How Can We Find Out What Breed our Cat is?

I saw the picture of Arthur and then saw your comment, Michelle, and just grinned from ear to ear. I have a cat who I determined, after quite a bit of time, that is mostly Tiffany. Vader is too large (weighing in at 16 pounds) and has a white spot on the belly, but nonetheless the temperament, looks and attitude is all Tiffany.

The only difference? My soon-to-be 8 year old semi-breed is a female! When I got her at 8 weeks they told me she was a boy (don't ask me how a vet and the people who were taking care of her at the shelter mixed THAT one up). I learned this important piece of information a few months after having her. I was quite shaken, but nonetheless loved her and kept the same name. I just call her Vader Belle once in awhile as a reminder.

She's all girl, though -- puts that tail up in the air very proudly and knows she's a very pretty princess!

Hi Michelle

You could contact Professor Leslie Lyons at UC Davis, Feline Genome Project at

lalyons@ucdavis.edu

They have an extensive data base of cats both domestic and wild

Best wishes

Hi Michelle. Your Vader is a beautiful cat. Being a shelter cat without pedigreed papers he is by definiton a 'mixed breed semi-longhair', but that does not in any way make him a lesser cat.
No cat fancier that I know look down on non-pedigree cats. A cat fancier will of course have personal preferences (usually in favour of her/his own breed), but at the end of the day recognize that all cats are part of the same family. The cat shows even have a special class for the mixed breeds household cats and they always attracts lots of attention.
Vader seems to have bonded extremely well. An affectionate lap cat that follows you around the house - what more can anyone ask? Being so curious he will soon learn your every routine and read you in surprisingly ways.
He is indeed a very special cat - and another testament what great cats are to be found at humble shelters.

About the breed issue I recommend Michael's article 'What Breed is My Cat'

Thank you all for your comments and for enlarging the picture. Vader is a very special cat to us. When my husband and I first met him he was in a shelter cage that was at eye level (it was a double stacked cage). When I walked up to him he rolled onto his back and reached his paw out of the cage to play with my hair. When my husband came to the cage he actually began pawing "making biscuits" at my husband's goatee and rubbing against the cage (while still laying on his back). He was so cute we couldn't say no. He still to this day loves doing that and he'll jump in my husbands lap and roll onto his back to begin his daily chin scratch and massage. If we stop petting him before he's ready he'll grab our hand with his paws and start rubbing his face against it. It's like he's saying "wait... I still need that. Just let me borrow your hand for a minute more." He also loves standing on his hind legs. It's very funny to watch him try to steady himself for long periods of time. He is also very loyal and is definately a daddy's boy. He follows my husband everywhere including the bathroom, shower and kitchen. If my husband walks outside for a smoke Vader is watching him from the window sill. He loves watching everything we do and it seems like he really focuses on what we are doing like he's trying to learn. We are very proud to have him in our family. I wish I could share all of the pictures we have. LOL!

Vader is absolutely beautiful, whatever breed he is. Just look at that expression,you can almost hear him saying 'See how much loved I am'
And what a gorgeous tail he has too !!

Unfortunately, if it has no paper is not a purebred cat. I say unfortunately because there are lots of purebred cats out there that can't prove their lineage.

I have a doll faced persian, with her cutie face, her traits and personality that 'prove' her breed, but with no papers, so... to the cat's fancier world she's just another cat.

To me she's my beloved baughter! =D

There are so many purebred/pedigreed cats in the world and even with that, many of the known breeds are made of other mixes purebred/pedigreed cats.

Because of all this mixing of breeds, it will be a long long time before there is a DNA rest to identify breeds of cats. The DNA tests to determine dog breeds are very sketchy too.

If you live in the USA, the chances if your cat being a Tiffany is next to impossible, as there are do few if this breed here and it is not a recognized breed in TICA or CFA.