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Expert: - 11/7/2010


Question
Sugar and Oliver
Sugar and Oliver  
QUESTION: Hi,

I'm wondering what kind of mix my white cat is.  I've attached a picture of her and her brother, the grey tabby.  The mother cat looked just like the grey tabby, but I never saw the father cat.  Just wondering what breed he may have been.  Possibly some sort of Siamese or Balinese?

ANSWER: Erin,

From the picture, Sugar and Oliver appear to be brown mackeral tabby domestic shorthairs.  This is what the first domesticated cats probably looked like at least some 10,000 years ago.

Best regards... Norm



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

Sugar
Sugar  
QUESTION: Oh cool, thanks!  You have any idea what else Sugar might be since she has blue eyes too?  Not sure if brown mackeral tabby's can have blue eyes?  Thanks again!

Answer
Erin,

this is a much better picture of Sugar.  Now that I see her, she has a Siamese pattern, hence the blue eyes. The tabby markings in the points (i.e. the paws, the face, the ears, and the tail) are called lynx points.  It appears that she may be a blue lynx point domestic shorthair.

The Siamese pattern is well entrenched in the feral population, as is exhibited by Sugar.

Best regards... Norm.  

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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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