by Beth
(Devon, UK)
I got Millie in October, I loved her because of her markings. She has spots on her tummy which reminded me of a Bengal so I was instantly attracted to her.
She also has quite large ears. I know her mother was a Mackeral Tabby, but we are unsure of the father?
Any ideas from these photos? I have been saying she is just a moggy, but as she has got bigger I'm starting to think she has a certain look about her but am not sure what?
Beth
Hi Beth... thanks for sharing. It is always going to be speculative, I think, in trying to work out what has gone on in the history of a cat to try and determine what breed of cat might have influenced the outcome.
Millie is a moggie - a classic (blotched) tabby and white random bred cat with a great pattern. You could argue she is a moggie even if she is purebred because there are no pedigree documents.
The pattern down her back reminds me of a famous USA Bengal cat called "Sundog"....
Sundog - Bengal cat
Photo copyright Helmi Flick.
Of course Sundog's coat is better but Sundog is a famous champion purebred Bengal cat.
And you wonder if there is some Bengal cat in Millie. This is very possible. My gut feel is that Millie is a "purebred mix". She has in some ways an appearance of a purebred cat. A purebred mix means (as you probably know) one removed from a purebred cat or she might be purebred cat but the "result" is non-standard and a failure in terms of breeding a purebred cat. Breeding as you can imagine is not a science and a good number of cats are not inline with the breed standard - not "to type".
But the ears, as you say, are noticeably large; larger than the ears in relation to the body of purebred Bengal cats, in my opinion.
There is a breed that is similar to the Bengal that has larger ears. The Sokoke is one such cat - see a picture of a purebred Sokoke.
The Sokoke though is a rare cat particularly in the UK I would have thought. It is bred in the UK as far as I am aware.
OK, that probably leaves us with the conclusion that Millie is a Bengal x moggie mix.
Hope this helps.
Best
Fringe Breeds
