What cat breed is this?
May 19, 2012 6:33 AM Subscribe
What type of breed is this cat?
A japanese person I met had this type of cat.. is it from Japan? They were living in Thailand though, so that makes me think it wasn't from Japan. Could I find this breed in the US?
A japanese person I met had this type of cat.. is it from Japan? They were living in Thailand though, so that makes me think it wasn't from Japan. Could I find this breed in the US?
In the US we call this a domestic shorthair (DSH). In other words, no specific breed. DSH cats can have coloration in dozens of combinations, including a tuxedo pattern, like the cat in this photo.
If you're curious about the other color patterns of DSH cats (and domestic longhairs, too), have a look at this chart.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 6:58 AM on May 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
If you're curious about the other color patterns of DSH cats (and domestic longhairs, too), have a look at this chart.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 6:58 AM on May 19, 2012 [2 favorites]
The photograph makes it hard to tell, but it looks like your ordinary domestic shorthair. The black and white coloring is very common. If the kitteh has a white belly and white paws with a black back, he's a tuxedo cat.
You can probably find a similar cat at your local shelter.
posted by caryatid at 7:02 AM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
You can probably find a similar cat at your local shelter.
posted by caryatid at 7:02 AM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yep, just plain domestic shorthair. With a pointier face than typical, but not outside the bounds for any other domestic shorthair.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:07 AM on May 19, 2012
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:07 AM on May 19, 2012
Just as a sort of FYI: Domestic Cats are not native to Japan. They came along one day with humans from other countries. (First reference I see is China.. which got them from India.)
posted by royalsong at 7:53 AM on May 19, 2012
posted by royalsong at 7:53 AM on May 19, 2012
Not a good picture so we can't see the hair texture, but it looks like a Devon Rex. The big ears and huge eyes with a crazed look give it away. Did you see this cat? Did it have short wavy hair? You can get them in North America. A bit expensive. (We got ours from the pound. It was neglected.)
posted by Listener at 10:59 AM on May 19, 2012
posted by Listener at 10:59 AM on May 19, 2012
Response by poster: Here's a better picture! I think the Rex family is getting close. He had a pointed face primarily in his nose and mouth area. His head almost triangle shaped. Very slender body.
Keep the comments coming! I keep comparing to google images.. so it's getting close. Thanks!
posted by melizabeth at 11:53 AM on May 19, 2012
Keep the comments coming! I keep comparing to google images.. so it's getting close. Thanks!
posted by melizabeth at 11:53 AM on May 19, 2012
There's also a thing called an Oriental Shorthair, like a domestic shorthair but native to Thailand. You can see on that Wikipedia page that they come in black and white. (Awwwww.) In some places this is a recognized breed, in others it's a subtype of the Siamese breed. If this little guy has long limbs and a long skinny tail and a loud meowing voice as well as a pointy face, it seems likely he's got some Oriental Shorthair in him. But then, I've never heard of Asian countries being into breeding and showing and categorizing of cats like Western countries are, so maybe in his home country he is just a (really cute) mutt.
posted by clavicle at 11:59 AM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by clavicle at 11:59 AM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Possibly a Snowshoe? They're usually more brown than black but if you image search there are some dark brown/ black ones out there. They also have the Siamese type pointy face & thin bodies usually.
posted by Mamapotomus at 1:17 PM on May 19, 2012
posted by Mamapotomus at 1:17 PM on May 19, 2012
I've also seen some cats from Asia (just feral/street mutt cats, not "purebreds") that have that long face and a distinctive body. In the area where I live in the US, feral/street cats have a distinctive kind of face that looks "foxlike" to me; I haven't seen it elsewhere in the US.
My guess is that populations of feral/mutt cats just vary from place to place, and your friend could have just gotten a cat from the street/pound in Japan or Thailand. I.e., it's not a breed that you could get from a breeder in the US, you'd need to look on the streets of whatever place she got it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:28 PM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
My guess is that populations of feral/mutt cats just vary from place to place, and your friend could have just gotten a cat from the street/pound in Japan or Thailand. I.e., it's not a breed that you could get from a breeder in the US, you'd need to look on the streets of whatever place she got it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:28 PM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Agreed that Asian cats have the long face, big eyed look. The can be pretty active, too, compared to your average moggie. If you're partial to that type of cat, I'm sure one close to it in appearance could be found at the local pound.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:13 PM on May 19, 2012
posted by BlueHorse at 10:13 PM on May 19, 2012
I don't actually think it's a Peterbald cat, but I just discovered them and I would like to share exhibit A - SIR Mauri VILENDOR*LT , hailing from a Lithuanian Peterbald Cattery. Same markings as your kitten. It's so funny that I found Mauri just a couple weeks ago while working on an illustration that needed a very distinguished cat, and then you should ask this question so I could share Mauri with more of the world.
posted by Glinn at 10:32 PM on May 19, 2012
posted by Glinn at 10:32 PM on May 19, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
Unless the cat had an unusually short tail it's probably an ordinary domestic pussycat.
posted by zadcat at 6:49 AM on May 19, 2012