If you have a pet in your life, you know these sweet and silly creatures are always learning and adapting to their friends and family.
That’s how you end up with funny cases where an animal who has mostly lived with critters of another species starts to think, “Well, that must be what I am, too!”
Take, for example, this sweet and silly baby deer who grew up with a whole bunch of dog siblings and now thinks he’s just another puppy.
Meanwhile, other pets to an entirely different line: Every now and then, we spot an adorable fluffball but can’t tell what kind of animal it is.
Such is the case for a beautiful creature making the rounds on the internet. Everyone agrees he’s a total cutie pie, but no one is quite sure whether he’s a cat… or a dog!
Scroll through below to learn about this fluffy and mysterious creature, and discover just what kind of pet he really is!
This fluffy little guy is named Atchoum, and he lives in Canada with his family.
He’s adorable and clearly very well-behaved (just look how nicely he’s sitting), but one question about him remains unanswered: What is he?
Confusion over the answer started circulating after someone posted this picture of Atchoum to Twitter, along with the caption: “Her: Do you have a dog or a cat? Me: I don’t know.”
And we have to admit, it is pretty confusing!
Just look at this guy, he could be a very long-haired cat, but he could just as easily be a scrappy little terrier.
It’s really hard to tell, and we almost started wondering if he’s a species all his own.
In fact, plenty of folks on Twitter had the same thought, with some commenting that Atchoum is clearly a “catdog,” while another declared “it’s an owl.”
Others compared Atchoum to an Ewok, the furry-faced creatures from the Star Wars movies.
However, Atchoum isn’t mythical or a mysterious hybrid: He’s just an ordinary pet.
What kind of ordinary pet, you ask? Well, drumroll, please…
Atchoum is a cat!
That’s right, the fluffy creature pictured above is just an ordinary cat, with one extraordinary coat.
He has so much voluminous gray fur because of a genetic mutation.
Atchoum is an ordinary gray Persian cat, and Persians usually do have long, luxurious coats.
But Atchoum’s coat is so long that it drifts into Maltese territory because of a condition called hypertrichosis.
His hair grows incredibly quickly, and in excessive amounts, but he doesn’t seem to mind letting his long locks blow in the wind.
Atchoum, who lives with owners in Quebec, shares his life with another cat, a black and white kitty named Oreo.
Oreo also has long hair, but his coat really can’t rival Atchoum’s.
All that hair requires regular trimming to keep it out of his face, and daily grooming to keep it from tangling, but it sure is beautiful!
Plus, we have to admit we’re a little bit obsessed with Atchoum’s luxurious eyebrows and mustache.
They give him the look of a distinguished gentleman, or perhaps a distinguished owl!
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