Anybody know anything about S African domestic cats?

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

I was visiting catteries on Saturday & in one of them there were 2 most amazing-looking cats - both male, not very big, kind of dark grey all over (but very slightly speckly) & with 3 or 4 distinct narrow stripes on the head. Also possibly some beigey bits round the edges (paws etc)

Very handsome cats. One was friendly & one reserved. Cattery man had no idea about breed - just that the family had moved from S Africa, & that they say something like 'all S African cats are like this'

[cozietoesie]

I didn't but my immediate thoughts were not only that cats tend to develop local characteristics (depending on how ranging their local toms are for example) but also that there might have been some interbreeding with the smaller indigenous wildcats.

Do any of the smaller cats \link{http://www.catsforafrica.co.za/\here} look like the ones you saw?

[Lonecatwithkitten]

The only one I have ever known thought he was a lion and as his vet he liked to try and impress this fact upon me. Minimal handling was the best way with him.
We rarely ever got cats from South Africa in quarantine, most of our cats came from the Far East or America.

[cozietoesie]

Strewth, Lone. I thought you could wrangle most any cat.

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

Nothing like any of those, cozie

No, these were nice, small domestic cats - they reminded me of something but I couldn't put my finger on what

[cozietoesie]

Some of those smaller cats are actually small if you look at the breed specifications. I seem to recall that the African Wildcat, for example, had males ranging in the 3.5 to 4.5 kg range which stands in close comparison to a fairly sleek oriental here in the UK.

Still - if the look of them didn't click...... Pity you didn't take a quick photo.

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

Small, but not domestic, cozie

Yes, a pic would have helped, you're right

[Lonecatwithkitten]

The one I encountered looked like lovely ginger moggy he weighed about 4.5Kg.

[LastingLight]

I'm no expert on cat breeds but a quick google doesn't turn up any indigenous South African breeds and none of the indigenous wild cats look like you describe. From personal experience I can tell you that cats in South Africa come in all kinds of colours, probably just like you have in the UK.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Lonecatwithkitten, is "looked like" where the similarity with naice ginger cats ended abruptly?.

Poor you, I bet he was a lovely cat at home.

[PeriPathetic]

I've seen a few, they seem much smaller than British cats (mind you, mine is huge) but the colouring is stunning. A sort of silver tabby with a touch of tortoiseshell. Is this what you mean? One next door has the most stunning apricot tinge to her underbelly.

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

ooh, I'm glad someone else has seen one!

Not exactly silver tabby colouring, although the light wasn't very bright there so the friendly one could be lighter than I thought (the other one was curled up in its bed at the back of their unit with a window behind it so I couldn't see it so well) but yes, I think an apricot tinge is what I saw round the edges.

I would estimate the weight would be under 4kg (a bit smaller than my adult cats who weigh slightly more than that)

I'm wanting to go back for another look & a photo now!

[cozietoesie]

It never occurred to me - but were you visiting catteries in a purposeful way? (ie with an eye to rehoming?)

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

oh no, cozie - just to find the one I liked the best for my cats to stay in

There are no catteries locally - there used to be a very nice kennel/cattery, but that has closed down, & the only local kennel, which I have used once, is very unfriendly (you have to hand the cats over & pick them up from the office)

Last holiday I used the nearest cattery to us (about 10 miles away) but although the people were nice the premises were cold & scruffy.

I saw 4 on Saturday - one was awful (cheap, but not cheap enough for the awfulness) & one was OK but the cats have no outside space at all. 2 were lovely, but with one they could only see outside from the shelf, not from the ground, because there's a screen to keep wind & leaves out.

The 4th is both the nearest to me (about 13 miles - the others were 23-24 miles, & the cats don't enjoy car journeys) & the nicest, by far. The building the cats are housed in is warm & gleaming & smells lovely, & the testimonials on their website are sincerely glowing . I must book today, in fact!

[PeriPathetic]

I've just spent far too long looking for a photo of the colouring I mean (so many cat rescue places here ) . But can't find anything exactly right. Kind of dusty looking, if that makes sense.

You definitely need to go back. And then bring them home with you!

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

Yes, kind of dusty, exactly, Peri! (& with narrow dark stripes on the head, front to back, though that might be just this one)

Well I've booked in, but on the phone, so I couldn't see them