What breed do our kittens appear to be?

[KittyMamaNJ]

Hi guys! I'm new here, and really excited to be a part of this cat community.

We are curious to know if anyone can help identify the breed(s) of our kittens. A friend mentioned that they have some Bengal-like markings on their bellies. While we know their coat is Tabby, we would love to hear your thoughts on what breed(s) they might be.

Thank you for your assistance!

 

[Caspers Human]

OMFG! I think I just had a heart attack from the cuteness overload!
How do you ever tell them apart!

Tabbies commonly have spots of their tummies and white under the chin. The main giveaway for a tabby cat is the "Letter-M" shaped marking on the forehead and the stripes at the corners of the eyes.

Unless you have information, otherwise, you can just call them "Domestic Shorthair." 90% of all cats are considered domestic. If you have a Persian, a Siamese or other specific breed there will usually be papers from a breeder that say so. If you have direct evidence that both the mother and father are a specific breed, you can say that the kittens are also the same breed but, without papers, you don't have ironclad proof.

Specifically, your two kitties are "Mackerels." There are four main kinds of tabby cats: Classic/swirl, Spotted, Ticked and Striped (AKA: Mackerel.)

I've got a Mackerel, the spittin' image of your two, laying down by my feet, under my desk, right now!

Tabbies have always been my favorite kind of cat!

 

[Alldara]

They are so cute!! And welcome to the community.
Unlike dogs, cats are usually not breeds and are rather "mutts" called domestic short hair or domestic long hair.

The spots are actually really common in tabbies. Tabby markings span across almost all breeds making it further impossible to tell if there's a particular "mix" in your cat by tabby coat. Identifying the 5 Types of Tabby Cat Markings

Cat breeders don't generally allow their breeding cats to roam, so it's not too likely that there's bengal breed in a local population. Especially since true bengals are a mix of a wild cat. But that's not to say it can't happen!

Backyard breeders often market spotted tabbies as bengals which further confuses people. Those faux bengals can end up in pet stores too. Then people breed the ones they get from those breeders or pet stores and call them bengals which furthers the myth.

 

[KittyMamaNJ]

Thank you guys, so much!!! I just made their appointments to get neutered, chipped and vaccinated and selected the "Domestic Shorthair" option. I assumed that was the case, as it's common.
They wear different colored collars so we can tell the difference between them.
Thank you for the mackerel information, I wasn't aware of that.
Scribble and Scrabble wanted me to thank you both for being so informative and kind.
We appreciate your input. Have a wonderful day.

 

[Meowmee]

Hi guys! I'm new here, and really excited to be a part of this cat community.

We are curious to know if anyone can help identify the breed(s) of our kittens. A friend mentioned that they have some Bengal-like markings on their bellies. While we know their coat is Tabby, we would love to hear your thoughts on what breed(s) they might be.

Thank you for your assistance!

They are beautiful kitties you didn’t say where you got them or anything about their background. Most cats are going to be a domestic shorthair or domestic long hair and not purebred and even if they had some bengal ancestry, without papers and proof of their lineage, they would not be considered pb pedigree cats etc.

I think their pattern is a broken mackerel with spots and it is possible that tabbies can have spots.

One of the variations is called the spotted tabby where they will still have some stripes but more spots.

I’m not sure which pattern they have for sure but it does look a little unusual to me so I will be the odd person out and say there’s a possibility of some Bengal or other ancestry somewhere. They also look like they have oriental ancestry from their face shape and body shape.

I have had several tabby cats who were Mackerel pattern but none of them had spots like this. So I’m not sure how common it is, at least in my area. I think Merlin was my only tabby who did have some spots, but they were hard to see because he was a ginger bicolor tuxedo and they seemed to blend in, and he was very fluffy. Cinnamon is the only classic tabby pattern cat I have, he is also a dilute ginger tuxedo and he has the classic bullseye swirl on his side area.

By the way, tabby is not a “breed” so it is not a question of tabby versus Bengal. It’s a question of a domestic short hair cat versus Bengal or some other breed. Tabby is a pattern and almost all cats have the genes for the tabby pattern, but they can have other genes that will make it not be visible.

Bengals are also considered tabby cats by many, but they have much more unusual distinct patterns because of their lineage being partly non-domestic. The most common bengal patterns you will see will be rosettes which are spots which look very different and the marbled patterns. Some are also pointed due to breeding with siamese cats.

Your kitties look like dsh possible broken mackerel brown tabbies to me and I would add with spots