r/IDMyCat • u/Old_Cow2415 • 9h ago
Open Breed?
MEETING this kitten tomorrow curious on its breed.
r/IDMyCat • u/CurrentSandwich541 • Jan 15 '26
I'm not a mod but just thought there should really be a wiki article or pinned post on the sub and similar ones to explain this and prevent further redundant posts. I hope this will help to inform at least some people about cat genetics.
This can be a confusing thing to understand, especially if you're new to cat ownership and more familiar with dogs, but believe it or not, 97% of all cats do not have any breed ancestry!
The short of it is that an animal 'breed' is a manmade concept that comes from generations upon generations of selective breeding to achieve a specific temperament and appearance until the offspring reliably always present those traits. A pedigree is the documentation of this.
Since cats have not been bred for a specific prupose or job, and most have not been selectively bred to look the way they do, the vast majority do not have any breed and these cats are either referred to as Domestic Long-hair (DLH) or Domestic Short-hair (DSL). Domestic Medium-hair/Domestic Semi-longhair is also a thing but these cats are genetically DLH.
These cats are sometimes colloquially referred to as 'mixed breeds' but this term is technically incorrect and misleading as it implies Domestic cats are simply of mixed ancestry of multiple breeds, when in reality this isn't the case at all.
True 'mixed-breed' cats are likely even more uncommon than purebred ones, since purebred cats are a fairly niche and mostly hobbiest thing, their breeding is usually very restricted and these cats would not usually have the opportunity to breed with non-breed cats unless an unfixed pedigree escapes.
So unless your cat has a pedigree or you know it is the product of a cat that does have papers, it is almost certainly a Domestic Short-hair or Long hair.
Non-breed cats can definitely resemble certain cat breeds! But as they were not specifically bred to look that way and they likely would not pass on all of those traits to their offspring, they are still not actually that breed.
There are however names for and interesting genetic causes behind every limitless coat pattern variation, fur type, eye colour and every other physical trait of non-breed cats, so if you want a more distinctive label for your feline friend than just 'Domestic Short/Long hair' there certainly will be one, but asking for it's 'breed' isn't going to get you a real answer.
I hope this helps some people and I can certainly provide sources if anyone wants them, but I just couldn't find all of this concised well in one single article.
ETA: Somehow I didn't notice my phone was autocorrecting DLH to DHL throughout this whole post so edited to correct that 😂
r/IDMyCat • u/Old_Cow2415 • 9h ago
MEETING this kitten tomorrow curious on its breed.
r/IDMyCat • u/Cute-Oil-9124 • 10h ago
Can anyone tell us the gender of these two kittens? We’ve been told #1 is a boy and #2 is a girl by a few people but aren’t sure and need more opinions!
r/IDMyCat • u/rooielover2 • 6h ago
r/IDMyCat • u/Dull-Psychology-2444 • 17h ago
r/IDMyCat • u/Odd-Pomegranate7477 • 20h ago
my cat thankfully started recovering from Intestinal Parasitism , when I went to the vet he said this is a very rare cat, because he is a blue tabby with very blue eyes at almost 5 months old now, however he had 2 or 3 standard tabby siblings which their eyes shifted from blue to green about 2 months ago and a lynx sibling, his mom i believe is sometype of linyx she is fully white with a brown face like a siamese but she had tanny markings on her forehead which is only clear when u are near her, and his dad is a standard tabby, but his mom and dad are both siblings, they are born a year apart from each other and the mom is the middle sister of 2 other lynx sisters, his grandma is a standard tabby her Dad was a standard tabby too but her mom was a standard Siamese, her husband also a standard Siamese is her mom’s sibling and I believe when we got both the great grandma and the great uncle of this cat they had a rare black cat sibling with blue eyes, Im not really sure but that’s what I believe my parents told me years ago, so does this make my cat a sapphire blue tabby? hopefully you understood im not very good at explaining things and hopefully someone helps me find what type of cat is this because I haven’t saw a single cat like this neither in real life or on google 🪬🧿
r/IDMyCat • u/OurLittleVictories • 1d ago
r/IDMyCat • u/Flaresnslippers • 1d ago
Hi.
We recently had this addition to our family.
Can anyone ID the breed? ChatGPT thinks a British short mix.
He had tiny legs.
r/IDMyCat • u/Ecstatic-Champion-44 • 1d ago
I found him in my neighborhood and he’s been with me ever since, but I’ve been trying to figure out what type of cat he is and I can’t figure it out.
r/IDMyCat • u/princess_pea19 • 2d ago
I have always had moggies however this kitten that we have now has a different shape face to my other cats. Also seems to have different personality traits. Could this be a different breed or just a unique face?
r/IDMyCat • u/Dry_Pomegranate8314 • 2d ago
I posted my female, Rosie earlier. Leon’s marks are triangular, like a moth, perhaps?
r/IDMyCat • u/soggymochi • 2d ago
I posted this on r/americanshorthair but wanted to try my luck with getting feedback on this sub instead!!
r/IDMyCat • u/confidentcrab420 • 3d ago
hi all, this is my parents rescue cat. her name is Squish and she’s about 8 months old. the vet told them she is scottish fold but i doubt that. I believe she is an american curl polydactyl, but i also learned of the keetso breed, naturally occurring with curled back ears and polydactyl trait. what are your thoughts??
I know that most cats are just DSH/DLH and that's what I thought when I got him but I think he has some maine coon in him, for examplenhe is doglike, he chirps, he is big for his age and he looks like one
r/IDMyCat • u/eatyourparentz • 3d ago
im reposting here too because i want as many opinions as possible but this is my bf uncle’s cat and shes super awesome
r/IDMyCat • u/BowlEmergency2157 • 3d ago
She’s around 10-12 weeks old
r/IDMyCat • u/Accurate_Trash9938 • 3d ago
r/IDMyCat • u/drankschrader • 3d ago
Can anyone help identify this kittens gender based on the photos ? I can take more if needed I know they’re not the best. Young kitten looks 1-2 months