How can you tell if a kitten will have long or short hair?

Question

This weekend I visited a friend who had a new kitten (about 8 weeks old). The kitten has a fuzzy coat, but most kittens seem to have a fuzzy coat from what I can tell through internet searches.

We were trying to guess if the kitten would have a long or short haired coat as an adult. Is there a way to tell (not knowing what the parents looked like), or will we just have to wait until the kitten grows up?

Answer 1

Check if it has tufts of fur between the toes. That's a sign that most long and medium-long haired cats share.

Long-haired cat's paw:

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Short-haired cat's paw:

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You can see in the long-haired cat's paw, there's that sudden sprout of long hair sticking out. You'll also be able to see that with the front paws.

Answer 2

Usually a kitten will have tufts of longer hair between the toes (As stated previously), but will often have long tufts around the ears and face as well if it is long haired. Sometimes it's not super obvious either, usually the coats are finer, fluffier and thicker when long haired. But this isn't always true, so you will probably have to wait to find out.

Answer 3

Apart from the other suggestions, check the thinness of the fur. Thick fur for a kitten typically indicates long hair in later life, and thin hair is usually found in short hairs (you need to have a comparison to see the difference, but it rarely fails).