Tabby Dsh - Or Something Else?

fiorya

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Hey everyone! A few weeks ago, I found this kitten (named Iris) in a parking lot. I have no idea what her pedigree is, but I'm assuming she's a regular domestic shorthair. ~9 weeks old.

But I'm not completely sure, because look at her ears! They're huge!! And pointy.

20170730_123940.jpg

^ When she was about 6-7 wks old

20170806_153103.jpg

^ Today (about 9 wks old)

She is also very slender. Shorthair coat, fur is kind of rough but I think that may be because she's still growing it in.

She has some white hairs that stand out amongst her tabby markings. They've gotten more prominent as she's gotten older.

More pics:

20170801_164108.jpg

20170730_124441.jpg


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^ She has ear tufts at the top that are barely visible.


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^ Sleeping next to my other cat Daisy. You can just barely see the white hairs on her coat in this pic.


20170806_190853.jpg

Personality-wise, she is extremely playful and loves to hunt down toys. She won't cuddle, but she likes to climb up me and sit on my shoulders (as you can probably tell).

She also doesn't seem to mind water too much. She plays in her water fountain.

She's very intelligent and learns puzzles and new games within minutes. She's learned how to tap my phone to unlock it, and she will play some of my phone games with me. (Games that require tapping the screen to get an outcome.) I've never had a kitten do this before. Daisy shows interest in screens (and she kind of learned how to turn the alarm off on my phone), but not to the extent that Iris has.

I'm sure she's "just" a regular shorthair, but just wanted to see if you guys have any other ideas. Regardless, I hope you've enjoyed all the kitty pics. :p
 

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Alejandra Rico

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Mmmm... Quite a lovely girl, I must say.
Well, without papers, you know, we can only be sure that she is a domestic short hair.
Now, if I had to guess... Maybe some distant Savannah influence? Savannah cats are allowed to have either brick red or black noses, and have those big ears that make them look so cute.
 

abyeb

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Mmmm... Quite a lovely girl, I must say.
Well, without papers, you know, we can only be sure that she is a domestic short hair.
Now, if I had to guess... Maybe some distant Savannah influence? Savannah cats are allowed to have either brick red or black noses, and have those big ears that make them look so cute.
Good thinking! Yeah, I could see some possible Savannah influence in this baby, with her big ears and slender body. Although, as others have said, she is technically a DSH, brown spotted tabby in coloring.

Fiorya, I have a somewhat strange-sounding request. Can you post a picture of the back of Iris's ears? What I'm curious about is if she has something called ocelli, a trait found in Servals and their domestic hybrid offshoot breed, the Savannah.
 

1CatOverTheLine

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Good thinking! Yeah, I could see some possible Savannah influence in this baby, with her big ears and slender body. Although, as others have said, she is technically a DSH, brown spotted tabby in coloring.

Fiorya, I have a somewhat strange-sounding request. Can you post a picture of the back of Iris's ears? What I'm curious about is if she has something called ocelli, a trait found in Servals and their domestic hybrid offshoot breed, the Savannah.
If you zoom in on the image of her on the stove, you can see the flash behind her ears.

;)
.
 
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fiorya

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More pics of the back of her ears:
20170806_124503.jpg

20170806_214523.jpg

(Sorry for not cropping the images. I'm on my phone and it's a hassle. XD )

I can't tell whether they are ocelli or not. They kind of look like regular kitty ear shading.

Her ears from the front, and her eyes, definitely look similar to a Savannah, though! Especially since the ears are front-facing.
 
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fiorya

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Did some research and I think the ocelli look like the ones that are commonly found in tabbies. It was cool to learn more about them, though! I'd never noticed that some tabbies have them. I'm going to be checking for them every time I see a tabby now. :D

Still puzzled by how big her ears are, but I guess they're not too unusual. I kinda hope she doesn't grow into them. They're so cute. :3
 
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Alejandra Rico

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Did some research and I think the ocelli look like the ones that are commonly found in tabbies. It was cool to learn more about them, though! I'd never noticed that some tabbies have them. I'm going to be checking for them every time I see a tabby now. :D

Still puzzled by how big her ears are, but I guess they're not too unusual. I kinda hope she doesn't grow into them. They're so cute. :3
Well, if there is any recent Savannah influence in this lovely kitten you will soon know it when her size surpases that of DSH tabbies.
 
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fiorya

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Update:

Iris is now almost 5 months old. So I'm posting some new pics, to see what everyone thinks she looks like now. Her ears are still big - they're now larger than my others cat's, even though she's still just a kitten. But she seems about the same size as a typical kitten, so I don't think she's part savannah? At least, not in recent lineage? She weighs almost 5 lbs, which is typical for a kitten her age.

The ears: (still big and tufted and cute :p )





The coat:



Size comparison with my other cat (who is about 7 yrs old and weighs 10 lbs):



I'm thinking she is probably "just" a spotted tabby. But I'm curious if anyone has any input. The fact that she has ear tufts continues to puzzle me.
 

CThom17

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She looks a lot like our kitten, Keanu.
Oh, and female Savannah's are much smaller than male Savannah's, from what I've been reading.
20180105_223004.jpg
 

Ginger Monkey

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She looks like she could be part Egyptian Mau with those markings. Also, the personality traits you described are all the traits Egyptian Maus tend to have.
 

jen

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Without papers she is in fact a Domestic shorthair. She is beautiful though! I love her ears. You can pick apart characteristics all you want but those traits are very widespread among the domestic cat population and most cat have no specific breed ancestry or even mix.
 
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fiorya

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Hiya! This is an old thread. She's definitely a DSH tabby. As fierce and resourceful as a wild cat, though. :) She amazes me every day.
 

jen

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Oh snap! I didn't catch that someone revived an old one. Oops!
 
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