This is a very interesting “domestic cat” from Bahrain. For people who are unsure, Bahrain is in the Middle East. It is an island with a causeway (King Fahd Causeway) linking it to the mainland and that means that a cat developing and evolving in Bahrain is likely to be purebred because there is less possibility of outside interference. The Manx is another, better known example.
The cat looks like a wild cat hybrid and has the voice of a wild cat hybrid but as far as I am aware we don’t know, for sure, the ancestry of this interesting cat that I have described as “semi-domestic”. I made a video and wrote about this cat about four years ago and would like to revisit the topic. I love to explore the domestic cats from parts of the world other than Europe and America.
I don’t know if the cat that you see in the video is a true domestic cat in the way people think of domestic cats in the West. I am not sure. It is hard to believe that she is a regular domestic cat.
She does not look like a conventional domestic cat. She looks too wild. She has a slender body (foreign in cat fancy parlance) and her voice sounds very like the voice of the well known Bengal cat, a leopard cat x domestic cat wild cat hybrid. The impression I get is she is either a regular visitor to the house, or possibly lives there and perhaps has had kittens there.
From a cat fancier’s standpoint the Bahraini Dilmun is an interesting cat. Firstly, this cat has a name. That indicates an established breed but at the date of this article this is not a registered cat breed, as far as I aware, and therefore strictly speaking is not a breed of cat. This cat breed’s “status” is similar to the Turkish Angora in Turkey, the real Turkish Angora.
The general appearance of this cat is slender as mentioned. This cat is smart and active. I have to state that this cat does have the appearance of a wild cat hybrid. The wild cats that could be the ancestors with this cat are the serval and jungle cat. Both were found in the region. Modern day assessments of the distribution of these wild cat species state that they are not present in the Middle East. See jungle cat range and serval range.
Although the Bahraini Dilmun appears to be a wild cat hybrid, this cat is evolving and cross-breeding with other cats in the region primarily random bred cats, I presume, which dilutes the purebred nature of the original cat.
The relationship between domestic cats and people varies considerably in different countries. At one extreme we have full-time indoor cats that are very passive, sleeping most of the time and at the other end of the spectrum we have a cat like the Bahraini Dilmun that lives outside far more and is less under the control of people.
“Dilmun” is an ancient land that is associated with the area of Bahrain. I don’t know who named this cat but they seem to be indicating in the name that this cat has a long history, which is reasonable.
I have to confess that I believe this cat lives a better life than domestic cats in the USA. As outdoor cats they are safer and they are not full-time indoor cats.
Note: the still picture on this page is by Kathrin Stucki and copyright protected.
The spots are quite distinct and perhaps not unique but not the usual sort of tabby spotted coat. The featured cat int the pictures and slide show looks different to the Arabian cats. I wonder how much the “founder effect” (evolving on an island much like a reserve) has helped to generate this distinct appearance.
Hi Michael. Yes I did watch the video which is useful in depicting the long narrow snout and slanted eyes. The Bahraini looks rather oriental I think and the coat colour is more of a buff colour than red/orange in line with Gordoni. But the Gordoni has a sturdier build and more rounded face. The numerous small spots are interesting and may be a clue. I will have some fun researching those spots. Notice the cheek stripes which join under the ears . I wonder if they then run under the throat. The Middle East tabbies mostly have that characteristic which I haven’t seen in European tabbies who’s cheek stripes only reach as far as under the ears or less and do not join together. One of my male tabbies has a discontinuous poorly defined dorsal stripe which i understand is typical of the wildcats
There is recently recognised natural breed called the Arabian Mau.
http://www.wcf-online.de/WCF-EN/swf/Arabian_Mau_en.swf
However I do not see it is all that similar to the Bahraini.
What do you think?
Harvey all your cats are beautiful. They all look very strong and confident – I can only imagine they get to spend time outside whenever they want.
The trill sound is a bit unusual. I heard the exact same sound in a cat show in the USA when I was looking at Bengal cats in their cage. She looks wild cat hybrid type to me but we don’t know for sure.
It just occurred to me: you do realise that this is a video of the Bahraini Dilmun, don’t yo? You refer to the “pic” which is on the cover of the video. I hope you have watched the video.
I love the video and pix. There is certainly a wildcat look to this cat. I love the trill sound she makes. It makes me lonely for my Maine Coon! She looks to quite tall. Wonderful cats all.