What Kind Of Cat Has Longish But Curly Fur?

[IronHippo]

Radish is my almost one year old Humane Society special! Although I secretly harbored hopes that he would end up being as large as a Maine Coon, all signs point to him being ultimately nowhere near a Maine Coon in size--he was 8 lbs, 3.5 ozs at his visit to the vet at ten months old, and he has never been very hungry, so I don't think he's going to be very big at all. He is just very fluffy! And being that he was from the shelter with no papers, I know he is not a specific breed (much less a Maine Coon), but I am curious about his fur.

I have limited cat experience but Radish is an oddball (in more ways than just his fur) in that I haven't encountered any other cat with the type of fur that he has. He is definitely what I'd think of as medium haired so I guess he carries the long hair gene, but his fur goes from straight around his head and flanks to softly waved on his mane, and then it looks like someone took a crimper to the fur under his belly and around his armpits and butt. His fur is otherwise pretty straight all along his back and tail. I was just wondering if there is a breed that does have crimped fur like he does. The only ones I could find were the Devon Rex, Selkirk Rex, Cornish Rex, and LaPerm, and none of the photos I've seen of those cats' coats look much like Radish's. But maybe it just seems that way because he isn't consistently curly?

(Of course I also believe he is just super special, but who doesn't believe that about their kitties? )

Obligatory unflattering angle, also being a toy hog

He gets much tighter curls around his butt but you can see the kink under his armpit--that pretty much runs all along his belly.

He does have some tight curls under his chin too! Can kind of see them poking out here.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[m3rma1d]

Do you brush/groom him?
To me it looks like undercoat shedding gone awry that's making a bit of a mess... Could lead to mats.

I'm not trying to sound mean. My long haired guy gets some of this and won't tolerate brushing, so I have to cut out his mats. He's not a fan of that either but whatever.

I'd bet your guy does have a Maine Coon ancestor somewhere up the line.

He's very, very cute. I wanna cuddle him!

 

[abyeb]

He’s such a handsome boy! How old is he? I do think he resembles a Maine Coon, so he might have some Maine Coon in his ancestry. Since he doesn’t have pedigree papers, he would be considered a brown tabby Domestic Longhair, if you want to be technical about it. For a cat to be “rexed” (meaning curly-coated), all of their fur needs to be curly- even their whiskers. I’ve seen some Domestic Longhair kitties before who have some wavy hair, like Radish.

 

[IronHippo]

Do you brush/groom him?
To me it looks like undercoat shedding gone awry that's making a bit of a mess... Could lead to mats.

I'm not trying to sound mean. My long haired guy gets some of this and won't tolerate brushing, so I have to cut out his mats. He's not a fan of that either but whatever.

I'd bet your guy does have a Maine Coon ancestor somewhere up the line.

He's very, very cute. I wanna cuddle him!

Yes, I do! It's fun to brush his wavy/curly parts because they bounce back. I've got straight hair so for me it's really interesting to watch! He does still get some matting if I don't brush him at least once a week, but it's always been in the ruff part around his face, which I assume is the part he can't reach when he grooms. He especially likes getting his chest fur brushed...go figure hehe.

He is so very cute and he's got the "mojo," but he hates being picked up. He's more OK with going on laps than his sister is, though, and loves cuddling in bed with us...he just doesn't like to cuddle anywhere else. I wish he liked cuddles more! His fur is very cuddle worthy!

Love your profile picture!

 

[IronHippo]

He’s such a handsome boy! How old is he? I do think he resembles a Maine Coon, so he might have some Maine Coon in his ancestry. Since he doesn’t have pedigree papers, he would be considered a brown tabby Domestic Longhair, if you want to be technical about it. For a cat to be “rexed” (meaning curly-coated), all of their fur needs to be curly- even their whiskers. I’ve seen some Domestic Longhair kitties before who have some wavy hair, like Radish.

Thank you for your response! That's interesting about the Rexes--I've never met one before and I just thought they were the funniest thing because they all look so frazzled in their photos. Now that you mention it, they did have curly whiskers! That is pretty interesting.

Radish is almost one year! 11 months by now. So he's probably pretty much fully grown...I think? He does still seem to have mild growth spurts. It's hard to tell how big he is because his sister is pretty petite and shorthaired--next to her, he just looks huge.

I'm just going to pretend that Radish is a rare type of Mini-Maine Coon

 

[Tobermory]

My Lily has curly hair, too, but I think Radish has more. So pretty! Lily’s is just on her stomach. Here’s a close-up of Lily’s curly tummy.

 

[IronHippo]

My Lily has curly hair, too, but I think Radish has more. So pretty! Lily’s is just on her stomach. Here’s a close-up of Lily’s curly tummy.
View attachment 272871

That looks just like Radish's tummy! I'd flip him over and take a photo but he's pretty firmly in loaf form right now. Lily's tummy is so cute!! So curly!

 

[Fish Em]

Kind of has a rex look.