Breed laws allow numerous eye, hair, and coat colors, making cat breed identification difficult. Longhaired tabbies and golden-eyed black cats may not be Bombays or Maine Coons.
Most domestic short, medium, or long-haired cats are not purebred. A breed registry-certified cat is a purebred.
Domestic cats vary. They have tabby, calico, tortoiseshell, and tuxedo coats and come in different sizes.
Calico cats are tortoiseshell-and-white. Males are infertile and females are frequent. Persian, Maine Coon, and Manx cats are calico.
Tabby cats have stripes, whorls, swirls, dots, and dashes in varied hues. Many cat breeds recognize them.
Tortoiseshell cats (torties) are red, black, and their dilutions. They may have tabby patches and two color patterns. Cornish Rex and Japanese Bobtail cats are purebred tortoiseshells.
Black tuxedo cats have white chest, feet, legs, and faces. Devon Rex, Maine Coon, and Persian breeds are domestic or purebred.
Some purebred cats have unique features such as lack of fur, wavy fur texture, smashed-in faces, and folded ears.
Domestic cats are the most commonly found type of cat in the world and can have an unknown pedigree filled with various breeds of different colors and patterns.
Domestic cats can be large, small, fat, or thin depending on their genetics, diet, and care they receive.