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What is she?
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What Breed Is My Cat?
- Thread starter Bluefae
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- #22
His fur is soft like a bunny! What is DHL?
A DLH stands for Domestic Longhair <3
It's quite possible he's got some Siberian in his lineage somewhere, but you can't be certain without a DNA test!
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Siberian cats have a short, broad face with a very rounded muzzle and chunky body. I'm not seeing a likeness to the Siberian breed in the pictures in this thread.
B
Bluefae
's kitty is beautiful, but has a much longer face, straighter nose and very different look from a Siberian cat. I am also not sure why people in this thread associate Siberians with having soft coats like bunny fur? The Siberian is not known for a particularly soft coat, although their coat texture can vary depending on bloodlines and the cat's color.
Here is lots of information about the Siberian cat.
http://cfa.org/Portals/0/documents/judges-ce/Siberian.pdf
Here is lots of information about the Siberian cat.
http://cfa.org/Portals/0/documents/judges-ce/Siberian.pdf
Oh interesting! That's something I didn't know, I thought they were all just abnormally soft lol
I know some Siberians and their coats are like, weird soft. Like silk. But yes, they are chunky with short faces!
I learn new stuff every day!
lutece
Just for fun what do you think the closest lookalike is for this cat pictured? I actually have to agree with
kosame
on Siberian being the closest lookalike for
B
Bluefae
's cat. I basically said that in my first post. You can't compare all cats to show standards. Just as a reminder. This thread is called Describing cats - What does my cat look like? There's also a disclaimer in the very first post. Have you read that? It's called a hypothesis, an educated guess. I'll get back to you on that other thread. Haven't had time yet. In the meantime @Boris Diamond has a Pure Bred Siberian and he had another before the one he has now. Maybe he can drop in and comment on how soft a Siberians fur is.
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A little more than two months ago, I was able to attend the judges seminar on the Siberian in which the PDF that I linked above was presented by the Siberian breed council secretary, and cats were also presented for handling. Some of my friends happen to be prominent breeders of Siberians, and I specifically discussed the coat with one of these friends during the seminar, because I was curious about the coat texture. (This particular friend is also a breeder of Turkish Angoras and has been working with them since the 1980s, so she is in a good position to compare the coats of those breeds. I used to cat-sit for her Turkish Angoras many years ago and that's how I first learned about that breed.)
Siberians are not known for having either particularly soft, or particularly coarse coats. The coat texture can vary from cat to cat, and can be coarse or soft, depending on bloodlines and the color of the cat. You will see that mentioned in the seminar presentation. The distinctive thing about the Siberian's coat is that it is a "triple" coat with distinct guard hairs, awn hairs, and down hairs. All cats have guard hairs, awn hairs, and down hairs in different amounts, but in the Siberian breed, these three different types of hairs are all abundant and distinct from one another.
However, what is really distinctive about the Siberian is not the coat, but the head and body type. Of the "forest cat" breeds (Norwegian, Maine Coon, Siberian) the Siberian has the shortest and broadest head type, with a broad and rounded muzzle and definite curve in the profile, almost like a moderate British Shorthair or a very primitive Persian from many years ago (although the Siberian does not have the large round eyes of those breeds).
I remember seeing the same distinctive head type on the early Siberians that another one of my friends imported from Russia during the 1990s as part of the early breeding programs in the US. These early Siberians were large cats with an overall "forest cat" appearance, but comparing them to a Norwegian Forest Cat or Maine Coon, it was striking how the head type was shorter and broader. We were used to a "natural" longhaired breed having a more moderate head type more similar to that of a typical domestic longhair, like the old Maine Coons or Norwegian Forest Cats, however the Siberians were different, almost as though they had some Persian ancestry.
Note that kosame also said about the Siberians,
I'm adding some images from the Siberian presentation. It's actually a really good presentation with lots of pictures and well worth looking at. Click to enlarge them.
As far as what breed I think bluefae's cat is closest to? It is a very beautiful cat, but not a close match in head type to any of the longhaired breeds. If you must put the cat in a category with one of those breeds,
Siberians are not known for having either particularly soft, or particularly coarse coats. The coat texture can vary from cat to cat, and can be coarse or soft, depending on bloodlines and the color of the cat. You will see that mentioned in the seminar presentation. The distinctive thing about the Siberian's coat is that it is a "triple" coat with distinct guard hairs, awn hairs, and down hairs. All cats have guard hairs, awn hairs, and down hairs in different amounts, but in the Siberian breed, these three different types of hairs are all abundant and distinct from one another.
However, what is really distinctive about the Siberian is not the coat, but the head and body type. Of the "forest cat" breeds (Norwegian, Maine Coon, Siberian) the Siberian has the shortest and broadest head type, with a broad and rounded muzzle and definite curve in the profile, almost like a moderate British Shorthair or a very primitive Persian from many years ago (although the Siberian does not have the large round eyes of those breeds).
I remember seeing the same distinctive head type on the early Siberians that another one of my friends imported from Russia during the 1990s as part of the early breeding programs in the US. These early Siberians were large cats with an overall "forest cat" appearance, but comparing them to a Norwegian Forest Cat or Maine Coon, it was striking how the head type was shorter and broader. We were used to a "natural" longhaired breed having a more moderate head type more similar to that of a typical domestic longhair, like the old Maine Coons or Norwegian Forest Cats, however the Siberians were different, almost as though they had some Persian ancestry.
Note that kosame also said about the Siberians,
That is what is really distinctive about the Siberian compared to those other breeds.
I'm adding some images from the Siberian presentation. It's actually a really good presentation with lots of pictures and well worth looking at. Click to enlarge them.
As far as what breed I think bluefae's cat is closest to? It is a very beautiful cat, but not a close match in head type to any of the longhaired breeds. If you must put the cat in a category with one of those breeds,
- The closest in head type would probably be Norwegian Forest Cat, because of the nose being long and relatively straight. The eye shape and overall head shape don't make me think of the NFC, however. The NFC has more almond shaped eyes and a more triangular head shape.
- The closest in coat type might be the Turkish Angora, although their coats are normally more flat and not so thick. The Turkish Angora has a "single" coat with a more silky texture that doesn't have a distinct difference between guard hairs and undercoat (unlike the Siberian). B Bluefae describes their cat's coat as "very thick and feels like silk. You can’t see individual strand of fur it looks all together very odd."
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I'm curious, which specific features in bluefae's cat make you think of the Siberian breed as compared to other breeds?
To be honest I would like to see more pics of the cat. I've already said this one was a hard one to call. I was actually agreeing about the Fur coat comment. From what I can tell of the cat laying down he looks to have a short stocky body. 18lbs would be a good indicator that he is a big breed cat. His head shape, ears and somewhat the eyes remind me of Siberian. I do agree that the nose is all wrong though. But, In a pet quality purebred anything is possible and they're not going to look like a show cat. You very well know this. These pics are from the CFA website. 2017-18 regions 1-9 best of breed 1st and 3rd place. To me, they don't even look like the same breed of cat. That's how much different a breed of cat can look even within CFA standards so, I don't think a pet quality cat is going to hold up to breed standards. By the way. The friend you have that breeds Siberians and Angora's. Do they have a website? I'm thinking about getting a Siberian and looking for a good breeder. Oh, the pics I posted in my last post. Any feed back? Lookalike? Guess?
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The Siberian cat in your first photo above appears to have a somewhat more extreme profile and his head is also at a different angle which emphasizes his short muzzle. Other than that, these two cats really don't look all that different to me. They are within the breed standard. In all the breeds with relatively short muzzles (American SH, British SH, Burmese, Siberian, Ragdoll, etc), you will often see different head type styles within the breed where some have a more extreme look than others... sometimes there will be a controversy within the breed about head type. Nevertheless, all cats within the Siberian breed have a relatively short muzzle compared to other cats... much shorter than the OP's cat in this thread.
It is helpful to understand the breed standard, because it tells you the characteristic features of the breed. Generally, even a pet quality cat will approximately fit the breed standard, just not as closely. If a breeder is producing cats that don't resemble the breed standard at all, and are not recognizable individuals of the breed, I would question whether they actually have cats belonging to that breed
And if an unknown cat doesn't have the characteristic features of a breed, it doesn't make sense to me to call it a lookalike, or to suspect rare breed ancestry.
I disagree that an 18 lb cat has to be a "big breed cat." Domestic cats come in all sizes and shapes and do not require any specific breed ancestry to be large. 18 bs is a large cat but not outrageously large for a male cat. We had a 30+ lb domestic shorthair when I was a child.
Which pictures did you want feedback on?
I'll be glad to send you a private message about my friend if you like.
It is helpful to understand the breed standard, because it tells you the characteristic features of the breed. Generally, even a pet quality cat will approximately fit the breed standard, just not as closely. If a breeder is producing cats that don't resemble the breed standard at all, and are not recognizable individuals of the breed, I would question whether they actually have cats belonging to that breed
And if an unknown cat doesn't have the characteristic features of a breed, it doesn't make sense to me to call it a lookalike, or to suspect rare breed ancestry.I disagree that an 18 lb cat has to be a "big breed cat." Domestic cats come in all sizes and shapes and do not require any specific breed ancestry to be large. 18 bs is a large cat but not outrageously large for a male cat. We had a 30+ lb domestic shorthair when I was a child.
Which pictures did you want feedback on?
I'll be glad to send you a private message about my friend if you like.
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Are these the pictures you wanted feedback on? Sorry, I thought that when you said "what do you think the closest lookalike is" you were referring in that post to the OP's cat
I would say the closest lookalike for this cat would be Siberian. I would be curious to see a profile picture, though.
I would say the closest lookalike for this cat would be Siberian. I would be curious to see a profile picture, though.
