What Breed Is My Cat -8 Simple Ways To Identify!

Many people know there are different cat breeds, but fewer people know exactly how many there are or how hard it can be to tell some breeds apart! 

The truth is that unless you buy a cat from a specific breeder or from a shelter that already knows the cat’s breed, you’re probably getting a mixed-breed cat. Still, there are some cases where shelter cats and rescues turn out to be a specific type. 

Knowing your cat’s breed or breeds isn’t just a matter of pride or knowing whether you can enter them in the local cat show. A cat’s breed can tell you much about its health, what kind of diet it should be eating, and even how active or mischievous you can expect your furry friend to be. 

Many people think that cat breeds aren’t as distinct as dog breeds, but that isn’t entirely true. Domesticated cats might not vary in size as much as dogs do, but their other traits can vary greatly. It’s just that a lot of the differences are more subtle. 

So, how do you tell what breed your cat is? Well, it can be complicated. 

Often, the easiest way to know what your cat’s breed is is to get a genetic test to confirm it. But plenty of other clues can tell you what breed your cat is likely to be, even if you don’t get genetic testing. 

That’s great because genetic testing can sometimes be expensive and is sometimes more definitive than we’d like it to be. We’ll talk a bit more about how genetic testing works when it’s a good idea, and what information you can get from the tests. But we’ll also discuss the traits, personality types, and other indicators to help you figure out your cat’s breed. 

Cat Breed Basics

First, before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s talk about cat breeds. There are currently 73 breeds recognized by The International Cat Association (TICA), with more mixed breeds than ‘purebred’ varieties. The Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA), however, only recognizes 45 breeds, and the Encyclopedia Britannica only lists the following 15 breeds: 

• Abyssinian
• British Shorthair
• Burmese
• Cornish Rex
• Devon Rex
• Himalayan
• Maine Coon
• Manx
• Persian
• Russian Blue
• Scottish Fold
• Siamese
• Sphynx
• Turkish Angora
• Turkish Van

If you’re a cat breed enthusiast, you’ll probably have already noticed that there are only a few breeds in that list, but that many of the breeds are popular ones! 

For instance, ragdoll, munchkin, and Bengal cats are all missing, as are American Shorthairs, Egyptian Maus, and Toyger cats. 

We bring this up because it’s essential to understand that there are potentially many more breeds than your local cat association officially recognizes. Some breeders try to cultivate specific traits, shapes, colors, and personalities in their cats, which sometimes creates a brand-new breed. 

All of this can make genetic testing complicated because the tests might not have genetic information from all the recognized breeds, much less the newer or less widely recognized ones, which means that you might have a cat that’s a specific breed but who shows up as a mix of other breeds on the testing. 

For health and wellness reasons, that’s fine. You’ll still get the information you need to help your cat live its happiest and healthiest life. But, if you’re looking to enter your cat in shows and need specific breed confirmation to get started, you need to make sure you’re using tests that will include that breed in the results. 

Genetic Testing For Cat Breed

There are a lot of genetic tests for cats available, some only available through your vet, and others designed to be done at home by curious cat owners. 

The good news is that even the at-home tests are usually very accurate. You’ll only need to go through your vet if you want to or if you are looking for a specific trait or disease marker that isn’t included in the at-home tests. 

Like genetic tests for people, most of these tests can be run by swabbing the inside of your cat’s mouth for a saliva and cell sample. However, some of the tests run by your vet might need a blood sample instead. 

Testing screens for what breed or a mix of breeds your cat is and for important genetic markers related to health. So getting genetic testing can help you understand your cat’s risk for a wide range of health problems. 

Some of the saliva tests can even give you information about your cat’s dental and oral health! Then you can take the results to your vet to consult with them on the best care plan for your cat, given their dental health, genetic markers, and any signs of disease in the test. 

How To Identify Cat Breeds Based On Specific Traits

Before we get into this, it’s important to say that genetic testing, while not always being as thorough or inclusive of different breeds as we would prefer, is still one of the only definitive ways to tell what breed cat you have. 

However, there are plenty of traits your cat has that can help you narrow down what breed or breeds your cat is and can give you some of the information you need to help them live happier healthier lives. 

This guide will give you an idea of what to look for and some examples of breed-specific traits. This will also show you what to look for and what it can mean for your cat. 

Your Cat’s Head Shape

Your cat’s head shape can go a long way to help you figure out what breed your cat is. 

For example, British shorthair cats generally have large round heads and slightly flattened faces. They have large round eyes and usually have chubby cheeks even when they are at a healthy weight. Chunkier British shorthair cats will carry some of that extra weight on and around their face. 

On the other side of the spectrum, Cornish Rex cats, another British breed originating in Cornwall, tend to be thinner and have smaller, wedge-shaped heads with elongated faces and prominent eyes, ears, and cheekbones. 

There are a few different head shapes that are common among cat breeds, and figuring out what shape your cat has and whether they have a relatively large or small head compared with their body can help narrow down what breeds they might be. 

Ear Shape

Ear shape can be another determining trait. There are a lot of breeds of cats that have a classic triangle shape, but if your cat has a different ear shape, you’ll probably only have a handful of breeds they could. 

For instance, some cats have abnormally large ears. That includes breeds like the Cornish Rex, Siamese, Savannah Cats, Devon Rex, Abyssinian, Balinese, and more. 

Other cats may have folded-over ears, a relatively rare breed trait. Specifically, this is a trait of Scottish Fold cats, and the name refers explicitly to the trait. 

Ear tufts, ears that curl toward or away from the face, overall shape and size, and whether your cat’s ears point straight up or out to the side can give you some breed clues. 

Paw Shape And Size

Paws can be another big tell for your cat’s breed or breeds. 

For example, Northern cat breeds that originate in snowy regions often have larger, furrier paws and may have more fur on the underside of their paw compared with other cats. If you watch your cat stretch their paws, most Northern breeds will also flex and stretch its paws larger than other cats. 

Even cats with paw disorders, like polydactyl cats, are more likely to show up in some breeds compared with others. For instance, polydactyl paws are pretty standard among Maine Coon cats but significantly less common in the general population of domesticated cats. 

Even the color of your cat’s paw pads can point to specific breeds, especially when you combine paw pad color with fur color. Certain combinations are only found in limited breeds. 

Fur Color And Length

Fur is often one of the first things people look at to determine their cat’s breed, though many colors are common among many different breeds. Orange, black, and gray tabby cats are found across many breeds. 

But, Siamese coloring, with darker fur in the middle of the face, and on paws and the tip of the cat’s tail, is rare and limited to only a few breeds, all directly related to Siamese cats. That’s because a genetic mutation changes how the cat’s fur color develops. 

Tabby is the most common, but solid color cats may give you a good hint of their breed depending on their color. Blue cats have cool-gray-toned fur and are much more limited than some other colors. 

Bicolor cats or cats with very distinct lines between different colors of fur might not indicate their breed, but they could tell you about another interesting quirk, chimerism! Not all bi-color cats are chimeras, but the most distinct color changes might be, and it’s worth testing because chimerism means that your cat has two sets of DNA, which can have a lot of implications for its health. 

Your cat’s fur color is one of many breed indicators, too. Your cat’s fur’s length, thickness, and texture may also point to its breed. Some cat breeds can be both short- and long-haired, but many are exclusively longhaired or shorthaired. 

Tail Shape 

A lot of people already know that dogs have different kinds of tails and that your dog’s tail can tell you something about their breed, but did you know that tails are also an important breed indicator for cats? 

Most cats have what’s called a normal tail, which means that it’s a long, thin tail roughly proportionate with the cat’s body. 

But a long fluffy tail could point to Norwegian Forest cats, Maine Coon cats, Ragdolls, and several other breeds. 

Long thin tails, which are a bit longer proportionate to the cat’s body than a normal tail, can indicate Siamese, Sphynx, Balinese, Cornish Rex, and a few other breeds. 

Bobtails are some of the rarer tails on a cat and are found on American and Japanese bobtails, Manx cats, and a couple of other breeds. Manx cats are also occasionally born completely healthy but tail-free. 

Eye Color

Specific eye colors can also give you some insight into your cat’s breed. Yellow and hazel eyes are the two most common eye colors in cats. 

But blue and green eyes are a little more breed-limited, especially when combined with fur type, color, and ear shape as breed-specific traits. 

Orange and brown-eyed cats are rare and limited to just a few different breeds. 

Other clues include heterochromia, which can be more common in some breeds than others, and dichroic eyes, where one side of the eye is a different color than the other, which is a rare breed trait and can be a sign of chimerism in some cases. 

Between all these different traits, you should narrow down what breeds your cat belongs to or a handful of breeds that might be mixed if you have a cat that has multiple-breed specific traits from different breeds, congratulations! You have a cat of mixed ancestry. If you have a cat with traits that almost all match a single breed, or a couple of very related breeds, you probably have a cat that’s entirely or mostly that breed. 

It takes some research, and some cat traits can be very similar, but it’s rewarding to figure out for your cat. Happy researching!