I heard of the Scottish wildcat and saw a photo of one that looked a lot like Paladin, at least in a reasonably familiar way. Unfortunately, he is not the perfect type. Any white in the fur of a Scottish wildcat is considered a defect. Paladin of course has white paws and tummy, so his resemblance or blood alliance is defective. Who cares? The cylindrical tail with black pointed tip is identical to the wildcat. Paladin has a gravelly voice more like a growling wildcat than like a house cat. His voice notwithstanding, Paladin is a sweet house cat, though he and Effie can get into brief, yowly, claws-out tiffs, but they never hurt each other.
Click the link below to see photos of Scottish wildcats.
Is Paladin a Scottish wildcat? Nah. He’s an American kitty. But he looks like he’s somewhere in the line.
Eel Creek Chronicles 
He has beautiful markings regardless of where he came from. (Kommando has medium-length fur that lays flat against her back and sides. We have not yet found a breed whose fur does that.)
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Thank you cat9984. I think he is beautiful, and extremely similar in appearance to the Scottish wildcat. The tail is the dead giveaway for me. Its cylindrical form and black tip are completely typical of the wildcat, and I haven’t seen a tail like it on any other type of cat. But Paladin is not a wildcat; he shares some ancestral traits with the Scottish wildcat. That doesn’t make him one. ^-.-^
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And it appears that he is perfectly happy to enjoy the advantages of the non-wild life. 🙂
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Exactly! He crossed the threshold from feral before we took him in, to domestic in just a few weeks. Once we had him neutered, he came in to our house, explored it, enjoyed being with us humans, ate from bowls, and we witnessed joy on his face when he played with toys, which he continues to enjoy. Wildcats simply are not associated with these behaviors!
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Reblogged this on spike the scottish black cat..
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Still sounds perfect to me. Cheers,H
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I see the resemblance, but he is much cuter. XO
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Thank you, Ellen; of course Paladin is cuter. And he plays with toys.
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If he meows with a brogue …
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He sounds throaty, maybe like a Brogue. I don’t think though that he grew up in a Scottish home.
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Could be down a long line….maybe some small traits in him…x😻🐾🐾🐾
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I think that’s exactly the case, Chris. He certainly has residual traits, and behaviorally he is hardly a wildcat.
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Might have some of that breed in him. Maybe you should send in one of those DNA kits to find out his ancestry. Ha Ha. Sounds like a good idea though to me.
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I’m not into ancestry or DNA testing for my cats, Greg. Cats are created and designed to inspire mystery.
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