There is an individual living in Stratford, Oklahoma, USA who in my opinion is trying to scam the public (or let’s say knowingly mislead them) into believing that they are buying a rare and valuable Lykoi cat when they are actually getting something quite different and much less valuable. This does not surprise me as selling cats can be very profitable and nowadays a lot of cats are bought online. This is inadvisable.
Sarah Hartwell of messybeast.com explains. Sarah is a renowned expert of cat genetics, breeds and cat coats:
“Scammers – or just plain ignorant individuals – are advertising kittens with “fever coat” on Craigslist as Lykoi cats. The kitten in the photo has a roan coat due to “fever coat” and this will be lost when it moults its current fur. It doesn’t have the pattern of partial hairlessness found on the face or body of a Lykoi. And it is tortoiseshell which is not a colour found in the Lykoi breed (a Lykoi-outcross might be tortie, but would not have a roan in the coat).
Some poor cat is likely to end up abandoned when the new owner realises they’ve been duped.”
Roan
“..evenly mixed colour and white hairs” (Sarah Hartwell).
Fever coat
“..the pigments haven’t been properly deposited in the fur so it can appear silvery-grey, cream or reddish.” (Sarah Hartwell).
My thanks to Sarah Hartwell.
I’m glad I read this
‘No papers’ is always a red flag. Generally it means the cat isn’t the breed advertised. Or that someone has bred from a pedigreed cat which hasn’t been registered as approved for breeding purposes aka your backyard breeder.
I’ve lost count of the ads I’ve seen on-line where moggies are being touted as Bengals, Maine Coons etc., There’s a lot of truth in that old saying about a fool and his money.