Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and meet my five funny cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.
You know that feeling of anger you get when someone refers to your pet as “just a dog” or “just a cat”? Well, I feel the same way when someone uses the phrase “just a moggie”. If you’re not familiar with the term, a ‘moggie’ is basically the feline version of a mongrel. They are also known as Domestic Shorthair, Domestic Medium hair, or Domestic Long haired cats. Whether they are a DSH, DMH, or DSH, there is nothing ‘just’ about these wonderful cats.
There are five cats in my house and not one of them is pure. I don’t have anything against a pedigree puss, but I’ve always been a sucker for the less ostentatious variety.
Over the millennia that they have assigned humans worthy of their company, cats have mostly been spared the basic physical manipulations that selective breeding has bestowed on dogs. In most cases, cat breeds differ largely in their coats and temperaments, with relatively few changes in their anatomy. Except for the squishy-faces of Persians, cartilage abnormalities of Scottish Folds, and dwarfism in Munchkin breeds, most cats share the same basic form and function. But, like any animal that is selectively bred, there are also some invisible traits that are more commonly seen in purebreds, such as heart disease in Maine Coons, diabetes in Burmese, and kidney disease in Persian cats.
So when asked the question “which breed of cat is considered the healthiest?” my answer will always be moggie.
It’s About Hybrid Vigor
When a population of cats is allowed to reproduce without interference, the end result is, quite literally, the opposite of inbreeding. The cats that have earned the right to breed are the healthiest individuals with the strongest genetics, which means that the physical traits that we humans might prefer are quickly diluted within a few generations. The resulting population contains the mixture of genes that gives it the greatest chance of survival, and is known as ‘hybrid vigor’ – strength through outbreeding.
If you look at the population of feral cats – and I’m talking about well-established and independent cats, not just local strays – you may notice that they are usually short or medium haired, with tabbies, tortoiseshells , black, and white are the most common colors seen. The genes for these coat colors are dominant, so when cats are not selected for breeding from a limited gene pool, they will eventually take over.
House of Dominant Genes
In my little gang, we have all the dominant coat colors represented:
They also come from mixed backgrounds: 2 strays, 1 re-homed, 2 adopted from unplanned litters, and 0 from breeders. I’m not here to throw shade in the world of cat pedigree breeding, I’m just pointing out that the more ‘ordinary’ appearance of moggies is also an indication of health and hybrid vigor.
Never ‘Just a Moggie’
I’m not suggesting that we should turn our cats out to breed indiscriminately – that’s the last thing I want to encourage! But I want us to look beyond looks before dismissing a non-pedigree cat as inferior when the truth is that cats with more ‘ordinary’ or ‘boring’ coat colors just flash their superior genes.
And let’s face it, there are no ordinary or ordinary cats – they’re all a little special!