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I do think "breed" characteristics do come thru, for example, our last cat, Beau, was considered a "short hair tabby", he was a Siamese tabby mix, he was by far, the most intelligent cat I have ever had. Compared to his "brother", Mickey, a nice cat, IQ of a small meatball. His name could have been, "Dopey". and Beau was very much, a "one person cat".
Jasper, constant commentary, on everything! He talks more than any cat I have ever had! And LOUD!
Well here is where I will give you an opinion and take it for what it's worth. If you have a "breeder" who is not giving you pedigree or registration on you cat - or dog for that matter, then you are dealing with a back yard breeder who CAN'T give you proof of pedigree.
Contract has nothing to do with pedigree and registration with AKC or CFA or TICA whatever it may be. Agreed that contracts - such as you can't delcaw, or you must keep the pet indoors, or you must provide a fenced yard etc are hard things to inforce however one has really nothing to do with the other.
You may have a kitten that has Siamese parents - however those parent's parents and those parents parents etc all the way back a certain number of generations - back to what's known as a foundation - HAVE to be of pure heritage in order for you to have a pedigree cat. You also have to have PROOF of this. MOST people don't really care. SOME people do.
It's not always a snooty hoity toity thing. It thing some people can't see past their own prejudice about it. Many good breeders - at least many that I know, also have rescues (mixed breeds) living in their homes. It's because they love animals. Some pet owners want a pedigree cat because they love the breed. True temperament and characteristics comes with certain breeds. Certain health is genetic (for better or worse) as well.
Some cats look very much like a certain breed- many look Siamese or Maine Coon because those breeds have strong physical characteristics and because they have been breed into many breeds.
The bottom line is though that even if you got your cat from a breeder - if you do not have papers proving lineage - you DO NOT have a pedigree cat. If you dealt with a breeder that did not give you papers - you should question your choice.
OK, but here's the other point I have to counter with (again)...all it takes to register a breed is to have a cat born with certain characteristics that don't meet some other breed standard...then continue to breed to "fix" those traits, then do the legwork to establish your new breed with the associations, write up the standard, travel about and show your cat, etc. The original pair of Nebelungs were the offspring of a "street cat" mixed breed shorthair with recessive long hair genes, and a Russian Blue. It is still acceptable to breed out Nebelungs with Russian Blues. This original pair, Siegfried and Brunhilde, were born and lived in the 80's, which (to me) really isn't that long ago. The breed is new and its origins were not pedigreed.
But yeah, of course people in the business of breeding and showing should have paperwork. And a cat owner not involved in those activities or social circles can get away with telling his/her friends whatever they want about what kind of cat they've got, no matter what anybody thinks about it.
Anyhoo. I'm interested to see if Nimbus' eyes will turn green as he matures. I read in a few places that a kitten with a green halo around the pupil might go all-green by age 2. His eyes are gorgeous now, but green eyes would be lovely too, if they went that way.
Some breeds are "open" and some breeds are "closed" meaning they can or cannot by standard be allowed to have other cats mixed into their gene pool. The open breeds are specific in what they allow in.
For example I know the La Perm is a breed that occurred from a genetic mutation in a regular cat that was then bred to replicate that mutation. That has now become an established and recognized breed - from a regular domestic barn cat - and is allowed to still have domestic long hair and domestic short hair cat parents bred to another La Perm parent. This is an OPEN breed.
A siberian for example is a CLOSED breed - only pure Siberian parents can be mated to produce kittens to register.
HOWEVER - some breeds like Ragdoll until recently were OPEN (this breed is now CLOSED) Siberian cats were one of the breeds that Ragdoll breeders wanted to bring into their genetic fold for temperament, size and coat. However many of the Siberian breeders are protective of their cats not wanting them to go to out cross in another breed because they felt it tainted their Siberians to help produce a mixed breed cat. It becomes very political.
Sometimes a breed that is closed can petition a breed council to open the breed to out cross because the feel their gene pool is becoming limited. There is specifics on a generation count and how closely related cats should be in breeding. There is actually a computer program some breeders use - they enter their cats pedigrees and it keeps track of all the genetic lines and shows where the cats meet. Good breeders like to stay a minimum of 3 generations back to decrease potential risks of genetic overlap.
So if a strong enough case can be made, say for a Tonkinese which is now closed which was originally a cross in Siamese and Burmese, then they may allow re-introduction with one or the other (or both) to widen the genetics again to strengthen certain characteristics of the cat.
If you dealt with a breeder that did not give you papers - you should question your choice
this is purely speculation, i knw many CFA and TIC breeders PERSONALLY who withold registration papers untl you provide proof of spay/neuter on all kittens whoa re sold under such contracts.
same is done with dogs because often times people will change registration papers for "limited" in such a way they get full reg o a dog contracted for a spay/neuter contract...
its not unusual and NOT nessicarily a sign of a bad breeder, however these guys will show you the parents the parents pedigrees ect when asked...you just dont get YOUR papers untill your part of the spay/neuter clause is fulfilled...
With holding registration papers until a buyer provides proof of a spay or neuter is perfectly acceptable. It accounts for a reputable breeder wanting to be assured that their pedigreed cat is NOT going to go into a home that will breed it to a mutt cat and taint their lines. This is completely different than NOT providing registration papers. This is refusing registration on account of a contract being unfulfilled.
This is why so many breeders are now avoiding this situation all together and spay / neuter before the kitten leaves their care.
I have to say he very well could be siamese ragdoll russian blue mix as i breed these two n he looks like the mix of the 2 to a T.
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