Question
I am trying to figure out what type of cat I have. My cat is a male, tuxedo, cat and I think he's a tabby, but how can I figure it out?
Answer
This answer addresses both how to determine color and breed of a cat obtained from a shelter/rescue.
Coat Colors
Some names are used to describe coat colors, but are not actual cat breeds. If your cat looks like the description, then you can use the name to describe your cat.
Tabby - Tabbies have striped or spotted patterns and a distinctive "M" on their foreheads.
Tuxedo - Tuxedo cats have a white chest and paws, with a different color on the rest of their body. They often have white on their face.
Calico - Calico cats are tri-colored (have three colors) in large patches all over their bodies.
Tortoishells - Tortoishells are almost entirely female. They have 2 non-white colors either mixed or in patches.
Cat Breeds
If you obtained your cat from a shelter or rescue, then your cat is likely of mixed breed. It is very rare (with certain exceptions that I'll discuss below) for a purebreed cat to be found in a shelter because most reputable breeders only place culls (non-breeding pet quality cats) with a contract that stipulates that the cat must be returned to the breeder if it is no longer wanted.
Often shelters will assign a breed name (such as Russian Blue to a grey cat) to increase its appeal to the public. These cats are almost never actually that particular breed, but if you want a cat with a certain coat color it can sometimes be a useful way to search.
That said, there are several TYPES that can be identified by their features. The most basic are Domestic Short Hair (DSH) and Domestic Long Hair (DLH) (at least in the US, the names may differ in other countries). DSH are known for their short fur, while DLH are known for their long fur. For most rescued cats, when filling out paperwork that asks for breed (such as at the vet), one of these designations will work just fine.
The exceptions that I noted above are that some cat breeds have become very popular with the public and so were not always bred by reputable breeders. Two that are fairly easily identifiable in the US are the Persian and Siamese.
Cats with Persian ancestry (again, I'm assuming a rescue so we can't say that it's purebred) will typically have the squished face and long hair.
Cats with Siamese ancestry typically have colorpoints (darker face, ears, legs, and tail) and blue eyes. They also tend to be very vocal. Modern Siamese are very thin and have wedge shaped heads, but cats with Siamese heritage can come from older stock (the breed gained a lot of popularity in the 1970s in the US) and can have a more traditional DSH body.
Putting Color and Breed Together
You can use both color and breed to describe your cat. For example, if you have a striped cat of unknown/mixed ancestry with short fur, you can say you have a Tabby DSH.
Answered By - Zaralynda