long hair? Your thoughts and comments are appreciated!!

IMG_5811.JPG

• mkendrick3
• Sep 21, 2016

M mkendrick3

Wow, what a beauty! He's certaibly not the typical domestic long hair. But I can't decide which breed he resembles most. The eyes don't scream Norwegian to me but he has a fairly straight profile and the head shape is similar. In any case, he is a very handsome cat!

I too have a cat that I think could be part-Norwegian Forest cat. This is Tesla:

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• raina21
• Sep 26, 2016

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• raina21
• Sep 26, 2016

He has a very straight profile (please ignore the mess in the background, my sister was moving out for college):

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• raina21
• Sep 26, 2016

 

[ganesha0]

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• raina21
• Sep 26, 2016

He has a very straight profile (please ignore the mess in the background, my sister was moving out for college):

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• raina21
• Sep 26, 2016

Very pleasing to the eye!. Besides the profile and the headshape, I think that his tufted ears also resemlble the Wegie's ears. He even has a black and white coat. You're right, his eyes are not almond shaped (maybe oval shaped?).. I'm not a Wegie breeder/owner, and I'm just speculating., but I would say he might be part Wegie  Is Tesla quiet?. Vocal?. Affectionate?. Reserved?. Active?. Calmer? Do you have other pets in the house?. I'm asking just to get a better idea of  him.. You adoted a feline Apollo!. I didint notice the mess until I read about it

.

 

[ganesha0]

 
Thanks!  Well, you know way more than I do, so thank you for the input! I always thought he was so beautiful. I wish they'd keep him inside, but I think he just stays between the 3 houses. Doesn't wonder too far, I think.

 
You're welcome. Yes, it would be better to keep him indoors, away from dangers and illnesses.

The neighbours should heep it safely indoors

 

[raina21]

Very pleasing to the eye!. Besides the profile and the headshape, I think that his tufted ears also resemlble the Wegie's ears. He even has a black and white coat. You're right, his eyes are not almond shaped (maybe oval shaped?).. I'm not a Wegie breeder/owner, and I'm just speculating., but I would say he might be part Wegie  Is Tesla quiet?. Vocal?. Affectionate?. Reserved?. Active?. Calmer? Do you have other pets in the house?. I'm asking just to get a better idea of  him.. You adoted a feline Apollo!. I didint notice the mess until I read about it .

ganesha0

He's pretty active, but he's only a little less than a year old. Though he can be very lazy, I often find him lounging around on our cat tree. He plays with our other two cats for a while every day.

He is also very smart. He plays fetch and knows some verbal commands. Fetch is his preferred method of play, so he knows the cammands "bring me your toy/birdie/mousie." "Where's your toy?" He also knows "be nice." When I say this when we play fetch, he will not try to scratch/play with my hand when I take the toy to throw it again. Instead, he will rub his head/chin on my hand and the toy.

He can be very vocal when he wants to and he "trills" or "chirps" a lot. You can sometimes have "conversations" with him, as sometimes he meows back when I ask him questions. His meow is very high pitched and squeaky. Its actually kinda funny considering how big he is (15lbs and under a year old, and not fat!).

We have 2 other cats in the house that he loves to play with and he cuddles with 1 of them. The other is not his biggest fan (but they still get along) so she won't cuddle with him.

Oh and he is definitely the most affectionate out of our 3, the other 2 don't really care to be petted (except when THEY decide they want to be petted). But you can pretty much pet Tesla all day and he wouldn't care too much. You can also carry him around for hours and he won't care most of the time. He actually used to love piggyback rides before he got too big for them. This is him at around 7-8 weeks riding around on my dad's back:

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• raina21
• Sep 26, 2016

He was dumped alongside our road at only 6 weeks old, so we didn't get him from an adoption center/shelter. I couldn't believe someone would ever abandon such an adorable sweetheart like him. We know he was abandoned because he was already socialized. He loved to be petted and held from the first day we got him as a tiny baby.

I spent weeks checking with neighbors and looking online to see if he belonged to someone but nobody claimed him so he is ours now

 

[ganesha0]

He was dumped alongside our road at only 6 weeks old, so we didn't get him from an adoption center/shelter. I couldn't believe someone would ever abandon such an adorable sweetheart like him. We know he was abandoned because he was already socialized. He loved to be petted and held from the first day we got him as a tiny baby.

I spent weeks checking with neighbors and looking online to see if he belonged to someone but nobody claimed him so he is ours now

Lazy at one year old?. He will probably  become just a bit lazier as he grows up. He will not be a couch potato, for sure. He gets along with the other pets, so he is easy going,,and from what you describe, he seems to be gente and affectionate in a soft, and sweet way. He trills and chirps (I know its funny to hear such soft sounds from 15-30 pund cats). And he likes to be in the cat tree (in the top spot, I suppose?).  All this traits seem consistent with the Wegie's personality. Please bear in mind that I don't have the privilege of being owned by one. The Wegie is my favorite forest breed and I try to get as much info about it as I can. Trainable wegies are not unheard of. I saw a video of a Wegie girl perfoming tricks for his dad (with food rewards, of course). Tesla lives up to its name

.. Now, the Piggy Back ride love and the fact that he's 15lb before turning one year old might come from another ancestor. Devon Rexes and Shpynxes love piggy back rides. Wegies?, I'm not sure. It´s likely that yout will cat continue to grow and gain weight for the next 2 to 3 years.. Wegies are on the big side, but not that big!. Yes, I think he 's a Wegie Mix.

Congratuations, you're lucky to live with such a gente soul.

Yes, there are people who simply cannot understand that a pet is not a being to buy on a whim,, but a lifetime commitment, and a serious responsability that implies doiig everything they can to keep the cat safe and healthy, and doing the right math, in order to be shure that they can afford to own a pet,

I'm happy for you and for Tesla. Cheers.

 

[Anne]

Domestic (i.e. "not purebreds") have such a huge variety. There are so many facial and body types and when you keep mixing that genetic pool, you never know what will come out in the swirls. IMO, that means a domestic longhair can be larger than usual and then we can look at him and say things like "the eyes are like breed X and the nose is like breed Y". Which may very well be true but doesn't say much about any actual genetic connection with these breeds. 

I think there are genetic tests available today for some genetic markers, so if anyone is curious enough to pay for those, that might be an option. 

 

[pc nguyen]

wow he looks wonderful with his beauty. I can relieze he a man from the first sight. Handsome boy ^^

 

[Norachan]

Ollie is gorgeous, whatever he is.

He looks a bit like my girl Chicken. She was born into the feral colony I take care of and the only thing I know she has in her for sure is Japanese bob-tail. Other than that, she's just a lucky mix of genes.

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• Norachan
• Sep 27, 2016

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• Norachan
• Sep 27, 2016

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• Norachan
• Sep 27, 2016

That's her half-brother, Button Moon, lying behind her.

 

[ganesha0]

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• Norachan
• Sep 27, 2016

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• Norachan
• Sep 27, 2016

That's her half-brother, Button Moon, lying behind her.

Beautiful!. Is her brother bob tailed too?

 

[Norachan]

No, Chicken and Button both have long tails with a slight kink in the end. Their other sisters have bob-tails or funny little corkscrew tails. On the long haired cats the bob-tail looks like a little pom-pom.