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Cats/can you identify the breed of my cat?

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Expert: - 2/22/2011


Question

charlie
I've been guessing Norwegian Forest Cat but the Bengal is similar from what I hear. His name is Charlie, he is probably 5 years old. I got him from a shelter over a year ago. He is very fat which I guess is normal if he is NFC. He has blue eyes and very long whiskers and long hair that comes out of his ears. He loves attention, he is the kind of cat you can wrap your arms around and he won't fuss. His only real problem is that he eats to fast and makes himself throw up maybe once a week. Anyhow, please see if you can identify him for me.

Answer
Emily,

Charlie is a blue eyed white domestic longhair.  If anything, he looks more like a Maine Coon than any other breed.  The original domestic longhairs in the USA and Canada came from the same stock as today's Maine Coons.

Maine Coons tend to be fairly rectangular (muzzle, head, body, stance#. Norwegians have very triangular shaped heads on a thick neck on a very boxy body. Maine Coons have heavy shaggy coats #shorter on the neck and shoulders getting longer as you go down and back from the neck and shoulders).  Norwegians have very thick double coats which are a little shorter on the neck and shoulders, but not so pronounced differences as in the Maine Coons.

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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