What Breed Could My Cats Be Mixed With?

CThom17

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
70
Purraise
515
Hello, after lurking for a couple of months I finally decided to join this great site. In July 2015 we adopted a male kitten from a shelter. We named him Forrest. At the time we thought he was a run of the mill tabby but over time we are thinking he may have Abyssinian mixed in. He is a very athletic and active guy who enjoys being outside on the leash. He fetches, likes water, he's talkative, he enjoys sitting on top of the refrigerator looking down on everyone and can jump really high. My son and I like to toss a toy mouse back and forth with Forrest in the middle and he jumps 40+ inches in the air and a lot of times he'll catch the toy in his mouth. He is mostly grey and white with ticked fur. On parts of his body there is noticeable light brown fur under the grey and in certain lighting, it's really noticeable. He also has light brown on his face.

Aaand onto our newly adopted kitten. In late September we adopted a male kitten from a shelter which my son named Keanu. He has a very stunning coat and already we notice he acts more like a dog than a cat. He trills and trills and squeaks and very rarely meows. He also fetches. He hides his toys, drags a 6 foot piece of rope around the house and he is intrigued by water (although he didn't like his first bath, when I'm in the shower he sits on the toilet waiting for me to finish and likes to put his paws in the water if it's not too deep). I contacted an Egyptian Mau breeder and they said that he looks more like a Savannah than a Mau. I then contacted a Savannah breeder to get their opinion and they said that he definitely has Savannah traits. I'm aware that it's virtually impossible to know for sure without knowing the cats history. We will be having a DNA test done on both cats in the future, mostly because we think it will be fun and educational.
Regardless, we absolutely love both of these fellas and are constantly amazed how blessed we are to have them with us. Thanks in advance for your time and my apologies for uploading so many photos. I wanted to show as many different angles as possible.
 

Attachments

Last edited:

abyeb

Charlie's Purrson
Veteran
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
7,565
Purraise
9,600
Forrest would be a brown ticked tabby and white Domestic Shorthair. Some Aby ancestry is possible, to get him that ticked fur, and lively disposition. Not like super recent, though. I agree that Savannah ancestry is a possibility for Keanu. I was at first thinking maybe Bengal, but it looks like he has a longer muzzle and larger ears than a Bengal. Can you attach a picture of the back of his ears?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

CThom17

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
70
Purraise
515
Hi Abyeb and thanks for your response. I'll take a few photos of the back of Keanu's ears and upload them this upcoming weekend. We have recently noticed a darker streak forming on the back of his ears but it can only be seen in certain lighting situations. It's becoming more noticeable than it was when we first adopted him.
 

abyeb

Charlie's Purrson
Veteran
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
7,565
Purraise
9,600
Hi Abyeb and thanks for your response. I'll take a few photos of the back of Keanu's ears and upload them this upcoming weekend. We have recently noticed a darker streak forming on the back of his ears but it can only be seen in certain lighting situations. It's becoming more noticeable than it was when we first adopted him.
Okay! What I'm looking for is ocelli, which is like a light stripe on the back of his ear, between two darker stripes. These are seen in early generation Savannahs. Even if Keanu doesn't have ocelli, he could still have some Savannah ancestry, it just gives us an idea of how recent. :)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

CThom17

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
70
Purraise
515
Okay! What I'm looking for is ocelli, which is like a light stripe on the back of his ear, between two darker stripes. These are seen in early generation Savannahs. Even if Keanu doesn't have ocelli, he could still have some Savannah ancestry, it just gives us an idea of how recent. :)

Hi abyeb,

I see what you mean now regarding ocelli! He definitely has ocelli. These were taken a few days after we got him. I guess I was focusing only on the darker areas and not paying attention to the lighter area in between the darker stripes at the bottom and top of his ears. Like I mentioned, I can really notice ocelli in certain lighting and It's becoming more pronounced.

When I take him outside tomorrow I'll try to get a close up of the back of his ears.

I attached another picture of Keanu with some toys he brought to bed. On Halloween, he got hold of a small Heath candy bar (in the package, he didn't eat it) and carried it upstairs and set that in the bed. I wound up eating it for him. :yummy:
 

Attachments

abyeb

Charlie's Purrson
Veteran
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
7,565
Purraise
9,600
View attachment 206860 View attachment 206862



Hi abyeb,

I see what you mean now regarding ocelli! He definitely has ocelli. These were taken a few days after we got him. I guess I was focusing only on the darker areas and not paying attention to the lighter area in between the darker stripes at the bottom and too of his ears. Like I mentioned, I can really notice ocelli in certain lighting and It's becoming more pronounced.

When I take him outside tomorrow I'll try to get a close up of the back of his ears.

I attached another picture of Keanu with some toys he brought to bed. On Halloween, he got hold of a small Heath candy bar (in the package, he didn't eat it) and carried it upstairs and set that in the bed. I wound up eating it for him. :yummy:
Yes, zooming into the picture I can see he has some pretty pronounced ocelli. :)
 

sabian

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Messages
870
Purraise
1,784
Location
North Carolina
CThom17 CThom17 - Hello Lurker! Welcome to TCS....finally!:lol: Forrest and Keanu are beautiful kitties and they obviously love each other the way they're snuggled up together! Thanks for taking them in and giving them a loving home. We'll be looking for even more pics of them in the future. You can never post to many! abyeb abyeb - Another job well done! :clap:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

CThom17

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
70
Purraise
515
So Keanu is 6-7 months old now and to me I really think he is a mid-low generation Savannah. Not only from the way he looks but also his mannerisms. 2 destroyed curtain rods so far (they are both in the shape of a V now lol). He also acts like a dog more than a cat. When we play with him, he "stalks" toys a little differently than any cat we've owned. This is exactly how he pounces on toys:
7c79fae563537a43725e4c9d6e8d2d8f.jpg

20171212_121440.jpg

20171212_121529.jpg

20171130_204443.jpg




I stay in contact with the rescue we got him from and asked if they could elaborate a bit more about who brought him in because when we got him, we were told that the story from the woman who dropped him off was "wierd" and that the "whole thing was a bit odd". Who knows, maybe it was a backyard breeder or even a "reputable" breeder who didnt want him in the breeding pool because his spots weren't perfect or his ears weren't round enough. It sucks not knowing for sure. At any rate, he's perfect for us, we all enjoy him and he's happy and that's what truly matters.
 
Top