"Brian and I are both scientists and we wanted Misha to be a part of a database that furthers research into house cats. We think he is a quintessential specimen!" - cat guardian Ella introduced her family to us.
"We also thought it would be both fun and useful to learn more about him" –__ she added. We recently had the pleasure to talk to Ella about her gorgeous Basepaws cat Misha, and this is what we learned.
Misha is a beautiful, Russian blue cat with blue eyes. Brian adopted him when he was just 6 months old, from a shelter where he was owner-surrendered at three months. He has been with Ella and Brian ever since. "We don't know anything about Misha's family. He has “ghost stripes” on his tail and a small white patch on his chest. It’s fun to speculate what his relatives could look like." - shared Ella about her cat's past.
Basepaws cat Misha, a dapper gentleman in a bowtie
We asked her to tell us a little bit about Misha's personality. "Misha is an easygoing cat. He trusts us enough to lie next to us purring, exposes his belly for petting, and will often choose to be in the same room as us. When awake, he is quite chatty, making responsive noises when we call him or if he wants to be fed (he knows exactly when breakfast and dinner are served and is not shy about letting us know). He is initially wary of strangers, but is otherwise a friendly teddy bear. When scared or uncomfortable, he will hiss, but never bite or scratch."
This friendly ball of fur is most attached to Brian, the hand that feeds him, of course. His favorite activities are lounging and eating. Oh, do we envy him! In light of this, he has a much-loved spot for napping, too. "Although he rotates his naps over half a dozen locations, Misha has “his spot,” a caved-in couch cushion by the window where he can simultaneously survey the street below and the entire length of the apartment within."
When asked for makes Misha so special, Ella sent us this witty comic. We appreciate the sentiment, Ella! ☺ We also asked her what she thought of Misha's Basepaws report. "We have so far received the first two versions with breed matches and are waiting for the health report and (hopefully) information on physical traits like coat genes. The results confirmed what we long suspected: that Misha was indeed a housecat and not a sentient self-cleaning throw pillow." - joked Ella.
Basepaws cat Misha looking up from one of his napping places in a basket
"Since Misha is grey with green eyes, we initially expected that he would have Russian Blue in his ancestry. While that was one of the breed matches on the list, the highest percent similarities were Siberian and Maine Coon. This makes more sense from a body type perspective. Misha is a rather hefty (“big boned”) cat and so are those two breeds. Additionally, he has dense plush fur and a cute round face, which is more in line with the Siberian breed. After reading the Basepaws blog, we now know that superficial things like fur color are less indicative of a cat’s origins. We also know that cat breeds are a recent thing, but it’s still fun to try and cat-egorize the cat." – explained Ella about Misha's report.
So far, Ella is enjoying the breed reports most, but she's looking forward to report update. "I think if, and when, coat color and pattern genes are reported, those would be my favorite results, since I found the prediction of physical traits to be one of the more entertaining things about human DNA sequencing sites." - she explained.
Misha is still waiting for his health report . He is a generally healthy cat with a few health problems. "He once came back from a tooth cleaning with 5 fewer teeth (I’d say they were missing, but the vet thoughtfully returned him to us with the teeth in a little vial). He sometimes gets an outbreak of a kitty cold (sneezing fits and watery eyes that lasts for a few days), which we suspect is a feline herpesvirus he acquired as a kitten.". Aside from this, he doesn't have many problems.
Basepaws cat Misha enjoying some catnip on one of his favorite spots, a catbed shaped like a large fruit tart
Dear Ella, thank you so much for finding the time to chat with us and share about your Basepaws cat Misha, his life and his report. We hope to cherish you with many updates very soon!
