realistic-cat-identification

[realistic-cat-identification]

Hello! If you have the time/energy, could you give me your opinion on the possible coat genetics of my friend's cat? His coat is such an interesting coloration, I've never seen it before. Cinder is black, but dappled with lighter black/dark grey in the same distribution that a tortoisheshell has. He's like a goth tortie. Here's a picture of the handsome boy.

that’s so interesting! it looks like he’s a mix of dilute and black, which isn’t really possible outside of chimerism!

@amber-tortoiseshell might be able to correct me if I’m wrong, though

[realistic-cat-identification]

greetings, identifier of cats.

i present to you:

My two Fat Bastard Sisters that are Very Much Not Maine Coons. this is me showing them to other people and hoping they will like them. this is a a friendly gesture with no vitriol behind it. (gives you the photos)

okay have fun with them (scuttles away)

- signed, The Void

lol definitely not Maine Coons, but this might be the first case on this blog of cats that genuinely aren’t moggies xD

I’m guessing exotic shorthair? both definitely classic tabby, one grey/brown and one a torbie

[realistic-cat-identification]

greetings, identifier of cats.

i present to you:

My two Fat Bastard Sisters that are Very Much Not Maine Coons. this is me showing them to other people and hoping they will like them. this is a a friendly gesture with no vitriol behind it. (gives you the photos)

okay have fun with them (scuttles away)

- signed, The Void

lol definitely not Maine Coons, but this might be the first case on this blog of cats that genuinely aren’t moggies xD

I’m guessing exotic shorthair? both definitely classic tabby, one grey/brown and one a torbie

[realistic-cat-identification]

that’s a tortoiseshell domestic longhair with white markings. while she’s genetically solid (which you can tell from the black bits) all red cats are visually tabbies, and the blotchy tortie pattern makes it very visible here.

[realistic-cat-identification]

This absolute fluff ball is Pepper, she's a stray that wandered up to my house a few days ago. Very curious about what breed she is. She is very well behaved and cuddly

so this is a purebred dust bunny lol but actually she's a domestic longhair (aka she has no breed she is simply a Cat) and as for coloration she looks like a non-dilute torbie. the combination of long hair and tortie mottling makes it very hard to tell what kind of tabby pattern she might have.

tbh I wouldn't be surprised if she's not a stray, just has irresponsible humans, but if possible it might be a good idea to get her checked for a microchip.

[realistic-cat-identification]

[Image Source]

Ethical Breeding: How to Find a Good Cat Breeder?

Shared from The Little Carnivore

If you are looking for a kitten of a specific breed, this article is for you. I will explain everything you need to know to find an ethical breeder and the red flags you should be careful about. You will see that there are many criteria and you can’t just pick up the first ad you see: you’ll need to do some research first. If this sounds complicated, I strongly recommend that you do not compromise on this: we are talking about the health of a kitten! If you don’t want to go through all the hassle, maybe look for a kitten at your local shelter: they will know what’s best for the kittens and you can be fairly sure they’ll do all the necessary checks.

In another article, I will explain why in my opinion ethical breeding is not the cause of cat overpopulation and shouldn’t be opposed to adopting.

The Pedigree, aka a Proof

First thing first, a kitten from a breeder should have a pedigree. A pedigree is a registration paper that certifies that your kitten belongs to a breed. It also contains the genealogy of the cat (generally 4 or 5 generations). For it to be reliable, a pedigree is generally issued by a reputable cat breed registry such as the TICA, FIFé, WCF, LOOF, CFA… depending on where you live. This means that the cattery is registered at one of those associations. This is something that you should be able to verify on their website.

The pedigree is the reflection of the work of a reputable breeder: you can verify that the breeder didn’t reproduce a mother with a son, or a brother and a sister for example.

With websites such as Pawpeds, you can also calculate the inbreeding coefficient of your cat. The lower the inbreeding coefficient, generally the better. It’s recommended to stay below 5% for 10 generations.

Without a pedigree, you have no proof that your cat belongs to a breed (No, there isn’t any DNA test for cat breeds as explained in this article). If you are looking for a cat without a pedigree, why not look at your local cat shelter? You will find many awesome cats and it will be another good way to responsibly adopt a cat.

If the breeder asks for more money to give you the pedigree or claims that you don’t need one because you won’t breed the kitten: run!

All “breeders” breeding cats without a pedigree are backyard breeders.

However, finding a breeder that sells kittens with a pedigree is not enough! Many breeders breeding cats with pedigrees are not ethical nor reputable: that’s why there are many other important criteria beyond the papers.

The Kitten’s Age

A breeder shouldn’t separate the kittens from their mother until at least when they are 12 weeks old. While kittens are weaned at around 8 weeks, they keep learning essential social skills from their mother until 14 weeks old. Being removed too early from their mother and siblings may cause many behavior issues later on, often leading to the cats being abandoned. A breeder that lets their kittens go before 12 weeks isn't a good breeder.

This is very important: if the breeder is being pushy and saying things like “the mother is rejecting the kittens” or “they already use solid food and use the litter”: run!

The Kitten’s Health

A breeder must take care of the health of their kittens. This means that the kittens need to come with a health record mentioning that they were vaccinated, treated for internal and external parasites, and microchipped.

A kitten should have received the core vaccines: feline herpes virus (FHV), feline calicivirus (FCV), feline panleukopenia (FPV), and, depending on where you live, rabies. Kittens generally receive their first vaccination at around 6-8 weeks old and get a booster at around 10-12 weeks old.

In some countries like France, it’s also mandatory that the kittens come with a health certificate from a vet. I would definitely ask the breeder if they can provide one, preferably less than 7 days old.

The parents of the kittens should be tested for infectious diseases such as the Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). It’s important that for every test that I mention you request the breeder to provide you with a copy of the test result.

Testing for diseases is the most basic thing to do to breed healthy cats and if a breeder isn’t making those tests they don’t have the cats’ health in their best interest. It’s easy to lie and say that the tests were done when it’s not true, so don’t trust the breeders on their words and ask for proof.

Genetic Test

Depending on the breed, the parents of the kitten should be tested for some genetic diseases with a DNA test such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) for the Maine Coon and Ragdoll, pyruvate kinase deficiency (PKDef) for the Norwegian Forest Cat, Maine Coon, Siberian, Bengal…, polycystic kidney disease (PKD) for the British, Persian…, and many other diseases like the progressive retinal atrophy, spinal muscular atrophy…You can find a non-exhaustive list here.

For some breeds, the breeder should also test the blood type of the cats: unknowingly mating two cats with incompatible blood types may cause neonatal isoerythrolysis, which can result in the death of the kittens.

Health Examination

Other health tests may be needed depending on the breed such as an X-ray for hip dysplasia for Maine Coons, or an echography of the heart for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in several breeds.

White cats should also be BAER tested to verify that they are not deaf and a breeder should never mate two white cats together as it increases the risks of deafness.

You must research the test needed for the breed you are interested in.

The Health of the Queens

It’s important that breeding female cats (called queens) don’t have more than one litter a year and that they are not bred before one year old and not after 6 to 7 years old.

This is something you can verify by yourself if the breeder keeps track of the previous litters on their website.

The Look

While, if you are looking for a pet, your kitten doesn’t have to perfectly fit the breed standard, it may be interesting to read about it and see if the breeder stays close to it.

If the breeder has cats with extreme types (hypertypes), be really careful as those cats are often prone to health issues. Additionally, breeding for extreme types is almost always done at the expense of the cat's health.

About the Breeder

It’s important that you discuss with the breeder: you should have a good feeling with them. Don’t hesitate to ask them questions: they should be happy that a future family for their kitten is interested to know more about them.

Here are some questions to evaluate the motivation of the breeder: What are their goals when breeding cats? Are they aiming to improve the breed? Are health and temperament their priority before the look?

Of course, the breeder should also be able to answer questions about the kitten: its personality, the food they eat… and to send you many pictures!

In exchange, it’s normal that the breeder also asks you many questions about your house, your interest in the breed, to verify that you will be the perfect family for their kittens. The breeder will try to evaluate if your lifestyle and character will fit with the ones of the kittens.

If the breeder doesn’t want to know anything about you, that would be a bad sign!

Depending on where you live, the breeder should have done some mandatory training or have a certificate to be allowed to breed. For example, in France, breeders must have the ACACED. Another example of a reputable course for cat breeders is the one by Pawpeds: on their website, you can find a list of all the graduates.

It’s common to visit the breeder before reserving the kitten when they are around 2 months old, after their first vaccine. This is generally great so that you can see the kitten and verify that their character will fit with your family. It’s also a good chance to verify that the kittens are growing in good conditions. Do the kittens live in the breeder's house, or in cages? Is the house clean? Do the cats and kittens look healthy? You should see the mother of the kitten and the dad (except if the stud is in another cattery: in that case, the breeder should give you some information and pictures of the dad).

If the breeder attends cat shows it’s generally a good sign, as it means they are trying to breed their cats to the standard and improve the breed. However, not showing their cat isn’t necessarily a red flag as it can be costly, not all cats enjoy it, and the breeder may be afraid to get some disease transmitted to their cat.

The breeder will establish a contract that should protect both the breeder and you. A good breeder will include a clause that the kitten cannot be resold or surrendered to a shelter. If, for any reason, you cannot keep the kitten, the breeder must be notified and they will either help to rehome the cat or take it back.

Additionally, the kitten should come neutered or spayed or the contract should include a clause that the kitten must be neutered/spayed, as this would prevent irresponsible breeding.

Lastly, a breeder should be transparent: do they list all their male and female cats? With pedigree pictures and pictures of their health test? Do they provide information on their values, on their previous litters, on their retired cats?

Be Care About These Red Flags

I’m not sure this even needs to be said, but if the kittens are growing into cages that’s definitely a big red flag.

Price

If the price is too low or too high in comparison to other catteries, that would be a red flag. I can’t give you a price range as this will vary between countries and breeds, but keep this in mind. In fact, if the price is too low, it may mean that the breeder saves money on the health tests, while if the price is very high, it could just be a scam.

International Delivery

Be especially careful if the breeder offers international shipping, especially if they don’t deliver the kitten themselves. A reputable breeder will want to meet in person the future family of their kitten.

Several Breeds

A possible red flag is if the breeder is breeding several breeds, especially more than 2 breeds. This is often (but not always) a red flag. Most breeders are passionate about one breed and focus on that breed. Breeding many breeds is often a sign of running a kitten mill.

Pet Shops

I’m not even mentioning it in this article, but you should never buy a kitten from a pet shop. The kittens almost always come from mills and grew up in poor conditions without any health care. You may think “poor kitten in the small cages”, but this is part of their strategy to get you to buy the kitten. If you buy the kitten, you are giving them the money to replace this kitten with another one and supporting the business of the kitten mills.

Extraordinary Claims

A big red flag is if a breeder tells you that their cats are particularly “rare” or “special” or “unique”, or if they make any other extraordinary claim. There is surely something fishy.

For example, if someone is selling “XXL Maine Coons”, run!

Popular Breeds

If you are looking for a kitten from a popular breed such as the Maine Coon, Bengal, or British, be especially careful when choosing a breeder. If a breed is popular it means that many people are looking for kittens from that breed: a scammer who is into it for money has all the interest to “breed” a popular breed as they will have more people to scam.

So, here were all my pieces of advice on choosing a reputable breeder, though this list is not exhaustive!

I know that when you are impatient to get a new kitten you may easily fall in love with some cute pictures. However, it’s important to take into account that you are choosing a new family member that will be with you for, hopefully, the next 15 to 20 years! But not only that: if you buy a kitten from a backyard breeder or a kitten mill you are supporting their business and giving them the means to keep breeding unhealthy cats.

To conclude I would say: adopt or shop but, more importantly, do it responsibly.

[Read Article @ Source]

[realistic-cat-identification]

I mean. the thing is though, the maine coon breed has a lot of characteristics other than "big." they've got a distinctive conformation and face and head shape and fur type, and that's only become more true as they've become popular and gotten more overbred/visually extreme in the hands of not-great breeders. and it's entirely possible for a random-bred cat to be ponderously enormous, so size doesn't really indicate anything about the cat's ancestry. the same is true for most individual breed traits; siamese are colorpoint but most colorpoint cats aren't siamese, any cat in a feral population can randomly pop up with a tailless mutation without having any manx ancestry, just like. assume it's a moggie until proven otherwise.

the funny thing is even people who know the statistics of purebred vs random bred cats will be like “yeah I know shelter/stray cats are almost never maine coons and mixes are even more unusual, but mine actually IS part maine coon and I know this because he’s a brown tabby and he’s big”

everyone I’ve known who has owned a brown tabby longhair has at some point told me they think it’s part maine coon. including the one that was born to a barn cat and grew up to be the size of a rabbit.

[realistic-cat-identification]

I'm 100% sure Burt Reynolds and Freya are just regular babies, but I'll take any excuse to share them.

oh I love them they are indeed domestic shorthairs (one solid black, one a red mackerel/maybe broken mackerel tabby, both have some low-mid grade white spotting) and idk there's a reason random-bred cats are my favorite cats

also just. I love a cat with a moustache

[realistic-cat-identification]

My handsome baby boy waffles!!! Obviously a tabby cat, but would you say he’s a mackerel tabby? I’m so bad at telling the differences between types of tabby coats

yep, he’s a brown mackerel tabby and a domestic shorthair! and the sleepiest boy

[realistic-cat-identification]

this is my cousin’s cat Meringue, and he’s huge. (he is also a little overweight but he’s seriously like two feet long.) i would love to know what he is other than a remarkably intelligent little menace

diagnosis: magnificent fluffy baby

but also he’s a domestic longhair, and he looks like cream (dilute red) with white spotting. he could also be a non-dilute red that’s exceptionally pale if the lighting is messing with me, but from these photos he looks pretty dang cream to me.

[realistic-cat-identification]

Part ragdoll and part cartoon sock puppet ?

almost certainly 100% domestic longhair (color is solid black with a medium amount of white spotting) but paradoxically also 100% muppet.

(honestly though this is such a pretty cat)

[realistic-cat-identification]

I need people to understand that a snowshoe is like. a breed of cat. it’s not any seal point with white markings. if it came from a shelter it’s not a snowshoe.

[realistic-cat-identification]

Your daily dose of cat memes

[realistic-cat-identification]

So this is my cat who was mislabeled as a Maine Coon (I know for a fact she isn’t). But she is vertical, at least.

maybe not a maine coon, but 10/10 for both standing and loafing skills

she's also a brown/black/grey tabby and very pretty, so it's not surprising she was mislabeled

[realistic-cat-identification]

Hi! I saw a really pretty stray cat the other day. The coloration was just rlly eye-catching and I was curious about what the pattern or coloration is called. Any ideas?

this is a lynx point domestic shorthair, which is what happens when the colorpoint gene is combined with tabby (specifically brown/grey/black tabby), and it looks like he's got some fairly extensive and interesting white markings as well, which would explain the back splotches.

but more importantly, this is a baby.

[realistic-cat-identification]

i really dont know much about maine coons but they look super cool, what are the "maine coon features" you mention in your post about people thinking their longhairs are maine coons?

The appearance of the Maine Coon is supposed to be a well-balanced. The head and muzzle should be squared with a clear stop. Ear tufts should be distinctly present.

For the sake of showing the Maine Coon is classified as a “semi-longhair,” so they aren’t supposed to be a giant puffball like the Persian or British Longhair.

I’m having a hard time explaining it in a way that I feel makes sense.

The French registry LOOF has some excellent illustrated standards for some of their breeds. Cedarseed has also put together an excellent visual guide to various breeds available for purchase as an e-book or physical copy.

It’s an awesome, huge resource that I can’t recommend enough both for the feline artist - be it big cats, other wild cats or our domestic buddies - or the purebred snob afficiando likes myself.

On the left we have Honey Sushi, a Domestic Longhair available for adoption mis-labeled as a Maine Coon mix and on the right we have Tigerfeet Billie Holiday the Maine Coon.

Honey’s ears are too wide-set and rounded, he lacks the characteristic ear tufts and his muzzle is not well-defined. His whisker pads kind of just blend into the rest of his face as an entire unit compared to Billie distinct muzzle that leaves no question where no question as to where it starts and ends. Billie also has the squared head of the breed while Honey does not.

Tallulah Gin is listed as a Maine Coon x Persian mix, although she is most likely a Domestic Longhair. Her coat is an excellent example of what a Maine Coon’s coat shouldn’t look like - not that anything is wrong with her beautiful fur, it’s just not Maine Coon fur.

Compared to this Maine Coon from The Opal Temple. You can see that the topline is smooth and “short” but the fur gets gradually longer towards the belly and pants where it achieves maximum fluff. Also note that the Maine Coon’s head doesn’t disappear into a Lion King worthy mane, the ruff is more moderate and follows the same pattern as the rest of the coat of being short up top flowing downward into the longer part of the coat.

There are random-bred cats with one or more of these “Maine Coon” features, and there are Maine Coon’s which are more moderate or more extreme and don’t meet the standard to a T.

I can show you pedigree Maine Coon’s with wide forehead, tall ears, insubstantial ear tufts, proportions not well-balanced or however many faults you want to list.

I can also show you random-bred cats with squared heads and muzzles, well-spaced ears, a coat that’s short in the right places and long in the right places and falls just so.

I’ve met cats where I’ve been told they’re a Maine Coon mix and I don’t go “Oh obviously” but “Yeah, I can see that.” This isn’t commonplace, but it’s happened a few times where the cat has been passable as a poorly bred Maine Coon or mix.

But what gets me is so often I see people - online and in person - who say their cat is a Maine Coon or Maine Coon mix, they sweat up down and sideways that it must be true because the cat looks so much like a Maine Coon…

And then the cat is the moggiest moggy to have ever moggied. Not a single Maine Coon feature in sight, unless you include long fur - and some of them don’t even have that! Is the resemblance that they’re both cats? Is that what you’re seeing?

If you’re going to try to sell me on your cat being a Maine Coon or mix at least show me you have a basic understanding of the breed’s conformation and show me what features make you feel that way about your cat that don’t include “big” and “fluffy.”

[realistic-cat-identification]

I guess I should stick to just answering asks/tags so I don't upset anyone but that does have the downside of only ever reaching people who already know their cat is a moggie, because if they didn't they wouldn't ask the guy who's gonna give them the least interesting answer.