So I’ve become something of a student of breeds in my quest for cat understanding. Guessing a given cat’s breed can be difficult when we are evaluating kittens, who tend to have similar body structures when they are tiny. With adults, we can be distracted by coat colors and overlook the little clues that tell us a lot.
When I’m trying to figure out a cat, I always check their ears and their paws.
One of the first things we might see are extra toes. This is known as a Polydactyl cat. Any cat with more than five in the front and four in the back qualifies.
The true polydactyly got that way from genetic inheritance, and is not handicapped; on the contrary, such cats literally leverage their “thumbs” into increased dexterity. Don’t hesitate to choose such a cat over health concerns; any paw with a definite thumb is not a defect that will cause the cat trouble down the road. Enjoy!
Polydactyly is such a common cat occurrence it doesn’t really clue us into a specific breed, though it is very common in the Maine Coon gene pool. Click on the picture to see the broad range of these kinds of cats, and this article has some fascinating facts.
Zoey’s picture brings up another important point, which is the color of the paw pads.
A gray cat can have pink or purple (lavender) pads. The silvery sheen on Zoey’s fur, and the color of her pads, indicate she might have some Russian Blue or French Chartreux ancestry. But such lavender pads can also point to Tonkinese, Siamese, or other “pointed” coat backgrounds.
Pink pads on a gray cat can indicate some kind of British or American shorthair genes, where the coat color is known as “blue.” Our dilute tortoiseshell, Olwyn, is also known as a “blue cream.”
As seen here, her variegated color extends to her paw pads; where the fur is dark, her pads are too, while the lighter colored toes have pink pads. This is completely normal; pigmentation usually gets picked up from coat color; but not always.
“Pointed” cats (Siamese are pointed coats) tend to bestow dark colored paw pads and nose leathers (the skin on the end of the nose) on their offspring, even if the kittens do not have the Siamese points in their coats. So dark colors on pads, especially if they do not match the fur, might point to an Oriental influence.
There’s another Oriental influence in this picture; the paw itself, which is more oval and pointed than average. A broad, large, paw is more likely to belong to the stocky “cobby type” cat.
As we can see here, in the prize winning paws of this purebred Maine Coon, big paws usually go with a big bone structure, like Persians or British Shorthairs. It’s not just that these paws are broad; they are also thick.
As RJ grew, his “Chunky chocolate bar” paws became even more apparent. This was a clue to his Maine Coon heritage.
In kittens, we can guess they will grow up to be longhaired if we notice tufts of long fur between their paws. These tufts can let us know there’s a longhaired heritage, even if the kitten is too young, or has been too compromised, to show the lush, long coat they will acquire when they mature.
It’s fun to see if our cat’s paws match their other parts. James Bond has oval ear shapes, but broad thick paws. Though he looks like a Norwegian Forest Cat, he’s not really a laid back type, as they tend to be; his focus shows more of an Oriental influence.
As always, the joy is in the mix.
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There’s more to choosing a cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See my CHOOSING A CAT.
Grinch is a snowshoe, a recognized breed orginating in a mating between a short haired “tabby” cat and a Siamese. He is talkative like his Siamese heritage would indicate, but has a light toned meow, not the nasal Siamese twang. His face has a characteristic “triangle” configuation. But his most interesting feature is/are his toepads! They are “mix and match” some pink, some dark. I read somewhere that this is one of the standards of snowshoe features which cat show judges look for. I haven’t been able to find that reference a second time, but I’m sure it’s true. Since he was a stray, picked up off the street as a kitten, he probably is not 100% snowshoe, probably a mix. He came to me from Siamese Rescue. I saw his photo on their website, and requested to adopt him. My first experience with Internet dating, with a very happy outcome!
I really enjoy reading your blog, btw.
Woodstock´s last [type] ..Coors Field Nugget One – Reporting from Fenway West
We’re pretty sure that Keaton is mostly Maine Coon, though he’s apparently on the small end of the scale for a male (12 pounds as opposed to 15-25 pounds). In addition to the ruff, the britches on his hind legs, and his giant snowshoe paws, the real dead giveaway is his tiny little meow. It’s not for nothing that one of our favorite nicknames for him is “Mr. Meeps.” Every time I take him to the vet in his carrier, at least one person is convinced that I have a kitten with me, and then they get a gander at the ginormous bundle of fur that is Keaton.
Boris had the beautiful silver-gray fur of a Russian Blue (with matching lavender pads and nose), which is how he ended up with his name, but he was definitely a mix because he broke out in very faint light silver stripes in a tabby pattern as he grew. He had by far the thickest coat and undercoat of any cat I’ve ever had, plus he had a slightly drippy eye and a somewhat squished-in face, so there was a big dose of Persian in there as well. You could brush him for 45 minutes and still be getting big clumps of hair from his undercoat.
Thank you, Woodstock. Grinch is such a cute name. It’s his face, isn’t it?
Our own RJ is a Maine Coon mix, somewhat like Keaton, but he got the big genes; he’s going on 20 pounds.
the Siamese Rescue shelter workers began to call him Grinch as a joke. He is VERY easy going, his motto for living is “whatever – ” My husband liked the name, so we kept it.
When Lady joined the household, there was a lot of vocalizing. But after a couple of hours I noticed that when she went into the laundry room for a snack or sip of water, or to use the litter box, that he raised no objection. It’s a lot of work, and he’d rather just chill somewhere.
Woodstock´s last [type] ..Coors Field Nugget One – Reporting from Fenway West
I have a male tabby that is a hoss…he weighs in at 15lbs and is 4yrs old. I rescued him when he was about 4-5 weeks old, as his mother became very cold towards he and his surviving litter mate. My mother has small barn yard going on with several generations of strays that live around her property. Some look like siamese mixes with long hair, others are calico’s of varying shades, there are tabbies, solids, etc. However Merlin stood out, and still gets alot of comments about his coloration, markings and personality. He’s very smart, but is truly a one family cat. He is quite vocal at times and still has that kitten playfulness. The thing about him that boggles me is his fur. I have never felt softer fur on any cat I’ve ever had. It’s very very thick, short and feels like thick velvet. I’ve only been able to find out that he is a “mackrel tabby” but nothing regarding the thick velvet coat. I have some photos posted on photobucket, feel free to take a peek. Would love to hear any ideas.
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o68/Whtfeather/0721070950.jpg
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o68/Whtfeather/Merlin/100_2977.jpg
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o68/Whtfeather/Merlin/100_3119.jpg
MaKat: the pictures you have of Merlin remind me of Tristan, especially in the face.