Wednesday, July 29, 2009

how do you find out what breed your cat is?

Our cat ran away 2days ago, we cannot find any good pictures of her so we have to discribe her to the animal shelter's etc. they keep asking what breed she was but we don't know. My son bought her from someone selling them on a street. Does anyone know a website that might help me? She's a little complicating to describe She's grey with black strips and white chest and tummy, beside the white on her tummy she has a leopard print. She is a short haired cat.
Answers:
Grey tabby with white markings sounds like a good description.

The way most non-papered cats are described is either domestic short hair or domestic long hair.

Many cats do return home. Our cat returned after a week. I'm sending good vibes your way that this will happen. :)
i would say she is a short haired domestic tabby and white.
http://images.google.com/images?q=cat%20.

Most cats come home if they are able, but there re pictures
If you got your cat from someone selling them off the street, it probably doesn't have a "breed". Many cats are just mixed and usually an pure-bred cat comes with a certification of some sort. You should be able to tell them if you cat is "long-haired" or "short-haired".

Here's a webpage that lists many recognized pedigree cat breeds, you might be about to guess about the mix.
I would go to a vet, they will know
Short haired silver tabby

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im.
She is a grey tabby with white on her chest. She is a domestic short hair, DSH.

I hope she gets back to you safely.
your cat is a domestic short hair i am really surprised that from your description that the SPCA or shelter did not pick that up right away. the worker i hope was new and had yet to learn however is she was not the shelter animals under their care is in a world of hurt. any how you have a gray tiger domestic short hair cat, if it is a male cat(and is not fixed) he will be gone a few more days sounds like he found a female and if it is a female ( not fixed same thing when they are in heat nothing else matters have the cat fixed if he is to be going out on a daily basis. 1 female cat not fixed can produce upward to 721,000 offspring in a 5 year period. that is a lot of un wanted kittens. this is fact not fiction. i am an animal rescue worker last 15 yrs. SPCA etc. this is the time of the year for mating it doesn't just happen in the spring. this isn't Paris. get your cat get fixed . you would be cutting down on the cat population and you would not have to stress every time your cat walked out the door. how ever if this is a kitten it would be that time to have talk with your son chances are.. good luck again you have a domestic short hair colors being a gray tiger thats how you decribe the cat to the shelter
That's a toughie. You can try www.cfainc.org, but the photos are only examples. Also, many cat breeds allow for a variety of different colors and patterns. But, it's highly unlikely that your cat is pedigreed if your son bought him off the street. Your best bet is to describe your cat in this order:

Call name (the name or nickname she responds to)
Sex (male or female and whether spayed/neutered)
Size (weight and/or length of body)
Age
Eye color (Orange, blue, green, yellow, gold, etc.)
Coat length (longhair or shorthair)
Coat Color or Pattern

This is where it gets tough and you're going to have to "rule-out" the common patterns. Here are some of the basics: Tortoiseshell, Calico, Pointed (like a Siamese), Bi-color (like a black %26 white Tuxedo cat), Solid, Spotted, Tabby and Spotted-Tabby! There are 2 kinds of tabby - classic and mackerel. Both tabbies always have the "M" on the forehead, the Cleopatra eye makeup, and the stripes on the legs and tail. The classic tabby has stripes that almost form a circle (like a bullseye) on the side of the body. The mackerel tabby has vertical stripes like fishbones down the side of the body. A spotted tabby has a combination of stripes and spots and it sounds like this is what your cat is. The colors can run the gammut. There are grey tabbies, orange tabbies, brown tabbies, you name it. Some have white bellies, some have spotted bellies, some have stripes all over. Just do the best you can in describing the basics. It can never hurt to go online and find a picture of a cat that resembles yours. Try http://pets.webshots.com/. They have lots and lots of photos. You can also pick up a copy of Cat Fancy at most Petco and PetSmart stores. You're bound to find a photo of a kitty that looks like yours. Good luck finding your kitty!

P.S. You may also want to indicate whether your cat is declawed or not. I pray your kitty still has her defensive and hunting tools.
She is a grey tabby/tiger with white and she is a DSH (Domestic Shorthair) This is what you would describe her as.
She isn't a "real" breed.

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