What Breed is My 20 Pound Kitty?

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by MB
(California)

Fido likes to sprawl on the dining table

Fido likes to sprawl on the dining table

I got Fido as a kitten. The mother was a large white cat, medium hair length, green eyes, about 15 pounds. The father is unknown. When I took Fido to his first vet visit, he weighed 3 pounds, was still wobbly, and the vet said he was 10 weeks old. By 6 months of age, he weighed 11 pounds, and the vets initially looked annoyed with me at first because they thought I was bringing in a full-grown cat to be neutered!

Fido a very large domestic shorthair cat

By age 10 months, he weighed 16 pounds, and at one year, he weighed 18 pounds. He got up to 25 pounds at 2 years, but I put him on a diet, now he is 20 pounds, and is perhaps 2 pounds overweight. He measures 3 feet from nose to the end of the tail.

As a kitten, he acted somewhat Maine Coon-like: squeaked instead of meowed, liked water, goofy. He also was a terror, and his main amusement was ambushing anyone and biting them on the leg. As an adult, he is very shy around strangers, will hide in the closet if anyone comes over, and he is vicious at the vet (scratches, growls, etc).

He is quite intelligent and good at catching and killing things. He catches and eats: cockroaches, large moths, June beetles, crickets, grasshoppers. Other prey: lizards (he likes to remove the tail), a bird (sad), a baby Norway rat, a mouse, and a 3 foot long garter snake.

Supposedly, domestic shorthair cats don't get this big. So, what is he, then? Can a Maine Coon mix have short hair?

melissa

What Breed is My 20 Pound Kitty? to Largest Domestic Cat Breed

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What Breed is My 20 Pound Kitty?

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Feb 15, 2010 LIKE IT
by: GLORIA

I LIKE THE STORY

Feb 15, 2010 LIKE IT
by: GLORIA

I LIKE THE STORY

Feb 15, 2010 my cat is 20pounds
by: gloria

my cats name is vixie or vixin. she is 2 years old. she is 20pounds! i want her on a dieit! how can i do it? i lookde on google but it did not i need vixie to say bye to her fat!

Oct 17, 2009 What Breed is My 20 Pound Kitty?
by: Finn Frode, Denmark

Hi Melissa. As to what breed, the answer must be mixed breed - please see the page 'What Breed Is My Cat?'. I agree that your Fido could have some MC blood in him with that size, but even standard domestic shorthairs sometimes grow very huge.

It must be said however, that the longhair gene is recessive (i.e. non-dominant). This means that unless the gene is carried (visibly or non-visibly) by both parents, all kittens will be short haired. So longhaired cats can indeed have shorthaired kittens.

I'm pleased to read that you have succesfully put him on a diet. Changing a cat's eating habbits is not an easy thing to do and that alone probably accounts for some agression.

As to agression when playing, well, to me that's not really agression. It's just that during play the rules change and we humans don't always understand them.

Most of the time our moggie Snehvide has a proper and respectful attitude towards the elder cat Milly, but once or twice a day she gets into "play mode" and will hunt down any surrogate mouse she sees - including Milly. So when Snehvide flattens out under the rocking chair with a watchful eye and her tail banging in the floor, we know it's time to move Milly-Mouse out of harms way. 😉

Oct 17, 2009 re aggression
by: melissa

Hi Michael,
Re the aggression, he's mellowed out a lot, but it took him a few years. It wasn't the ankles he went for as a kitten, it was the upper leg. Perhaps he thought he was a lion, because it was exactly like how lion cubs play: lunge and bite. hide, lunge, and bite. follow, lunge and bite. Over and over. Now, he only occasionally swipes at my ankles, usually preceded by following me closely. Unfortunately, he doesn't know about leaving his claws retracted, and he does draw blood sometimes. Once in a while he is just plain aggressive (i.e. attacks, with claws out, and he's clearly pissed off because I haven't fed him, or something), usually it is playing. I can get him to stop this if he's in that kind of mood by pinning him to the floor until he remembers that I'm bigger than him; other methods do not work. Sometimes he just wants to be chased around the house because he is bored - it's a game of tag. At times I think I've got me a pet bobcat. He is otherwise affectionate, sleeps with me, will jump on my lap to be petted, etc. He is not at all dominant with other cats, is friendly with humans once he gets to know them.

Oct 17, 2009 Hi Melissa
by: Micheal

Thanks a lot for sharing. Fido is certainly at the top end of domestic cat size (excluding the wild cat hybrids).

I think you have answered the question you posed. Fido probably or possibly has some Maine Coon in him hence his size.

Or he is an exceptionally large completely mixed breed cat (moggie).

Either way he is a fine cat. I hope he stopped what is called predatory aggression (attacking ankles). This is normal. I guess he just needed to exercise his natural instincts.

11 thoughts on “What Breed is My 20 Pound Kitty?”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.

  2. Typically they have naturally really short stubby tails, and their back legs are slightly longer than their fronts. They used to be called bunny cats because of it lol. But it’s not uncommon to have a Manx with a long tail. Definitely what I think your cat is

  3. Looks a lot like my cat! A Manx, distant relative to maine coons and originate from the isle of Mann near Denmark. They are supposed to be between 18-20 and are SUPER affectionate teddy bears once they bond with someone. And love to chat with you!

  5. I don’t think your cat is a Maine Coon cross. He just looks like a really big domestic shorthair to me. Good job of putting him on a diet! 2 pounds overweight is still excessive for an animal as small as a cat. Kudos for getting five pounds off of him. Did you use weight loss food for him?

  6. Hi Craig, he sounds superb. He certainly sounds very large, much larger than the average domestic cat. He must be very impressive to look at. Thank you for visiting and telling me about your beautiful big boy.

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