by Annmarie
(Crossett, AR, USA)
Window seating
We have two beautiful cats (a mother and a daughter) which we got at the humane society years ago. We chose to keep them as indoor cats. When people visit our house they immediately comment on how beautiful "Mama Kitty" and "Baby Kitty" are.
Mama is half gray and half white with a phantom of the opera-like mask, while Baby is white with spots and triangles of black/brown markings.
I am wondering if they are Turkish Angora or not. Any insight is appreciated. (One more thing - they are both polydactl - Mama on 3 paws and Baby on all four paws!!).
Baby Kitty in the Sunroom lounger - photo by Annmarie
Annmarie
Hi Annmarie.... First, I agree with what your visitors say, they are beautiful.
Questions along the lines of "what breed is my cat?" usually result in similar answers because a cat can only formally be a breed if it is purebred and for a cat to be purebred there really has to be proof or evidence and the only form of evidence is paperwork that proves pedigree i.e. a chart showing the parentage of the cat going back several generations from the original cats that were themselves certified as purebred. Cat associations demand these and I presume keep a database of registered cats.
On that basis "Mama Kitty" and "Baby Kitty" are probably not a certain cat breed but there may be paperwork somewhere or a breeder bred cats that were not to type (not good enough in appearance to register them at a cat association) and sold them or gave them away without registering them. So they could be a cat breed but we don't know for sure what breed.
It is hard, I think, to make judgments about cat breeds solely from appearance because some cats might be a cat breed but as I said not a perfect example of that breed. This muddies up the assessment.
OK, all that out of the way...Baby Kitty has Van markings, the inverted "V" on the forehead and the dark tail. To me Baby Kitty has indications of Turkish Van genes but is probably a mix. Mama Kitty looks like a medium hair length bicolor random bred cat but may carry some "Turkish genes" for want of a better description!
The bottom line is this. Both are beautiful. Both are loved and both are probably (or possibly) random bred cats or half breed cats and without evidence of pedigree even if they were purebred Turkish Angoras they would have to be described as "Turkish Angora look-a-likes".
Someone else, I am sure, can answer the question better than me. But thanks a lot for sharing and showing.
Associated Pages:
What Breed is My Cat? - another example of this question
Help me identify if my cats are Turkish Angora or not to Turkish Angora cat
I think you may have ‘Ragdoll’ cats – do they relax when you lift them up? Ragdoll is not always considered to be a ‘breed’ but for some groups they are. They contain Angora lineage along with other breeds, and display a lot of the angora behavior, like bossing their humans around, not liking closed doors, etc. They have the inverted ‘vee’ on the forehead, large round paws, and are white from chin to posterior.
Another photo. Shes my little baby. I love her so much.
Hello Wendy, she is absolutely gorgeous. She’s very pretty. It is so nice to hear that you love her so much. She has the appearance of a purebred cat but to be honest it is almost certain that she is a random bred cat and therefore not a member of a cat breed.
She does have the Van marking on her forehead. She has the appearance in fact of a Norwegian Forest cat in my view. She may have some mixed genes from various breeds. But you won’t know. She has this ruff which is the trademark of long-haired cats like the Norwegian Forest cat. She is a tabby-and-white mixed breed cat in my opinion. But absolutely gorgeous.
Thanks for posting.
Thank you so vert much for your reply. Your reply has atleast given me an idea of what she may be mixed with. But no doubt i love her just the same. Thank you again for your reply.
I dont know the breed of my cat. Shes 5 yrs old. Shes very small weighs 7 -8 lbs. She has markings of a van but im not sure. Im guessing possibly ragdoll or van. I adopted her they had her as a domestic short hair. Shes so very loving. Very playful. She follows me everywhere like a human child. I keep her indoors. Her fur is like silk. Im sending an image if someone could help me. I would appreciate it.