[NCarver]

Zephyr turned one Tuesday and I finally got a progression photo put together. This photo shows how his faced has changed from approximately 2 mos., to 6 mos., to one year. Should give people an idea about how a male's look changes as he matures. I resized the photos so that the eye size and ear size (on the latter two) remain constant so it is easier to compare how his head/face have changed. Zephyr is around 17.5 lbs now at one year.

Comparison photo: Picasa Web Albums - normancarver - Cats 2010

(Click on "View All" to see the rest of our cats album.)

[Rum Tum Tugger`s Mommy]

Oh thank you! I never saw something similar before! Very interesting!!! And beautiful cat by the way ;)

[Helen & John]

One word WOW!!!

Hector is very much like Zephyr and he is nearly six months now and his face is the same shape as the six months pic so I can guess what he will look like at one when his face fills out.

Many thanks for posting that it's a great record of Zephyrs road to being a grown up MC.

[Howlinbob]

Wow that is interesting. Monty is 5 months and still quite skinny with a small ruff - could be that his fur will fill out like Zephyr's, although his Dad at 2 years old still isn't very fluffy - our breeder says she's still waiting for him to fill out!

[Louie-Louie]

Just fantastic & love all the other pics especially the birthday one

[Scrapdragon]

That looks great.... though I have to say Gryfn's face is broad like zephyr's at 12mo and gryfn is only 7mo....

[oscar cat]

Wow, Zephyr is beautiful!! Amazing how they change, and im feeling more at ease looking at your photos, because I was worried that my Oscar (he is my first MC) wasnt very broad in the face for an MC (even at only fithteen weeks) So im glad to see that it does develop, in time. had a look through some more of your photos, congrats on such lovely MCs, I Hope that My silver tabby Oscar is goping to look as lovely as yours.

[Karena]

Great idea - wonderful to see the changes, it's remarkable how much rounder his face looks from 6 months to a year.

[NCarver]

Thanks to all for the compliments and kind words on the photos and of course beautiful Zephyr...

MCs obviously vary between one another, and I think Zephyr's face looked more narrow than some when young (narrower than our other boy Remy, for example). Still this is the basic progression, becoming much fuller. I would expect his head to grow still, as suddenly at one point after a year, my wife and I both remarked to each other how Remy's head suddenly seemed noticeably larger (we had been concerned this would not happen).

For those with young MCs...one of the first MC look elements that happens is the tail. Kittens have quite thin tails, but all of a sudden they bush way out. The coat doesn't develop very rapidly at all either; at one year, Zephyr's is just beginning to resemble an adult's coat. As far as a ruff, that is most prominent during the winter months, but varies a great deal from cat to cat.

[Howlinbob]

Originally Posted by NCarver

For those with young MCs...one of the first MC look elements that happens is the tail. Kittens have quite thin tails, but all of a sudden they bush way out.

Yes we have certainly found this to be true. Monty's tail is getting very bushy and it's a couple of inches longer than Larry's... it's a glorious feature which really marks him out as a MC. Our breeder says that at 7 months the tail really bushes out! So there is more to come!