What breed is my cat?

[Sugarant]

Hi everyone,

We recently adopted a kitten who initially looked like a little grey moggie but he looks different every day.

He is a bluey-grey colour with yellow eyes and Siamese/Burmese-looking ears. He has very dark grey stripes on his body, up his legs and at the end of his tail but dark grey spots on his belly.

His mother was a tortoiseshell and in the same litter of kittens there was a black and white, a tabby and a light ginger/sandy.

He's so gorgeous and I'm desperately curious to know what breed/breeds he might be. Has anyone any ideas?

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs137.snc1/5849_127495476095_602771095_3120120_7921582_n.jpg

[Moli]

He is gorgeous, the spotty tum suggest maybe bengal....

[dandysmom]

From your description and the pic he sounds to me like a blue mackerel tabby, a moggy. Tabbies... and torbies ...often have spotted tummies. What a little cutie he is: how old, what's his name?

Oh, and welcome to Catsey BTW!

[angieh]

He's certainly a little poppet, whatever ancestry he has in him! What's his name btw??

Kittens sometimes show stripes that sadly (IMO) disappear as they get older. My little b&w moggy had three b&w kittens (she was already preggers when I adopted her) - all three kittens had stripes that vanished.

Welcome to Catsey!

[Sugarant]

Thanks everyone. He is 10 weeks old and called Merlin although we call him Merl at the moment because he's a bit too silly for his full name!

Glad to have found this site - I don't know much about cats yet. The adoption lady said she thought he had some Siamese or something in him but all the kittens in the litter were very different so it was hard to tell. We've only had him a week but he's settled in so well - I am totally in love!

[calismum]

He is a real sweetie. I don't think it will be easy to say for sure what his breeding is, perhaps when he is older you'll know by his face and body shape whether he has some oriental in him or not.

Either way you have a lovely boy.

You'll find everyone here a great help for answering any questions you might have - just ask.

[dandysmom]

Thanks everyone. He is 10 weeks old and called Merlin although we call him Merl at the moment because he's a bit too silly for his full name!

Glad to have found this site - I don't know much about cats yet. The adoption lady said she thought he had some Siamese or something in him but all the kittens in the litter were very different so it was hard to tell. We've only had him a week but he's settled in so well - I am totally in love!

Questions? Ask away, there's a wealth of knowledge here, and everyone is friendly and glad to share what we know! And we do love pics! :D

[mattde]

dont know but its very nice kitten.

[angieh]

Oh Merlin! That's an EXCELLENT name.........

[Sugarant]

Thanks Angie. I hope you don't miss your Merlin too much.

While you're all being so kind, can I ask about feeding habits? We adopted Merlin a week ago and the lady at the rehoming centre said to give him James Wellbeloved biscuit and Whiskas kitten pouches as that's what he was used to eating. We've given him the biscuit every morning which last throughout the day and a pouch of wet food at about 5pm that he eats through the night. The first few days, his stools were hard and black but since Friday, his stools seem much softer and the inside of the litter tray hood is covered in spots of poo as he's kicked it up. I'm wondering whether I should be giving him the wet food throughout the day instead of all in one go. What do you think?

[angieh]

As he's only quite young, I would suggest that three or four smaller meals throughout the day (if you are around) would be better. Leaving the biscuits down is fine, as he can take as he wants. Fresh water too of course!

I am afraid that I will always miss my Merlin - he was my first cat and he was with me for over 23 years. In fact, it would have been his 24th birthday yesterday.

More pictures of you Merlin would be lovely - he is a great looking little chap ..............

[dandysmom]

It's been a long time since I've had a kitten, but as I remember it, little and often is ideal, as Angie said, three to four wet meals. It's good that you're sticking with what he's used to; if you want to change his food do it gradually, just a wee bit of the new food mixed with the old till it's been changed. If he's not a big water drinker you can add a little water to the wet food to make more liquid gravy.

[janey83]

Awww what a little darling.

[yola]

Welcome to you and the delightful Merlin! I'm sure you'll both get into your stride really soon . . . it's amazing how quickly you'll be able to pick up his likes and dislikes - even though you're not very familiar with cats.

As for the poo - it could simply be that he's a little unsettled. My 12 year old cat came back from a vet trip on Saturday and promptly got the runs (again :roll:) - if little Merlin's prone to being a bit of a stress bunny it might just be the way his body reacts to change.

I would keep to the same diet he's used to for a bit and see if he settles.