What Breed is My Cat?

Status
Not open for further replies.

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,999
Purraise
10,648
Location
Sweden
Moffacat.  Look a couple of posts above yours, to the lenghy answer for little Bell.  The answers are essentially the same as long as the point goes. 

Bee is no tabby, and the body color is not yellowish, so some differs.

Bee´s  muzzle is also somewhat longer, perhaps hinting a little nearer connection to the classical siamese compared with Bee...  Otherwise, its like TabbysMommy said, without papers or specific knowledge about the ancestry, we must assume she has no specific breed, she is a "moggie".

Good luck!
 
Last edited:

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,999
Purraise
10,648
Location
Sweden
From what I read in my cat magazines breeders who want to show make very little money and moggies can be shown as short/long haired house cat. I wrong of course. (I may be right i maybe wrong
Thrue, serious breeders got seldom financial plus from their breeding.  They go plus from something else instead, and have breeding as a hobby.  Pays better than to be a vine crops farmer in Sweden, for instant.

The losses arent as heavy and the joys more intense.   :)

It is also true almost every Show does have a show class for Household Pets, ie moggies and also unregistered purebreds.

Non serious breeders can go plus. These BYB´s  usually dont bother to go to shows. They dont bother to get good studs, using a stud which is nearest and dont cost them anything extra. They dont care much for veterinarian costs. If there is a costly surgery waiting, they get off the cat instead. They have the queens pregnant too often... etc.

Some of them are really bad villains, some are almost OK.  The color scale here goes from black into light grey...

OK,  how to insert Pics.   Writing your post you see several, 6,  rectangles above the formular.

The second from right, with 4 symbols on.  The leftest of them, the "factory" click on it (you can also hover your mouse above it, so you see the explanations).  After it it is rather intuitive.  Even I managed to load up pics from my computer.
 
Last edited:

callista

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 6, 2006
Messages
3,152
Purraise
86
Yup, cat breeding is a hobby much more than a profession. Since the average moggy is a perfectly good mouser, we never had the impetus to breed cats the way we did with dogs--hunting breeds, herding breeds, retrievers, ratters, guards and watchdogs... etc. For cat breeds, it's been about looks and temperament, and mostly about breeding pets.

Many cat shows do allow non-purebred cats. They are called "Household pet" categories. A happy, healthy, friendly cat will do best in this category, regardless of breed, and the judging is usually a little more casual than for purebred cats. It is a good way to get involved in the cat show world, and can be very fun for the cat if you have an outgoing, people-loving sort of kitty. (A shy one won't like it and won't do well, naturally. Nothing wrong with shy cats; they just shouldn't be forced onto the show bench.) You can have a rescue cat, a cat with one eye or three legs, a funny-looking cat, or a particularly striking moggy--it doesn't really matter, just so long as the cat is healthy and obviously enjoying the attention. IIRC all household pet cats need to be neutered, vaccinated, and older than a minimum age.
 
Last edited:

maewkaew

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
1,821
Purraise
155
Location
Chicago, Illinois, USA
From what I read in my cat magazines breeders who want to show make very little money and moggies can be shown as short/long haired house cat. I wrong of course. (I may be right i maybe wrong ya know you goin' ta miss me when I'm gone). Sorry. That popped into my head. A few months ago my vet phoned and asked me if I wanted a siamese. She had a male about 8 months who had been abandoned. Mad. So I've got him. Needless to say he was still whole and we presumed he hadn't had his vaccinations so it all got done. He also doesn't behave like a siamese buy that could also be from the trauma - being dumped outside. Being found by a woman and taken in over night. Then to the vet and finally to me. He hated being left alone which I can understand but I don't go out much. This was about 2 months ago. I got a moggy street kitten a few weeks ago and they adore each other. Thank goodness.
Thanks for taking in both this young rescue cat from the vet and the moggy street kitten!    Did you ( or the person who found the  cat initially,  or the vet)  try any ways to find his owner in case he might be lost?  He may be not necessarily dumped.   

 Or there are also pointed moggies just born outside.  But the finder and the vet probably determined if he was a tame cat  that had likely had a home. 

Re breed,   . Some people  (including many vets,  who usually don't really know a lot about cat breeds unless they're involved in the cat fancy  themselves)   just call all pointed shorthair cats "Siamese".   but the gene that causes the pointed pattern ( which always includes blue eyes , so having blue eyes is not some extra sign of being Siamese)  has been spread through the cat population for  over 100 years.    so there are now a lot of cats with this color pattern that have very little Siamese in them.   Probably a lot of the spread of that gene happened back in the mid 20th century when Siamese were at their most popular and fewer people back then got their cats neutered ,  more people allowed them to just roam around and mate with the moggy down the road.   So probably there are many pointed cats that are  less than 0.000001% Siamese.   

  Even when you do post photos,  we  may still be only able to make a guess  unless he's a very extreme "modern" type of Siamese. .   The more moderate older type tends to be a bit  more elongated in body and legs,  and more distinct wedge shaped muzzle than most random bred cats,  and have a short single coat.   but it's something that can be subtle .  some of them do have  more rounded heads than others  and there's a range  of size.  though they  are not heavy boned cats . 

 Sometimes it's very obvious a cat is not Siamese ,  for example they have a very round head and a very plush double coat.  and look more like a pointed British Shorthair.   Other times it's harder to tell.  ( See the answer I will write below to moffatcat about the  photo of "Bee"   )

 Others have already answered  about breeding & profit.   Show breeders seldom make a profit, in fact it's more an expensive hobby / passion .   Responsible breeders also have  a lot of expense involved in finding the best cats for breeding  ,   and this can involve traveling across the country  or to other countries.   In some cases even traveling to the country of origin ( in the case of Siamese that is of course Thailand , formerly called Siam)   to acquire breeding cats to increase the gene pool with genuine cats from the original source  -- genetically very different from  the rest of the world's cats.  

Such breeders  are spending a lot of money  and are not likely to  make profit , since those same sort of breeders usually are not breeding large numbers of cats. 

If you are wanting to show your cat,  yes it's possible to show cats without papers in the Household Pet class.    If he becomes  confident about meeting new people so that you  think he  might enjoy that,  you could give it a try.     If you're in North America he would be in the Household Pets Adults class.  ( 4 to 7 months show as HHP Kittens) 
 

maewkaew

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
1,821
Purraise
155
Location
Chicago, Illinois, USA
It's very difficult to say from one photo.   

Bee is very beautiful and looks quite a bit like my Louis,  a seal point cat adopted from a rescue group who reportedly came from a breeder that was crossing Siamese and pointed moggies.     Louis had a very long body and long legs.  and a long flat forehead.  all of which are  traits of the original Siamese.  I can't tell if Bee has those or not from just this one photo.   But Louis also had a double coat,  and his guard hairs were longer than my pedigree Siamese,  and his boning was heavier.  Those things came from his Western cat ( probably moggy) ancestors. 

What do you know about Bee's background and where  did he come from? 

  Some people  (including many vets,  who usually don't really know a lot about cat breeds unless they're involved in the cat fancy  themselves)   just call all pointed shorthair cats "Siamese".   but  the gene that causes the pointed pattern ( which always includes blue eyes so having blue eyes is not some extra sign of being Siamese)  has been spread through the cat population for  over 100 years.    so there are now a lot of cats with this color pattern that have very little Siamese in them.

Bee is closer looking to real Old Style Siamese than a lot of the photos that get posted here ,  many of which have much more plush coats and I can see right away they are no Siamese, they look closer to pointed British Shorthairs with round heads, very plush double coats etc. .

 I'm leaning toward Siamese mix ,  but it's a tough call from seeing one photo and not able to examine the coat, body, head etc.    

  If I could examine Bee in person I might have a better shot at guessing  how much  Siamese is in this kitty.    Could be anything from mostly Siamese to just a few ancestors many generations ago,  and mostly domestic shorthair ancestors,   

Really you need not only to look at the cat's traits, but also documentation about the ancestry  or geographic origin.   

Bee has lovely medium blue eye color,    somewhat deeper eye color than many pointed moggies.    but even if his eyes were even deeper blue,   that is never a definite sign because....

 1. deep blue eye color CAN turn out by random  in a pointed cat from 2 totally random-bred cats.  

 2. And  even though it USUALLY  is due to some selective breeding,  it doesnt mean the selective breeding was of cats a particular breed.  There are breeders who breed Siamese mixes  or pointed moggies with probably very little Siamese ancestry,  and over the generations they end up with cats who have excellent contrast and eye color.  Some of those faux -Siamese cats have "better" color than cats with parents directly from Siam/ Thailand.  The Siamese did not start out with deep blue eyes,  that was due to selective breeding in the West.   It can be done with ANY cats.   for example Ragdolls,   a breed started from pointed Domestic Longhairs,   and some of them have very deep  blue eye color     

A Siamese voice would be a pretty good sign of some probable recent Siamese ancestry. 

 Welcome to TCS...  I'd love to see more pictures of Bee! 
 
Last edited:

pegnog

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
9
Purraise
11
Location
canada


We adopted this long haired cat from the spca a couple of weeks ago. The third photo is after we had her shaved to get rid of the matting in her fur.  She looks peculiar to me, in a very beautiful way of course :) so i was wondering if she's a specific breed. She's also very large, almost 19 pounds.
You can't really tell from these photos but her eyes are bright orange.
 
Last edited:

pegnog

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
9
Purraise
11
Location
canada
p.s. this has nothing to do with her breed or non-breed but just wanted to point out that she is one tough kitty. she was shot 7 times with a bb gun and still has the bb's in her chest.   i'm figuring she is a dlh with a mix of don king thrown in there somewhere
 
 
Last edited by a moderator:

tabbymommy

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jan 30, 2013
Messages
632
Purraise
28
Location
ohio
She is mostlikesly a domestic longhair like you said i am just wondering who in the world is that guy don king. I aint from that centery sorry
 

catspaw66

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
5,508
Purraise
1,616
Location
Waldron, Arkansas
 
We adopted this long haired cat from the spca a couple of weeks ago. The third photo is after we had her shaved to get rid of the matting in her fur.  She looks peculiar to me, in a very beautiful way of course :) so i was wondering if she's a specific breed. She's also very large, almost 19 pounds.
You can't really tell from these photos but her eyes are bright orange.
You are correct. She is a DLH in a beautiful tortoiseshell pattern.
 

maewkaew

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
1,821
Purraise
155
Location
Chicago, Illinois, USA

We adopted this long haired cat from the spca a couple of weeks ago. The third photo is after we had her shaved to get rid of the matting in her fur.  She looks peculiar to me, in a very beautiful way of course :) so i was wondering if she's a specific breed. She's also very large, almost 19 pounds.
You can't really tell from these photos but her eyes are bright orange.
 

pegnog

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Messages
9
Purraise
11
Location
canada
i already have some on hand :)
 i had a long haired cat for the last fourteen years but she passed away last month. i still have a lot of her things, including a set of little pink conair brushes, combs and de-shedding tools  that i bought a few months ago which was lucky for this cat as i found out she loves to be brushed almost immediately when she moved in.. when i first adopted her, i could only brush the sides of her body, but she was pretty much in ecstasy while i was doing it :)
thanks guys!
 
 

llawliet

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
1
Purraise
0
We got a cat whose name is now Oliver when he was 3 days old. He was abandoned and alone and currently he is 3 years old. We have no idea on the breed but, were assuming its just a normal long hair cat but, i was wondering if anyone had an idea on anything else. We know he is not a maine coon as we already have one who is much larger. Thanks!



 

stewball

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 11, 2013
Messages
11,747
Purraise
809
Location
Tel Aviv
Oh my. Oliver is BEAUTIFUL. Such a lovely face. And what a furry tummy. He's probably a long haired moggy but gorgeous. Well done keeping him alive from 3 days old. I wouldn't be able to do it.
 

jeff farkas

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
3
Purraise
1





sorry bout that bad quality if some seemed yellow she is white lol

can you help us this is aries were trying to figure out her breed she is a stray we picked up and love her to death
 
Last edited:

catspaw66

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
5,508
Purraise
1,616
Location
Waldron, Arkansas
As with almost all of the cats in this thread, since she has no pedigree papers, she is a Domestic Shorthair. Her pattern is mostly tabby, but it looks like she has some red (orange or yellow), so I would say dilute calico tabby.
 

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,999
Purraise
10,648
Location
Sweden
 
As with almost all of the cats in this thread, since she has no pedigree papers, she is a Domestic Shorthair. Her pattern is mostly tabby, but it looks like she has some red (orange or yellow), so I would say dilute calico tabby.
He has fantastic looks, and it would be nice to give him some fancy label of a breed. But I myself dont see any clear cut look alike, and anyway, technically without papers or other proofs of ancestry, he is a domestic short hair, as Catspaw66 says.

If he is friendly and enjoys attention from people, you could of course participate in Shows, in the HOusehold Pet class.  His looks would give him plus points there. 

Calico + tabby as Catspaw mentions is tortoiseshell and white + tabby,  so we have essentially the same description, although our descriptions  come from different associations.

The question is possibly if he is diluted...   I dont dare to say anything too exact with my  so so monitor.
 

StefanZ

Advisor
Staff Member
Advisor
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
25,999
Purraise
10,648
Location
Sweden
 
We got a cat whose name is now Oliver when he was 3 days old. He was abandoned and alone and currently he is 3 years old. We have no idea on the breed but, were assuming its just a normal long hair cat but, i was wondering if anyone had an idea on anything else. We know he is not a maine coon as we already have one who is much larger. Thanks!
Llawliet.  You do have entirely right, he is "a normal long hair cat", or longhair domestic or longhair moggie.

Tabby and white.  Exact colors I dont dare to say too much with my so so monitor.

But if you want compare him with a breed you can say he is somewhat a look alike to a small Maine Coon. 

:)

Quite a nice boy!
 
Last edited:

callista

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 6, 2006
Messages
3,152
Purraise
86
I got these two cuties from the local pound, we've guessed at what they could have in them or at lest what breads they look like, ( The Maine coon, Norwegian forest cat or the Somali cat)
What bread, you say? Hmm... This catloaf looks a lot like a nice round loaf of rye. :)

(Srsly, catloaf is a thing. It's what you call it when a cat sits with all its paws tucked under.)

I think DLH for these cats, but I see a bit of a Maine Coonish look to them. Maybe they are part of the population that the Maine Coon cat came from. Do you live in the colder parts of the USA? That's where the Maine Coon first started; it was a natural breed that the breeders then refined into the MC proper.
 

pandaeyes

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Sep 21, 2013
Messages
5
Purraise
1
What bread, you say? Hmm... This catloaf looks a lot like a nice round loaf of rye. :)

(Srsly, catloaf is a thing. It's what you call it when a cat sits with all its paws tucked under.)

I think DLH for these cats, but I see a bit of a Maine Coonish look to them. Maybe they are part of the population that the Maine Coon cat came from. Do you live in the colder parts of the USA? That's where the Maine Coon first started; it was a natural breed that the breeders then refined into the MC proper.

I'm actually in Australia :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top