There are many things that I might wonder about when I get a new kitten. Of course, one of those things is the color of the fur that the kitten will have when it becomes older.
However, another thing that I might think about at this point is if the kitten is going to have long or short hair.
This might seem like it would be fairly simple to figure out, but this is not always the case, especially if I am not sure what breed of cat my kitten is.
How can you tell if a kitten will have short or long hair?
One way to tell if a kitten will have or short hair is its breed. If you know its breed, you can probably tell if it will have short or long hair. Another way is its parentage. Kittens with at least a parent with short hair will have short hair as long hair’s a recessive cat gene.
The Breed of Your Kitten Is A Major Factor
If I know the breed of your kitten, then I will likely have an easier time figuring out if it will have short or long hair. I know that certain breeds of cats are known to have short or long hair.
If my kitten is part of a breed that has long hair, then it will eventually have long hair, as well. A few examples of cat breeds that are known to have long hair are Persians, Maine coons, and Himalayans.
Thankfully, it is easy to tell if I have a Persian cat. These are quite distinguishable and if I have a Persian kitten, it will have long hair eventually.
However, it is possible that I may not know the breed of my kitten. In this case, there are other ways that I can tell if my kitten will have short or long hair.
Try To Learn More About Its Parentage
Not all cat owners are certain about the breed of their kitten. If you are one of these owners, then I advise you to do your best to get more information about your kitten’s parentage.
My kitten’s genes determine whether or not it will have short or long hair. The gene that makes cats have long hair is actually recessive, according to information from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
This is one reason that it is important to figure out my kitten’s parentage when answering this question.
If my kitten has one parent that has long hair and one parent that has short hair, then my kitten will have short hair.
Because of the fact that the gene for long hair is recessive, a long-haired cat mating with a short-haired cat will only produce short-haired kittens. This is one way to tell if your kitten’s having short or long hair.
Traits that Long-Haired Cats Have
I can also try to determine if your kitten will have short or long hair based on their traits. One trait of cats that have long hair is that they have fluffy and long coats.
Another trait of long-haired cats is that they can have coats that are the color of smoke. Their coat’s color might also be in a tabby pattern and you usually see this appear in the form of stripes.
A long-haired cat can also have a coat color in a tortoise-shell pattern. This means that it is another type of tabby pattern but the color of the coat is usually some kind of black, cream, or orange.
One more obvious trait is the length of the hair that they have. Generally speaking, a long-haired cat has hair that is between two and six inches in length.
Another possible sign that my kitten will grow up to have long hair is if it has ear tufts. This is not a definitive sign that my kitten will grow up to have long hair, but it could be a sign of this.
I should also see if your kitten has paw tufts. If so, then my kitten will likely have long hair later in life.
Traits of Short-Haired Cats
Of course, short-haired cats have distinctive traits, as well. One trait of the American Shorthair cat is that its coat, while short, is also dense and thick.
I will probably feel that the texture of your cat’s coat is somewhat hard if I have an American Shorthair. This is normal since the coat is meant to serve as protection for this type of cat.
It is also worth noting that this type of shorthair cat can have many different colors when it comes to the color of its coat.
One coat color I can see with an American shorthair is white, but there are quite a few other colors.
Some of these colors include red, black, blue, cream, brown, silver, and even golden. Bluecream, chinchilla, tortoiseshell, and cameo are a few more colors that you might see with American shorthairs.
When it comes to their weight, this depends on the gender of the cat. A male American shorthair can weigh more than 12 pounds.
A female American shorthair, on the other hand, typically weighs between eight and 12 pounds. The American shorthair cat is also heavily boned, as well.
When it comes to their eye colors, American shorthairs often have green or gold eyes. They might also have blue eyes, as well.
Some American shorthairs have heterochromatic eyes. This means that their eyes each have different colors.
Frequently Asked Questions about How to Tell if a Kitten will have Short or Long Hair
What’s the most reliable way of telling whether your kitten will be long- or short-haired?
Knowing the breed of the kitten is the most reliable method to figure this out. I can easily check online to see if my kitten will have short or long hair if I know its breed.
Are cats with long hair harder to groom than cats with short hair?
In general, the answer is yes. I will point out that you will likely have to spend more time grooming the cat if it has long hair than if it has short hair.
Conclusion
I will add that there are multiple ways to tell if a kitten will have short or long hair. I can tell if I know the breed of the kitten.
Also, I will add that a kitten with one parent that has long hair and one parent with short hair will have short hair.
That is why I recommend checking into your kitten’s parentage if you do not know its breed. Both kinds of kittens can make great companions, so it boils down to what you prefer in a cat.