The use of DNA markers to identify sources of crime scene evidence has revolutionized forensic science. DNA genotyping from human genetic identification at scenes of crime, war and human disaster has become routinely used since the application of variable number of tandem repeat loci (VNTR) and the short-tandem repeat (STR) loci. However, until recently, the genetic individualization of biological samples of non-human origin has been limited due to the lack of species-specific hyper-variable locus probes, as well as population databases required to compute match likelihoods. In this study, a forensic genotyping panel of 11 tetranucleotide STR loci from a domestic cat was characterized and evaluated for genetic individualization of cat tissues. The study examined a total of 49 tri and tetra-nucleotide STR loci as candidates for a forensic panel for genetic individualization of domestic cat samples. The cat breeds (28 breeds) examined exhibited moderate to good levels of heterozygosity compared to those values observed in a small sample set of out-bred domestic cats. This suggests the panel has good potential for genetic discrimination of individuals within the 28 cat breeds examined. It is also suggested based on the results, that the STR panel will have good potential for genetic discrimination across the more genetically diverse population of out-bred domestic cats. Tables and references