out a cat, you do need to watch out for one thing that’s related to coat color: White cats with blue eyes have a high probability for deafness. Some of these cats have eyes of different colors and are deaf only on the side with the blue eye. (You can check for deafness by snapping your fingers or clapping your hands behind a cat or kitten’s head.) Though a deaf cat can still be a good pet — indoors only, for her own protection — you’ll still want to know what you’re getting into before you adopt.
Should You Consider a Pedigreed Cat?
You should consider everything! Although pedigreed cats make up a very small percentage of the overall cat population — less than 5 percent, according to some sources — some people would never consider having anything but a pedigreed cat of their particular favorite breed.
Although the development of dog breeds has been going on for as long as dogs have been around, the interest in purebred cats is a relatively recent phenomenon, starting in the 19th century. Probably the most compelling reason for the difference is that people needed dog breeds to perform various tasks — herding, hunting, and guarding — whereas the cat walked in perfectly suited to the needs of humankind: Then, as now, no more efficient hunter of rodents could be found. Why mess with perfection?
Some people have always appreciated cats as much for their beauty and companionship as for their hunting skills, and some of these folks have worked to preserve and develop cat breeds and to nurture the development of new — and ofttimes controversial — varieties.
What are the benefits of owning a pedigreed cat? Predictability is probably the main one: If you buy a pedigreed kitten from a reputable breeder, you know in large part what you’re getting. Size, body type, coat color, and levels of activity and vocality are imprinted on each kitten at the time of conception. Although each cat is still an individual, you can rest assured that your individual Siamese is going to have more in common with other Siamese in terms of looks and personalities than it does with any Persian ever born. The Siamese is active and talkative; the Persian is calm and quiet. If your tastes in a feline companion run to either of these extremes, choosing an appropriate pedigreed cat is the most likely way to have your wish.
Pedigreed cats also offer a little more variety than the everyday cat does. If you like a long, sleek cat, certain breeds fit that profile. The same, too, is true for a thicker-set body type, called cobby by fanciers. Color choices, too, are broader. The slate gray of the Korat and Russian Blue, really a dilution of the gene that produces black, is almost unheard-of outside the world of pedigreed cats, as is the glossy warm tone of the Havana Brown.
And what about the novelty factor? Only in the pedigreed ranks can you find cats with ears that fold forward or back, cats with kinky fur — or none at all — and cats with little or no tails or short legs. Some of these breeds are controversial — to say the least! — but they certainly do expand the choices when the time comes to “think cat.”
The overwhelming majority of cat seekers do not choose a pedigreed cat. For some, the choice may be a matter of price and convenience. Pedigreed cats can be expensive — a couple of hundred dollars, at least, and climbing into the thousands of dollars for kittens of rare breeds and colors. They can be hard to find, too, if you journey past the most-popular breeds. Upkeep on the coats of some breeds may also limit many cat lovers to admiring them from afar. In addition to the difficulties keeping long, silky coats in order, some breeds have become increasingly short-faced (the veterinary term is brachycephalic), which in cats as in dogs can be a source of significant health issues.
Considering how little they had to begin with, modern breeders have developed an incredible variety of colors and patterns in today’s pedigreed cats. The Cat Fanciers’ Association lists more than 60 color patterns for the Persian alone.
Not that what they started with wasn’t beautiful — and isn’t beautiful still.
By far, the most common cat color/pattern is the “tiger-striped,” or tabby, markings that you can still see in the wild ancestors of the domestic cat. The name tabby comes from Atabi, a silk imported to England long ago that had a striped pattern similar to that of the domestic tiger cat.
Tabbies come in many colors, such as red (more commonly called “orange,” “ginger,” or “marmalade”), cream, brown, or gray. The tabby pattern is so dominant that, even in solid-colored cats, you can often discern faint tabby markings, especially on the head, legs, and tail.
Smoked, shaded, and shell describe the varying amounts of tipping that appear on each individual hair, with shell being a dash of color at the very tip, shaded a little more tipping, and smoke, at the other extreme, being a coat so heavily tipped that it may look solid, except as the cat moves and the lighter color becomes visible underneath. Fur can also be ticked — that is, banded with color, as in the agouti pattern seen in the Abyssinian, where dark-colored bands alternate with lighter ones on each hair shaft.
Pointed cats are those such as the Siamese, with lighter-colored bodies shading to darker, complementary colors at the points — the face, the ears, the legs, and the tail.
Bicolors are any other color (or pattern, such as tabby) paired with white, and particolors have three or more colors, as is true of calicos (commonly with patches of white, red, and black) or tortoiseshells (with swirled red, cream, and black).
Mixing these color types can have some unpredictable results. The spotted Ocicat, for example, was created as the result of mating a Siamese and an Abyssinian!
Characteristics by Breed
Pedigreed cats are roughly divided by experts into two groups that are distinguished by body type and activity level.
The breeds in the first group, the Oriental, are notable for their long, sleek bodies and active participation in the world around them. They’re not happy unless
