August 14, 2024, 7:07 am | Read time: 7 minutes
Many breed descriptions for cats contain information about coat colors such as tawny, apricot, or caramel. The terms tabby and colorpoint are also frequently used. PETBOOK reveals what is behind the different names and how they come about.
Alongside dogs, cats are the animals that people most frequently genetically modify through breeding. This results in increasingly exotic cats with a wide variety of coat colors and markings. Depending on which organization you look at, there are now between 40 and 98 recognized cat breeds. However, there are also many technical terms and descriptions of the coat that only true cat professionals can fully understand. Until now, because PETBOOK explains in more detail how the different patterns and colors are created and what they look like.
In the beginning, there were only red and black
If you look around at domestic cats without breeding, it quickly becomes clear that there are few coat colors to be found. This is because the animals actually only have genes with pigments for two different colors. Depending on which information is on the respective X chromosome, different pigments will therefore develop. This is either the pigment eumelanin, which produces black fur, or pheomelanin, which is responsible for the formation of red fur.
Dilution genes weaken basic colors
However, these basic pigments can be altered by various genetic markers. Two of the most important for breeding cats are called dilution genes, which attenuate eumelanin or pheomelanin and create gradations. A distinction is made here between a single and a modified gene, which has a double decolorizing effect. These genes are also known as dilute genes.
If the red pigment is diluted in a cat, the single-dilute gene produces the color cream. If the animal also carries the modified dilute gene, the color is slightly less pronounced and is then called apricot in the coat color language of cats.
Black pigment is very changeable
However, things get really interesting when you look at the possible variations of the black pigment eumelanin. This is also called B, for black, and is actually inherited dominantly. However, it is very mutable and has several alleles, i.e., genetic information that is not inherited dominantly. However, these can be brought to light through targeted breeding. This is where the non-dominant b allele appears, which produces chocolate-brown (cinnamon) or chestnut-brown (chestnut) coats. A third (bl allele) finally brings out the color cinnamon.
These three colors can then be further diluted by the dilute and modified dilute genes. When black fur is diluted, the colors blue and caramel are created. However, this is not a rich sea blue or candy brown, but rather the colors that are often seen in Carthusian cats or British shorthairs.
Accordingly, chocolate brown coats are diluted to the colors lilac, lavender, and taupe. Cinnamon-brown coats, on the other hand, become fawn, and beige through dilution. However, some breeding organizations simply continue to speak of caramel shades, as caramel, fawn and beige are already very similar in appearance.
The Pinto gene creates white
“But wait!”, many will now think. Because what about white fur? After all, many cats have white fur, usually in combination with black or red. However, this white is not a color or a pigment per se, but a lack of it. All other markings and patterns can be traced back to the fact that pigmentless fur initially breaks through at one point in the DNA due to the so-called pied gene.
Once a cat has inherited this gene, there are only a few limits to the coat patterns. They can develop white paws, a two-tone pied coat, or a harlequin or van pattern. In these two cases, the color is concentrated on the tail and ears or a few spots on the back.
For cats that are completely white, all other pigment-forming genetic information in the coat is missing. In most cases, this is a form of leucism that usually has no consequences. True albinism, on the other hand, is very rare in cats and is mainly seen in blue eyes, which then also no longer form any color pigments.
Colorpoint or partial albinism
When it comes to blue eyes, many people will immediately think of Siamese and other Asian cats. Due to their color pattern, these animals are also said to have a form of partial albinism. Their eyes are blue, but there are other colors, especially on the face, tail, and legs. This concentrated coat color in cats is called colorpoint patterning.
This is usually caused by a change in the black pigment. However, these cats have a unique characteristic: their fur becomes darker when it gets colder. This is also known as cold-blackening and is therefore characteristic of the areas of the animal that are less warm than others. However, some colorpoint cats also darken over the course of their lives, depending on the temperatures they have experienced.
In particular, they show gradations of eumelanin, which is why Siamese, Thai, and Burmese cats are often referred to as Blue Point, Chocolate Point, or Lilac Point. In addition, the coat color seal point is also found here, which is supposed to be reminiscent of the dark brown of a seal and itself is a very slight dilution of black.1
Patterns in cats
Cats also have the so-called wild type, also known as tabby. However, the prerequisite for the formation of stripes, spots, and dots is the presence of white again, in combination with genetic changes. Here, either parts of the DNA are missing or have been recombined so that even two-colored hairs appear. Because if you take a close look at a tabby cat, there are always areas where colorless fur appears.
This characteristic, also known as agouti in breeding, can affect the top eighth of the hair and is then called the shell or chinchilla. The upper half of the hair can also be darker, which is called shading or shell. If only the bottom eighth of the hair is not colored, it is called smoke.
These two-toned hairs then give the appearance of the tabby-type pattern in cats, which makes them resemble a wild cat. This is not fully developed in all cats. Some have the tawny color pattern, which combines pheomelanin and eumelanin into a mix. In many cats, however, the tabby markings also appear in undiluted red or black. This is not always fully pronounced but can be recognized by a marking above the nose reminiscent of the letter M or by color rings that appear on the tail. However, there are also four full tabby variations:
- Tabby/striped
- Spotted, with small dots of color
- Brindle, very broad stripes
- Ticked, with rosette-shaped, large spots 2
Also interesting: 8 reasons why cats arch their backs
Parallel evolution Studies unlock the mystery behind colorful bird feathers
Biological puzzle Are zebras actually black- or white-striped?
Unique Markings How Cats Develop a Spotted Coat
Other rare coat colors and patterns in cats
Cats have the most diverse coat colors and gradations. New ones are also being discovered all the time, such as the recent black, white, and gray salmiac pattern in cats from Finland. If you look a little further into its neighboring country, there is already another unique coat color in the Norwegian Forest Cat, which is called Amber. The coat color is known to be diluted to light amber, but it also appears in combination with a tabby pattern or even in a tricolor variant, because this is also possible in cats but is very rare.
Tricolor in cats is also known as tortoiseshell or tortie. As a rule, it only occurs in females with red and black pigmentation, which also have spotting and even tabby markings. Due to its rarity, this pattern ensures that these cats have the most unlikely genetics to “hit the lottery” and are also known as lucky cats.
Last but not least, there are also the special silver and gold colorings. These are still very rare and are therefore increasingly bred and sought after. These color patterns have a solid-colored coat with slightly colored tips. The chinchilla cat is an example of this. These are available in the silver- and gold-shaded varieties, which correspond to a white or beige base tone with dark hair tips.3