When can you tell if a kitten will be "long hair"

sylvastar

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
37
Purraise
1
So I adopted a stray (she has short hair) and she had 2 kittens. Because she got pregnant before I got her, I don't know if the father was a long or short hair. I'm just wondering, when you can tell a kittens coat will be long vs short? And are there any early signs? I know its not that big of a deal and time will tell... but I'm just curious.

Thanks for any and all replies.
 
Last edited:

orientalslave

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Messages
3,425
Purraise
114
Location
Scotland
Kitten coats can be a bit ambiguous - they are all a bit fluffy to start with.  When my cat had kittens, way back in 1993, it was obvious from the off that one kitten had a different coat to the others, and she was LH.  I wondered if one of the kittens I fostered last year was LH but I've seen a photo of him aged 8 months and he has what looks to be quite a short sleek coat.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

sylvastar

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
37
Purraise
1
Yeah the kittens are just over 1 week old and I can tell they have different coats. One seems sleeker but the hair stands out more, and the other is more cotton like but the hair seems shorter?? I don't know if that all that great of a description. And honestly I don't know which one is more likely to describe a kitten that would have a long coat.
 

nerdrock

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
971
Purraise
34
Out of my four cats that I've had all were shorthair, but I only had two of them as kittens. The first was very sleek and obviously shorthaired when she was a kitten, the other we were positive was going to be a longhair. Her hair stood up everywhere and she was very, very poofy. Nope, she just ended up having a very thick, dense shorthair coat. 
 

missymotus

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
9,234
Purraise
254
By around 6-8 weeks you should be able to tell, especially if there are different fur lengths in the litter to compare. I know a Somali & Aby breeder who can tell before that age by the fuzziness of the coat.
 

orientalslave

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Messages
3,425
Purraise
114
Location
Scotland
PS this was the kitten I was refering to at 5 weeks, looking less fluffy than a couple of weeks earlier:

 

orientalslave

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Messages
3,425
Purraise
114
Location
Scotland
Thanks, they were all naughty!  I remember the panic the first time I couldn't find them - they had discovered the linen drawers under my bed.  I was able to mix them in with my own cats (only when I was in of course) once they were 5-6 weeks old.
 

northernglow

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
2,061
Purraise
34
Location
Finland
My Utu was a 'surprise' longhair. His parents are British Shorthairs and so are his siblings. When I went to see him for the first time he was 4 weeks old and I thought it was quite clear he is a longhair (I didn't have any experience in SH/LH kitten comparing). The coat felt completely different and was just different looking, the breeder said that it was just due to his color (the only silver in the litter) but when another BSH breeder visited them she confirmed Utu indeed was a longhair. Someone who breeds short- and longhairs can usually tell very early (during the first days). I think the tail, ears and paws are usually the first parts to give away the possible longhairiness. (Is that even a word? 
)

Now that I look at Utu's kitten pics, it looks very obvious that he is a longhair, but because he wasn't expected to be one the breeder kinda didn't maybe see it because of that. Link to a pic when he was 4 weeks with his siblings, he's the silver one next to his black sister: http://nuppu.pp.fi/images/image/pennut -4vk/IMG_9011.jpg
 

bshcatlover

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
127
Purraise
24
Location
London, Ontario
I'm not sure how true this is, but I once read that long-haired kittens open their eyes later than short-haired kittens.  It said that typically short-haired kittens open their eyes at about 5-7 days while long-haired kittens open their eyes at about 10-14 days.
Now that I look at Utu's kitten pics, it looks very obvious that he is a longhair, but because he wasn't expected to be one the breeder kinda didn't maybe see it because of that. Link to a pic when he was 4 weeks with his siblings, he's the silver one next to his black sister: http://nuppu.pp.fi/images/image/pennut -4vk/IMG_9011.jpg
OMG! Soooooo cute!!!! 
 

pushylady

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 26, 2005
Messages
16,398
Purraise
451
Location
Canada
PS this was the kitten I was refering to at 5 weeks, looking less fluffy than a couple of weeks earlier:

That is one naughty looking kitten! He's just sitting there thinking about the trouble he could get into. :D
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

sylvastar

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
37
Purraise
1
Thanks for the information. I guess time will tell.

And that orange kitten really does look like he is about to get into something... so cute!
 

bexxx

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
2
Purraise
1
help... ive been after a long haired kitten for over a year now. how can i tell if hell be long haired by a pic as i havent see him yet has hes only 5 weeks old. the lady who has the kittens said the dad and mum are domestick long haired .

ill try and add a pic.. plse help.
 

orientalslave

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Messages
3,425
Purraise
114
Location
Scotland
But he needs to be quite a bit older than 5 weeks before he can come to you - at least 8 weeks, 10 weeks is better and 12 weeks even better.  Hopefully the people who have him at present are on top of worm and flea control.
 

naezmi

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Apr 15, 2017
Messages
22
Purraise
0
By around 6-8 weeks you should be able to tell, especially if there are different fur lengths in the litter to compare. I know a Somali & Aby breeder who can tell before that age by the fuzziness of the coat.
Can you tell
By around 6-8 weeks you should be able to tell, especially if there are different fur lengths in the litter to compare. I know a Somali & Aby breeder who can tell before that age by the fuzziness of the coat.
Hi,

Can you give me contact info to that Somali & Aby breeder? Thank you!
 

abyeb

Charlie's Purrson
Veteran
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
7,565
Purraise
9,599
Can you tell


Hi,

Can you give me contact info to that Somali & Aby breeder? Thank you!
This is an old thread, and unfortunately I don't think any of these members are still around TCS. I can give you recommendations for breeders, though. For Abys, Zehnder (there is no contact info online, you have to go to a show to connect with this person), Abycastle (Abycastle Abyssinians), and Nudawnz (Friemoth Family Cats) are excellent. Nudawnz breeds both Aby and Somali. These breeders have all bred national winners.
 
Top