Conference misery::feline_v1

    Hi Marilyn,
    
    Most of the breeds are not based on colors or patterns.  So, unless 
    you can give us a description of her body type, I am afraid that we 
    won't be able to help you solve the mystery of Tiffany's breed.
           
    Is she long in the body or short.  Does she have long fine boned
    legs, or short stocky legs.  Big ears that are high on the head,
    or little ears off to the side of her face.  
    
    We can always guess at her heritage, but there is no way to really
    know what breed she may be.  You could say that she is either a
    domestic longhair, or a domestic shorthair, depending on her coat
    length.
    
    BTW - Welcome to Feline, glad to have you!
    
    Jo

    Hi.  Sorry I wasn't more descriptive, guess that would help.
    
    She is a delicate cat - very feminine.  She has small paws, ears on
    the side of her head (head is small).  She is short hair and I
    would say her body is short and she is fine boned.  Ear ears are
    pink (with white fur) and are small.
    
    She is extremely loveable - kisses everyone - and attempts to
    carry on a conversation with anyone who will listen.  She is NOT
    a lap cat, however, but will follow my daughter (Tiffany was her
    18th birthday present) everywhere and sleeps with her at night.
    
    She was very lonely and would get miffed being alone.  So I called
    a local vet and she recommended a second kitty...that cats are very
    social and live longer.  They are also company for one another.
    I got a kitten - from a FELINE noter - and it took about two 
    days for Tiffany to adjust.  Otis is now 8 months old - he is
    about three feet long - weighs about 14 pounds and is my baby.
    They sleep together during the day - talk to one another - eat
    out of the same bowl and get jealous when you talk to one and
    not the other.  His personality is so cute - he struts around
    like he is King of the beasts.
    
    Sorry for getting off the beaten path here - but I could go on
    and on about the two of them.
    
    They are a joy - wish I had room in my home for more!  Thanks again
    for any information you have.
    
    Marilyn
    

    Welcome  -  look forward to hearing from you and Merry Xmas.
    
    
    Giudi in SF (pippin, gino + Stitch)

    Tiffany sounds like a real gem.  Let's see, small ears, on the side
    of her head, small head, fine bones, short body, ummmmmmm.....Domestic
    Shorthair!!!  :^)
    
    I am sorry I can't be more specific.  I don't really know the
    shorthaired breeds that well, being a breeder of a longhaired breed.
    
    Have a Merry Christmas,
    
    Jo

    Hi.  Domestic shorthair sounds good to me!
    
    It's amazing how many people - when they find out I have two cats -
    ask what 'kind' they are.  When I was a little girl my parents
    adopted a tiger cat that I had til I went off to college.  She
    got arthritis and had to be put to sleep and then when I got
    married we rescued a Siamese (Benji) from a tree that ended up
    getting dystemper but was saved by the FABULOUS Dr. Murtha in
    Lancaster and lived to be 21.
    
    I hadn't really seen a cat like Tiffany (markings!) so was just a
    tad bit curious.
    
    Thanks so much for the help.  I wish you all a very Merry
    Christmas.
    
    Marilyn
     
    

    I have always felt the the most interesting colors and patterns
    showed up on the domestic cats, rather than the purebreds.  With
    the purebred cats, coat colors and patterns are somewhat predictable,
    but with mother nature, anything is possible.
    
    I have three housecats in addition to my Birmans, and they are all
    very pretty.  Winston is a blue classic tabby with white feet, and
    Tilly is a cream mackerel tabby with white feet.  Both are longhairs.
    In my little breeders mind, I always imagined that their offspring
    would have been the most adorable blue cream torbies with white
    feet that ever lived!  Of course, neither of them was ever allowed
    the opportunity to breed before being spayed/neutered.  But I like
    to think that they would have made pretty babies.  My other housecat
    is Monroe, a very stately cream mackerel tabby shorthair.  I seem
    to have this thing for cream colored cats, and for cats with white
    feet.  
    
    Jo (whose dog even has white feet!)
    

    I would say that Tiffany is part siamese from the description
    of body structure and personality.  Do her vocalizations sound
    siamese?  We're convinced that Mao has a siamese ancestor somewhere
    even tho she's a torbie and white.

    Hmmmm...part Siamese!  Never thought about it but now that you mention 
    it -  she does talk a lot.  Her body structure is like Benji (the cat 
    we had bbefore) and she is very graceful.  I guess it
    is the markings of her fur that made me think she was a 'special'
    breed.  Of course she is 'special' to us.
    
    Thanks for your help and all the responses.  
    
    Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
    
    Marilyn
    

    I was thinking about the possibility of siamese, but generally you
    would find the longer body type on a cat with siamese ancestry.
    But, you never know.  That is the fun of mixed breed cats.
    
    Jo

    One of the fun things about Tiffany is that she is such a ham.  She
    actually will go into a 'pose' when you bring a camera out.  I have
    some beautiful pictures of her that people have said could be on
    some sort of a greeting card!  She has so much personality - just
    like Benji did.  She will play 'hide & seek' with you and when
    she was a kitten would knock the phone off the cradle, when it
    rang, and talk in the receiver.  One person said that it sounded
    like a baby.  Of course, I came home 5 hours later and the phone
    was off the hook and she was nowhere to be found.
    
    Otis, on the hand, gets his face right up to the camera and puts
    his nose on the lens.  I attempted to take his picture and all
    the picture showed was a BIG nose and an X-ray vision of his
    nostrils.  Tiffany does get disgusted with him - from time to
    time.  He is so big that I forget he is still a kitten.
    
    They were both sleeping under the Christmas tree (together) last
    night - listening to George Winston (December album) on the
    stereo...mellowing out.  They LOVE music.
    
    Marilyn
    

    Speaking of cats and telephones.  We have this panasonic programable
    phone with a speakerphone on it.  We also have an answering machine.
    The cats have learned how to turn the phone to speakerphone, and
    how to put the answering machine on pause.  It is a wonder that
    anyone ever gets through to us at our house.  After the speakerphone
    goes through the dial tone, then the guy says "the time alloted
    for you to dial has expired, please hang up..." etc, then the phone
    goes dead.  So, unless we are checking for it, there is no way to
    know that the phone is off the hook.  I have been tempted to change
    our answering machine message to say something to the effect that
    "if you go this far, consider yourself lucky and leave us a message.
    Others have not been so lucky!"
    
    The speakerphone thing is real cute at 4:00am.  The darn thing is
    so loud that is wakes us up in the bedroom, on the other end of
    the house.
    
    Another time, I was giving Moody in the sink and Limoges stepped
    on speakerphone button.  Next thing I know, she is standing on the
    programmable part, and the phone starts dialing!  I had my hands
    full of wet cat, so when the phone connected, I couldn't hang up.
    I just told my friend in Virginia that my cat was really wondering
    how she was doing! :^D
    
    Jo

    That's what is so much fun about cats.  Even though there are 
    millions of kitties out there, each one has it's own special
    personality.
    
    We did have a Siamese - when we were first married - that died
    of a malignant tumor (about the size of a goose egg) at 6 months
    of age.  The vet's opinion was that the mother was being bred
    with the grandson...etc. and was willing to bet the entire litter
    would die before they were a year old.  So sad!  Then...we got
    Benji and eased our pain.  
    
    Every animal that I have adopted - has become such an integral
    part of my life.  I have such wonderful memories - not to mention
    stories - that I feel have made me a more passionate and giving
    person.  
    
    There is something very wonderful about the unconditional love
    from a cat and dog.
    
    Marilyn
    

    I suspect that Oliver has some hidden breed in him.  He is categorized
    by the vet as a long hair domestic.  He's gray stripe with some reddish
    under tones.  The part that makes me believe that he is a mixed
    breed is his short legs and long tufts of hair between his toes.
     His eyes are green and round and he is a small cat.  Sometimes
    he looks like an owl to me depending on how he has positioned his
    ears.  He also has tufts in his ears.  He is not vocal and loves
    me with his whole little heart.
    
    I've seen pictures of Maine Coons and aside from his being small,
    to me, he seems to resemble this breed.  Could I have adopted a
    part Maine Coon at the shelter?  From a previous note that seem a good
    possibility in New Jersey.
    
                  
    Really curious about this.  Can someone help?
    
    Flo & Oliver

    Well, I know that Maine Coon mixes are VERY common in New England
    so its probably quite possible that your cat is part Maine Coon.
    They sure are pretty.
      Nancy DC