Stupid cat questions - sorry

[Jayna78]

My mom's cats - the first one is Smoky, and he's part Birman, part Himalayan, something like that. He's got the perfect markings of a Birman, for the most part. He also is a polydactyl, with 6 claws on each of the front paws, and 5 claws on each of the back paws - needless to say, trimming those extra claws is sometimes difficult!



Here's her new cat Belle, who we adopted for her - for a companion for Smoky/part Xmas present for Mom & Dad - she came from the same rescue group as our Leo & Claudia - her breed background is unknown to me, but she's domestic shorthair, white and black with green eyes - she's got really tall ears - we can't figure it out. Any guesses?

[lady_zana]

Originally posted by Jayna78



As for Leila, well, she is so tiny, yet limber and fast - she's also kind of long. She's very playful and acrobatic too. She's also tabby - she's what they call a calico tabby, b/c she has that calico pattern mixed with the brown tabby pattern.
[

Sometimes cats like her are called 'torbies' also for 'tortie-tabby.' I think that started in Britain where they don't have 'calico.' They call them 'Torties with white' even if they are like my sister's Little Sam and are almost all white with only a few orange and black patches.

Whatever you call them, all your cats are beautiful, though! I love their pretty faces.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Terms are sometimes different in other countries. My Maya is a female calico. Here in Belgium, nobody says "calico", but "lapjeskat". Which is Dutch for "patchwork-cat". Some people even call her a "belgian cat", because our national flag also consists of 3 different colours (black, yellow, red).

[Cataholic]

Lut, that is really interesting! I would love to know more about the differences.

Of course, I like to joke that my tuxies ARE a breed..but, they aren't. I have 2 DSHs, 2 DMH, 2DLH (though I think Tenny has something else in him...maybe himmy or persian) and 1 VERY bad DSH (with maybe some siamese) blackie.

It is the characteristics of the cats that make me think there is something else in them...Tenny has the laid back, loving, gets along with the world temperment like a himmy or persian. Monte has the overly vocal ways of a siamese.

Course, they are loved for whatever they are, or aren't!!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Originally posted by Cataholic
Lut, that is really interesting! I would love to know more about the differences.

Hey, thanks!!
Well, another important difference is that tabby's are called "tigered" here!

[lady_zana]

This is pretty interesting. I only know the American and British terms. It would be nice to have a thread about all the different terms from all over the world. Everyone could help out. I would really enjoy learning about them.

[RedHedd]

Originally posted by rosethecopycat
A Siamese cat is genetically an all black cat. They are born white, the points are heat sensitive and darken as the cat grows.

The Siamese cat I had when I was growing up, Syee, gave birth to a litter of kittens. The all black male, Winchester, was bred and the kittens from his fathering had Siamese markings. Those kittens went on to be shown (probably in the household pet category) and even won ribbons! I always thought that was strange (the women who adopted him was odd), but know I know - it is possible! I learn so much from PT!

[PJ's Mom]

So, tuxies aren't a breed of their own...I always thought they were. Male calicos are very rare, Richard used to be a dog person, too. Persians, Siamese and Himalayan are breeds.

This is what I've learned so far.

One question...what kind of cat is Catnapper's Allen? He (and cats like him) are very handsome!

[jazzcat]

Another interesting thing is that tabby cats usually have a "M" marking on their forehead right above and between their eyes. You can see it here on Rocky but his isn't even as prominant as others.



Ripley, Scout and Rumor also have it but it's a little harder to see on Scout and Rumor, it just looks more like lines.

As for Catnapper's Allen I believe he would be called a Domestic Short Hair (breed) orange tabby (for color and markings), if I have that right.

Lut, that was very interesting.

[lady_zana]

Here is something I read many years ago. Orange cats came from a mutation in the gene of black cats so if you bred two black cats, it is possible to get an orange kitten. Sorry, I can't remember where I read that from, though.

[DogLover9501]

Originally posted by PJ's Mom
One question...what kind of cat is Catnapper's Allen? He (and cats like him) are very handsome!

I believe Allen would be an orange tabby, DSH, not really a breed either, and I agree, he is very handsome

HERE is a good site to look at and read about all the cat breeds

My Emma is a Maine Coon mix.

I was always a dog person , I consider myself a dog AND cat person, Started getting very interested in cat breeds a couple years ago, they're all gorgeous!

[PJ's Mom]

Emma is very pretty...so is Tigger!

[catnapper]

Originally posted by PJ's Mom
One question...what kind of cat is Catnapper's Allen? He (and cats like him) are very handsome!

Um.... the lazy spoiled kind? Allen thanks you for thinking he is so handsome.

Robyn got it right... I'd consider him an orange domestic shorthair tabby.

[rosethecopycat]

Hi PJ's Mom,

If you or anyone else is interested in seeing some stunning pictures of Siamese cats check this out:

(the bottom 4 females have some out-of-this-world eye color

http://chitchatcats.com/our_cats.html

Also, if you care to check out how the Siamese breed gets it's 'points' :

http://chitchatcats.com/point.html

[PJ's Mom]

Great links. Thanks, Rose. I love their eyes!