A question often asked at a cat forum I frequent is "What breed is my cat?". I think many people are disappointed when they find out they have a domestic cat of no particular pedigree. Unless the cat came from a breeder and has papers, the cat is considered a DSH (domestic short hair) a DMH (domestic medium hair) or a DLH (domestic long hair). There are also descriptions for coat patterns, so the lovely kitty may be a "tuxedo DSH" or a "gray and white classic tabby DSH".
Domestic cats come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Pedigree cats were developed by selective breeding of domestic cats over many generations to get a desired trait. That is why modern domestic cats can have a strong resemblance to a recognized cat breed, such as a Persian. In this instance, the cat might be referred to as a Persian mix.
Here are my five domestic cats:
Abby is a gray and white mackerel tabby DSH.
Simon is a black DSH.
Baby is a tortoiseshell or tortie DSH.
Jack is a brown and white classic tabby DSH.
Daisy is a brown classic tabby DMH. I consider her a Maine Coon mix.
Here is a site with beautiful photos of tabby cats.
At the Cat Fanciers Assciation website, you can check out pedigreed breeds of cats.
MySmartyCat - Test your cat's intelligence!
2 comments:
Why would you consider Daisy a Maine Coon mix? I am only asking this because I have a cat and have no idea what breed she is. My dad seems to think she may also be a Maine Coon mix. Is there any definite way to find out?
There is no definite way to find out what type of cat you have unless you have papers from a breeder. However, you can compare your cat to the characteristics of the breed you think your cat may be most similar to. For instance, Daisy has many of the characteristics of a Main Coon cat. She is a large cat, with very soft double thick fur, and long tufts of fur on her large feet. She has a ruff around her neck, that grows longer in the winter. She is very sweet and trills at me when she speaks. When I compare her to images of Main Coon cats, she can be a twin to many of them. She doesn't have the long hairs off the top of her ears, but that is OK with me. I thinks she is gorgeous!
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