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Expert: - 12/27/2009


Question

Dirt
Our little angel, "Dirt", is very entertaining.  His father is an orange spotted Manx (so we were told) and mother is a smoke ???.  Dirt is VERY long with a tail just as long.  His hair is light silver by the root and dark grey at the ends so I'm sure he's a smoke but what kind?  He can leap through the air like no other cat I've seen.  He also has very long strange hair tufts behind his ears (not inside the ears).  Both he and his brother are polydactal (just on their front paws).  He has stripes on the insides of his legs and a speckled belly.  Big ears and pointy head.  I have had Egyptian Maus before and he has similar characteristics (personality wise).  Both boys are VERY affectionate.  Might the father have been a Pixie-Bob mistaken for a Manx?  Thanks for your help.

Lisa

Answer
Lisa,

It is very possible the stripes on Dirt may disappear as he grows up.  From the picture he appears to be a black smoke. The long body, tail, pointy head, and big ears all tend to go together and these types of cats are, generally, quite athletic. Dirt is, indeed a smoke, and probably a black smoke.  The shadow striping tends to go away, but not always. The underlying tabby pattern is, probably, a mackerel tabby (tiger strip), but could tend towards being spotted with the spots following the mackerel pattern.

Unless the people you got Dirt from have papers on the sire, it is impossible to tell what the father may be.  There is lots of taillessness in the feral population, so it is more likely the father has Manx characteristics rather than Pixie Bob characteristics. Furthermore, there appears to be more mythology than fact about the origins of Pixie Bobs!!!!!

Polydactylism is also well entrenched in the feral population.

Anyway, it sounds like Dirt is a fun cat to have and you should get many years of enjoyment from him and his antics. Do not be surprised if his "partner" takes on some of Dirt's personality traits.

Best regards.... Norm

Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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