# What kind of cat is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167 "2009-12-06T05:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/21 "2009-12-06T22:48:41Z")
i’ll agree with “very cute” as his type of cat. bill looks like he has a touch of chocolate siamese in him, along with mostly tabby. how old do they think he is? my furry bud has more siamese colouring and light aqua eyes, with the classic tabby marks. his siamese points really kicked in between 6 months and a year. he will get a touch lighter in colour in the summer, and a touch darker in winter. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/22 "2009-12-06T23:19:37Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > [http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e179/congodwarf/house%20hunt/?action=view¤t=100\_0789.jpg](http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e179/congodwarf/house%20hunt/?action=view¤t=100_0789.jpg) I like that pic, he looks like he’s up to no good, just waiting for you to go to bed so he can push everything off your dresser ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/23 "2009-12-07T00:19:06Z")
She said he’s 2 years old and that when he stretches out he’s almost 4’ long. Holy Hell! The only cat I’ve ever owned weighed about 5 pounds and was under a foot long when stretched out. I have a hard time picturing a cat that big in person. Someone found him wandering in Rugar Woods in Plattsburgh and brought him in to the shelter about a month ago. He’s afraid of loud noises (like the furnace). He loves to have his belly rubbed. Apparently he also likes to lay alongside my sister and knead her butt. 😃 I’m so glad they found each other. I love my sister but she does have a tendency to be quite introverted. The fact that she’s positively giddy about Bill means he’s having a good impact on her. I think I’m going to send her an automatic litter box for Christmas. She has borderline OCD and I know it’s just killing her smelling when he goes poo. The kids and her boyfriend also love him which is good. Anyway, since it appears there’s no factual answer to this, if a Mod feels like moving the thread to MPSIMS, I wont mind. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/24 "2009-12-07T03:55:56Z")
> [@drpepper](#): > > As long as we’re on this topic, isn’t there some special breed that has super duper soft fur like this? I was at an acquaintances home once, she was selling her cat, and said that this breed of cat (whatever it was) was known for it’s soft fur and it’s sociable, loving temperament (ie, liked being around people, being petted, didn’t mind being held, etc)-- but I can’t remember what it was now. Are you thinking of the [Ragdoll](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragdoll) breed, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/25 "2009-12-07T04:14:49Z")
Yep, dozens of generations of indiscriminate cat sex. But cute!!! ---
**Author:** ![St.Anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@St.Anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Anger)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/26 "2009-12-07T06:32:33Z")
Where did the cat come from? A shelter? I’ve always told people—a pet selects you, not the other way around. What a great looking kitty! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/27 "2009-12-07T06:34:03Z")
Both of my girls are around 12 pounds, and neither is fat - some cats is just big. There is an angora type of cat, isn’t there? Maybe they’re the silky ones. ---
**Author:** ![St.Anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@St.Anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Anger)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/28 "2009-12-07T06:34:55Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I like that pic, he looks like he’s up to no good, just waiting for you to go to bed so he can push everything off your dresser Cats typically don’t take good pictures, because they tend to squint or close their eyes because of the flash. The key is to get a cat in a well lighted room, and take the photo, and you can get a real good pic. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/29 "2009-12-07T11:47:23Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > She said he’s 2 years old and that when he stretches out he’s almost 4’ long. Holy Hell! > > The only cat I’ve ever owned weighed about 5 pounds and was under a foot long when stretched out. I have a hard time picturing a cat that big in person. My [Tiger](http://www.tmk.com/tiger/) is a Maine Coon mix that I adopted used when her previous human joined the military. She’s a bit over 16 pounds (which is considered her ideal weight by the vet) and I can believe she’s 4’ toes to tail when fully stretched. In the town I grew up in, the neighbors across the street and up one house had purebred Maine Coons (back in 1970, before they were the hot breed) and they would scare the mailman, they were so big (the cats, not the neighbors). ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/30 "2009-12-07T11:48:42Z")
> [@St.Anger](#): > > Cats typically don’t take good pictures… I thought it was because they had problems operating the camera 😃 ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/31 "2009-12-07T14:04:48Z")
> [@St.Anger](#): > > Where did the cat come from? A shelter? > > I’ve always told people—a pet selects you, not the other way around. What a great looking kitty! 😃 Yes. Northern Adirondack Humane Society to be precise. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/32 "2009-12-07T17:02:49Z")
Congrats to your sister on a handsome cat. > [@congodwarf](#): > > Someone found him wandering in Rugar Woods in Plattsburgh and brought him in to the shelter about a month ago. He’s afraid of loud noises (like the furnace). > [@](#): > > I think I’m going to send her an automatic litter box for Christmas. She has borderline OCD and I know it’s just killing her smelling when he goes poo. These 2 may not go well together. The automatic cleaning litter boxes I have seen could be noisy, and some cats don’t respond well to having their litter box moving behind them. Making a cat afraid of a litter box is usually a bad thing. Now it’s been a while since I looked at them. Maybe they have gotten better. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/33 "2009-12-07T17:07:40Z")
Thanks for the heads up. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/34 "2009-12-07T17:07:45Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I like that pic, he looks like he’s up to no good, just waiting for you to go to bed so he can push everything off your dresser I was just thinking that, more or less. Bill is one handsome cat… and knows it! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/35 "2009-12-07T17:32:40Z")
> [@Terry\_Kennedy](#): > > I thought it was because they had problems operating the camera 😃 Yet another argument for the value of opposable thumbs. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/36 "2009-12-07T17:47:05Z")
> [@Terry\_Kennedy](#): > > My [Tiger](http://www.tmk.com/tiger/) is a Maine Coon mix that I adopted used when her previous human joined the military. She’s a bit over 16 pounds (which is considered her ideal weight by the vet) and I can believe she’s 4’ toes to tail when fully stretched. > > In the town I grew up in, the neighbors across the street and up one house had purebred Maine Coons (back in 1970, before they were the hot breed) and they would scare the mailman, they were so big (the cats, not the neighbors). Another big, beautiful kitty! Does she like to lie on your chest like my big, fat girl? When a 12-pounder lands on you, you really know it! ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/37 "2009-12-07T17:57:53Z")
Bill is either a Northwest Appalachian Reticulated Angolan Medium-Short Bluehair, or just a cat. Sorry, inside joke. I used to work as a vet tech. When making up the chart/record for new patient we had to indicate what breed it was. We’d make up exotic breeds like the Northwest Appalachian, but most ended up as just “DSH” - Domestic Short Hair. Or we’d decide they were not just DSHs, but _purebred_ DSHs. If the owner didn’t know exactly how old it was we’d estimate and they give it a birth date of January 1, making it a Thoroughbred DSH. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/38 "2009-12-07T19:34:02Z")
I have mutt cats in my neighborhood and every once in a while we get one with what I call bunny fur. It’s super soft and silky, but shorter rather than long. To me it feels just like rabbit fur. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/39 "2009-12-07T19:42:14Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > These 2 may not go well together. The automatic cleaning litter boxes I have seen could be noisy, and some cats don’t respond well to having their litter box moving behind them. Making a cat afraid of a litter box is usually a bad thing. > Now it’s been a while since I looked at them. Maybe they have gotten better. The one I have (a Littermaid Mega) has a 15-minute delay. If the cat re-enters the box before the end of the delay, it resets to 15 minutes from then. Tiger was fascinated by it when she first arrived - she’d use the box, walk away, and when it cycled 15 minutes later she’d run over and hop in (which shut it down). After another 15 minutes, same thing. For over an hour. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Another big, beautiful kitty! Does she like to lie on your chest like my big, fat girl? When a 12-pounder lands on you, you really know it! No, she doesn’t think she’s a lap cat for some reason. She’ll occasionally put her front paws up, but she’ll usually just flop down very close to me, lean in, and start purring. That’s where she is right now. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167/40 "2009-12-07T20:56:23Z")
> [@maladroit](#): > > I have mutt cats in my neighborhood and every once in a while we get one with what I call bunny fur. It’s super soft and silky, but shorter rather than long. To me it feels just like rabbit fur. This type of coat is characteristic of [British Shorthairs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Shorthair), along with a round face, short muzzle, and stocky build. According to Wiki, the breed’s thicker coat is a consequence of intentional cross-breeding with Persians; I would guess that these kinds of genes are running around in the general American Shorthair population too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-cat-is-this/520167.md?page=3)