how many breeds of cats are there and how many possible breeds could there e

carlowplayer

have become interested in both cats and genetics and am wondering just how many possible combinations of breeds there are and could be?
Also the same with dogs how many breeds of dog are there and how many possible breeds could there be?

kylith

How many breeds are there? Hundreds. How many could there be? How long is a piece of string?

metaoblivia

Currently there are over 80 breeds of cats recognized by one cat registry or another. The World Canine Organization, which is the largest registry of dog breeds that is internationally accepted, recognizes 339 breeds of dogs.

As to how many there could be... who knows.

street

Depends on what you consider genetically acceptable as a "breed".

Here's some info on dog breeds:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201305/how-many-breeds-dogs-are-there-in-the-world

and cat breeds:

http://cats.about.com/od/felinegenetics/a/colorpatterns.htm

Possible combinations? Infinite, if you think about it..