Large patches of fur, usually black or orange.Usually somewhere between 25 and 75% white.Typically female due to having two x chromosomes.A coat that has stripes, dots, or swirling patterns.Many house cats fit into one of these three categories: Domestic Cat Therefore, a cat can be a domestic shorthair or a domestic longhair. One easily recognizable way to categorizing them is by coat length. They can be long-haired or short-haired, have a solid coat or striped, be large or small, thin or fat. Whichever term you use, these cats are the result of cross-breeding.Īnd all that cross-breeding leads to so much variety that there is no one-size-fits-all description of domestic cats. The term house cat is another term used sometimes. Other people use the term “mixed breed.” A much nicer-sounding name that doesn’t sound like an elitist putdown is domestic cats. What is a Cat That Isn’t Purebred?Ī cat whose breeding isn’t pure is sometimes called a non-purebred. Because there are fewer genes to choose from, kittens of purebreds are more likely to inherit health problems. Animals with greater genetic diversity stand better odds of being healthy while purebred cats are bred to maintain the standards of that breed, so their gene pool becomes limited. One weakness of purebred cats (and dogs also) is that their gene pool is not diverse. If the cat runs around all day, won’t leave you alone, and will not stop meowing, it’s a Siamese. Still, they will share enough similar traits that you know the cat belongs to other cats of that breed. However, it doesn’t mean that every cat will be identical. In practical terms, it means you will be able to predict what the kittens of a Siamese will look like. If an animal’s parents are both from the same breed, its breeding is “pure.” Pure means it has no ancestors from a different breed. Can a kitten eventually show up that looks like a Siamese? It’s certainly possible, especially if there are several Siamese in the family tree. And the next generation of kittens will be even more unpredictable since the genes they inherit will be more dissimilar. What will the kittens of a Siamese cat bred with an American Bobtail look like? Breeding a Siamese with a Siamese means you will wind up with Siamese kitties. Many years of selective breeding create cats whose desirable traits-looks, personality, skills–are stable or predictable.Ĭats of the same breed will breed true, which means their offspring will also be the same breed. This is the practice of selecting cats that have desirable traits and breeding them to strengthen those traits. Typically, a breed is developed over many generations and then maintained through selective breeding. If a cat is a member of a specific breed, all its ancestors, siblings, and offspring will share enough traits that they will have similar appearances, personalities, and instincts. Anyone can say a cat is a Siamese, but if it doesn’t meet the criteria, it will not be considered a pure Siamese. Standardized criteria allow people to decide which breed a cat is by judging it against the standard. So what does cat breed mean?įor a cat to be part of a breed, it has to meet specific criteria as determined by organizations such as the Cat Fanciers Association. I said a Siamese is a different breed from a tabby. I promise to do my best to come up with a simple answer.

Tortie tabby point siamese