What Breed is my Cat?
Cat lovers who are not actively involved in the cat fancy, often are confused about identifying terms of cats, such as purebred (pedigreed), DSH, and tabby. Hardly a day passes that I don't receive at least one email with an attached photo, asking me to help identify the "breed" of cat. The correspondent is often disappointed when my reply is, "Your cat is a beautiful example of a tuxedo DSH," or "What a lovely dilute calico domestic shorthair cat." A couple of days ago I received another photo and question about the breed of the cat, so I figured it was high time to run this article again.
Because there seems to be such a general fixation on breeds, the purpose of this article is to clarify the difference in semantics, so that the uninitiated cat lover will have a better understanding of these terms. Be sure to read the article, because tomorrow there will be a test on it. :) Jennifur aka Jenny (shown here), a lovely little stray girl who seems to have attached herself to me, is a dilute calico, or perhaps a dilute tortie with white. Under any name, she's a sweet, talkative young lady, full of "tortitude." and one of my New Year's resolutions is to fully assimilate her into our home.
Photo Credit: © Franny Syufy
Comments
so u could tell my what breed my little prince is if i showed u a picture? i have never seen a cat like him, his coat is completely white, but he has three semi large black spots on the top of his head that resemble the holes in a bowling ball, and his tail is black, it looks like someone just glued it on! his coat is medium long i would say, and very thick and so very soft. his eyes have three different shades in them on from outsid in it goes yellow, very pale green and then a darker green/medium blue, he is such a lover and i wish i knew what he was, i know he is a mutt i got him for free when i saw a sign stating “free kittens” and he was the one that stood out, the rest were mainly black. i would like to know what breeds are in him though let me know if u can help
could you tell me what breed my cat is? she is red and is striped and hase white paws and white chin that stretched down her belly, and she is lean.
jesus, people, Google is your friend. Look it up.
modchen: I suppose they could resort to Google, but guess what the top 2 links are to? All they have to do is read my article, but that’s apparently beyond some visitors.
I love your Jenny! Such a pretty little lady! I hope Jaspurr gets over himself soon and she gets to play with the whole family. If anyone can get him to play nice, its you.
I was also wondering if you could help me identify what breeds are in my beautiful China. I believe she is part Maine Coon. She is Orangish grey with black to dark orange stripes/spots all over, except her fron is white. Her mouth, nose, & a bit between the eyes. Her stripes/spots look almost like a bengals or some wild cats spots, they are not normal tabby stripes. Her eyes are the most intriguing. They are almost like snake eyes! Orangeish with green around the pupil. I have never seen cats eyes as unique as hers, and I lived on a farm with dozens & dozens of cats all their own unique shapes & colors. I have never seen one like her! She is so affectionate, she never scratches and plays so well with my 14 month old! Never has once scratched her, she just runs away. Even when backed into a corner! She’s my little “China Kitty”. I was just hoping for some clarification. I know she is a DSH, but a mix of what I was wondering.
Thank you much Franny!
I believe in you Franny! My cat made a home for herself in my backyard, underneath a bush. She is solid white, medium short hair,pink nose,and gold eyes. She’s beautiful!!! She’s not a very large cat,for I thought she was a baby herself.Till I saw her belly growing. She grabbed the opportunity when I left the garage door open to come in and have her 4 precious kittens.
Ever since I was a child I was never to fond of cats. Till “Angel” came into my life or backyard.She won’t leave.She found her way into my house. I let her out and she keeps coming back. She found a comfortable spot in my home and that’s where she gave birth to her litter.Her hair is not short or long but she’s a solid white color with gold eyes and a pink nose.Any idea what breed?
Ever since I was a child I was never to fond of cats. Till “Angel” came into my life or backyard.She won’t leave.She found her way into my house. I let her out and she keeps coming back. She found a comfortable spot in my home and that’s where she gave birth to her litter.Her hair is not short or long but she’s a solid white color with gold eyes and a pink nose.Any idea what breed?
Gracious, people – did you not even READ the article? The entire purpose of it was to tell you that the vast majority of domestic cats are various breeds intermixing for such a long time that “domestic” is the best description. Sure she could tell you what your cat looks like, but you have eyes – check yourself.