# What breed am I?



## MaumauTigerlily (Jun 2, 2021)

This little girl showed up in our yard a few weeks ago and hasn't left my side since.
At first I thought she was a kitten. She was so engaged in eye contact, spoke to me and wouldn't stop rubbing on me. She is very skinny and barely had any fur so I thought she was young. Turns out, the humane society thinks she is about three years old. We have not found an owner. She has adjusted to our household like she was always a part of it. I have never had a cat learn it's name immidiately and come when called, yet she does this. I am not sure what breed or mix she is. She def is shorthair domestic and a brown tabby with the racoons tail. But she has features that seem unusual. We have another cat that's almost identical, however with fluffy soft thick fur and thick body with short legs. This cat however, had scruffy coarse barely there fur, and a skinnier tail. After some good food the fur is finally softer and shiny, however still such a different texture than our other Dom shorthair. Also she has flecks of red and light in her brown fur..very little black or gray like our other. She also has amber colored eyes. The way she moves and is shaped, I thought maybe she was mixed with a Bengal ancestor or Siamese.. I don't think that's probably the case now after research, but I'm still confused on her. A little help from more knowledgeable cat people, please?


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## Mosi (May 17, 2021)

That's not any cat breed, but a regular cat. However, if you wanted to call her something, you could say she is a domestic shorthair tortoiseshell/tabby. That would be a description rather than a breed, but this is very unlikely to be a purebred cat. Nice looking, though, and who needs a purebred?

My guess is that if she's been a stray her fur will change, get thicker and less scruffy, with good care and nutrition. she is lucky to have found you.


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## miscellaneous (May 24, 2021)

Hello MT. Your little cutie looks like my little Coco! She was not a particular breed, just listed as a DSH (domestic short-hair which is your basic tabby) but her coloring was called a dilute Calico. She had the usual colors of a Calico cat, but instead of patches, they were all blended together. And Coco's fur DID feel courser that my other two. Not saying for sure, but may be a possibility. Either way, you're a wonderful person for taking her in!


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## Kitty827 (Sep 3, 2020)

She's beautiful! Every cat is different. When I adopted my second cat, I realized how different one cat can be from another. She is indeed very lucky to have found you!


Mosi said:


> tortoiseshell/tabby


Yes, she is a torbie (tortoiseshell and tabby put together).


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## miscellaneous (May 24, 2021)

Good call. Mosi. Definitely more Torty than Calico. Coco's fur stayed somewhat course, though. She always looked like she had a serious case of bed-head.


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## MaumauTigerlily (Jun 2, 2021)

@Kitty827 I will have to look up tortoiseshells then, thank you!


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## MaumauTigerlily (Jun 2, 2021)

@miscellaneous Why do you think her fur stayed coarse? My other cat is so thick and soft..it's nuts how different their thickness and texture are. She reminds me of a monkey more than a cat. And that's what I named her.


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## MaumauTigerlily (Jun 2, 2021)

@miscellaneous
Thank you. I had no idea a calico could be blended, that's very helpful.


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## Mosi (May 17, 2021)

MaumauTigerlily said:


> @miscellaneous
> Thank you. I had no idea a calico could be blended, that's very helpful.


I think that tortoiseshell means that the colors are all throughout the cat's body, and usually only have two colors; they do not have any white.
Calico means the colors are in distinct patches, and usually there is white as well.

If I am wrong, someone correct me, but that is what I have always thought was correct. And that's what a quick google search says.


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## miscellaneous (May 24, 2021)

My understanding is a cat's fur is based on genetics, and just like people, they can have different hair textures. Coco's was coarse, Kate is soft like a bunny, and Sophie, who is a dilute tortie, is somewhere in between. As long as they're healthy, with no signs of changes in their coat like dry, dull, patchy, greasy fur or flaky skin etc, it's normal. 

I think the bed-head was because the winter air here is very dry and the whole family has to drink lots of extra water to stay hydrated. We also use a vaporizer at night to sleep better. Regardless of all of that, we spend the day zapping each other with static electricity!


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## miscellaneous (May 24, 2021)

Mosi said:


> I think that tortoiseshell means that the colors are all throughout the cat's body, and usually only have two colors; they do not have any white.
> Calico means the colors are in distinct patches, and usually there is white as well.
> 
> If I am wrong, someone correct me, but that is what I have always thought was correct. And that's what a quick google search says.


True, but the rules of color change when they're a dilute. From far away, Coco looks brown and Sophie looks gray. Close up, Coco's a blended mix of brown, orange and cream with some cream patches, and Sophie is blend of smokey gray with a little orange and some creamy patches.
I had never heard of either a dilute Calico or Tortie until I saw that was how they were listed on the adoption papers. Google is great but can sometimes make your head spin!


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## MaumauTigerlily (Jun 2, 2021)

You are correct. I read a lot about this last night. She is a brown patched tabby. Not calico and not a torti.


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## Kitty827 (Sep 3, 2020)

MaumauTigerlily said:


> She is a brown patched tabby.


You're right! Patched tabby and torbie are pretty much the same thing.


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