Strange Picture

[The Goodbye Bird]

I found a picture of a kitten that appears to have pointed colouration, but the black is being reduced to grey, not cream.

Legends tell of chimera cats that can be both black and grey, but supposedly this is the only way for a cat that is both grey and black to occur.

.

This unusual photo should raise some eyebrows, then. I don't see any way this could be a smoke variant.

 

[lutece]

It's hard to tell from the one picture, but it could be a seal sepia (sable) kitten, or a black kitten with fever coat, or a black kitten going through a stage with brownish body color for some other reason. Its body appears brownish, rather than gray (blue).

 

[The Goodbye Bird]

It was a craigslist ad and the poster stated that it was grey. It was only born alongside black ones.

(I'm not sure I like what the normal one is doing to it. Maybe this is just me but the way my cats jump on each other, I see a wrestling grab, neck bite, and leg kick about to happen.)

Fever coat does seem to be a possibility, though in all the examples I've seen the fur looks slightly more raggedy.

 

[lutece]

When people say "gray" it doesn't always mean a blue cat... for example, many people refer to brown tabby cats (black-based tabby) as "gray tabby," even though that term would be more correctly applied to a blue tabby.

I've had a few fever coat kittens, and the most obvious thing about them was the lighter body color compared to litter mates.

 

[The Goodbye Bird]

I've been perusing craigslist for a while and I decided two years ago that I wanted to wait for something fantastic. I also found this picture, which is likely a chimera.

Poor smudgy faced kitty doesn't know he is two. Gorgeous blue eyes though.

 

[lutece]

Could be, or could be some kind of tortie (like a mink or sepia tortie). Blue eyes are normal on a young kitten of that age. Why are you shopping for kittens on craigslist? These kittens are too young to leave their mothers.

 

[The Goodbye Bird]

Where would you recommend I shop instead? I don't intend to take them from their mothers too early.

 

[lutece]

If your plan is to adopt from a responsible rescue / shelter / foster, and you plan to wait until 12 weeks to pick up your kitten, that's fine... unfortunately there are also dodgy sellers and irresponsible backyard breeders on craigslist misrepresenting kittens as some breed, placing 6-8 week old kittens that have never seen a vet, etc., so use caution.

 

[The Goodbye Bird]

I already have a vet lined up so I can get whatever I pick out their first shots if they don't have them already. I even have a flea comb so if I end up in the very unfortunate position of having a cat that's too young and covered in fleas, I can de-flea the cat the right way. I've done this before and it does eventually get all the fleas + indoor-only = no further fleas.

I would actually rather get a kitten that has not had its first shots because there's one in the typical kitten package that may hurt the cat and some breeders don't do it.

 

[lutece]

If you intentionally adopt a kitten that is too young to leave its mother and has not had proper care, you not only risk getting a kitten with persistent issues worse than fleas... you also may be encouraging an irresponsible person to keep producing kittens without caring for them properly. It can be tempting to "rescue" a kitten from a bad breeder, but it can have the effect of keeping bad breeders in business.

There are plenty of legitimate rescues / shelters / fosters out there, and I expect that not all of them give the vaccine that you are worried about... another option would be to foster a litter yourself and then you will have more control over their vaccines. Good luck!

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, I'm gonna say fever coat too; we had a poster here a while ago who had a gray/black "pointed" kitten like that, and he turned out solid black. It looks pretty cool though.


Do you mean the FeLV vaccine? That's usually not included in the first set of vaccines, as it shouldn't be given until 8-9 weeks, plus most random owners don't want to pay for it for kittens they're going to rehome.

 

[The Goodbye Bird]

Yes that's the one. I'm actually as worried about that as I am about an owner not giving shots at all.

If they think they can sell properly vaccinated kittens for (kitten worth) + (vaccine cost) + (slight convenience) then I figure it's likely that they just took the litter to the vet and said, "Give them whatever they need," and the vet vaccinated for FeLV, especially if they were barn kittens exposed to the outside.

I keep my cats indoor only and do not vaccinate for FeLV.

 

[cataholic07]

Looks like a fever coat to me, which means mom was either very stressed during pregnancy or had an infection during pregnancy.
Some rescues/shelters do not do felv vaccines, but you can ask them about it. But remember even if your cats are indoor only, there is still always a risk if they escape or whenever you bring in new kitties.