Cat Coat Colors and Patterns Explained! Learn About the Types and Names of Your Beloved Cat's Patterns

From ginger tabbies, brown tabbies, calico, tortoiseshell, bicolor, white, and black, cat fur colors and patterns come in a wide variety. It’s not uncommon for kittens from the same litter, or even parents and offspring, to have completely different fur colors and patterns.

Many people likely find this aspect of cats mysterious and endearing. Learning the names of cat fur colors and patterns can be an interesting way to understand them more deeply.

In this article, we will explain in detail how cat fur colors and patterns are determined and what types exist.

How Cat Fur Colors and Patterns are Determined

A cat's fur color and pattern are determined by the combination of genes inherited from both parents.

The genes primarily related to cat fur color and pattern are the following nine types. The combination of dominant and recessive genes results in the birth of cats with various fur colors and patterns.

Incidentally, purebred cats have a limited set of genes related to fur color, so they tend to produce offspring with similar fur colors.

• W (White)… White
• B (Black)… Black
• O (Orange)… Brown
• I (Inhibitor)… Produces silver
• T (Tabby)… Striped pattern
• A (Agouti)… Each hair has brown and black stripes
• C (Colorpoint)… Full color or no shading
• D (Dilute)… Deep, dark color
• S (Spotting)… Part of the body is white

Siblings can have different fathers.

Female cats may mate with multiple males to ensure pregnancy. It's not uncommon for kittens born in the same litter to have different fathers. This is one reason why siblings can have completely different fur colors and patterns.

Cat Fur Colors and Patterns: 4 Main Types

Cat fur colors and patterns can be broadly divided into four types. The shade of the fur and the way the patterns appear are unique to each cat.

Let's look at the characteristics of each.

1. Solid

A cat with a single, uniform fur color without any patterns is called a "solid color" cat.

Black cats and white cats are typical examples. Other colors include gray (blue) like the Russian Blue, and colors called chocolate, cinnamon, red, lilac, fawn, and cream.

They sound delicious, don't they?

2. Tabby (Striped Pattern)

"Tabby" refers to a striped pattern. The overcoat hairs have color on 1/2 and 1/3 of their length from the tip, creating beautiful stripes.

In Japan, they are called "tiger patterns," with ginger tabbies, brown tabbies, and silver tabbies being typical examples.

Ginger tabbies are called red tabbies, brown tabbies are called brown tabbies, silver tabbies are called silver tabbies, and brown tabbies with white fur are also called brown tabbies & white.

The origin of the striped pattern can be traced back to the African wildcat, the ancestor of domestic cats. Brown tabbies, in particular, closely resemble the African wildcat in appearance and are said to often inherit its wild and active personality.

Diverse Tabby Patterns

Even within tabbies, the name changes depending on the shape and arrangement of the stripes.

Tabby patterns with swirl-like markings on the sides of the body, like those of an American Shorthair, are called "classic tabbies."

Other types include "mackerel tabbies" with mackerel-like stripes, "spotted tabbies" with spots like a Bengal, and "agouti tabbies" or "ticked tabbies" where each individual hair has stripes, like a Somali.

3. Combined Patterns (Bicolor, Party Color, Calico)

Fur colors that combine two or three colors from white, black, and brown (orange) are called "bicolor," "party color," or "calico."

Bicolor refers to cats with two fur colors, typically white and black. Many bicolor cats have unique patterns, such as prominent mustache-like markings or patterns resembling a wig. The "hachiware" pattern (a V-shaped white marking on the forehead) is also a bicolor pattern.

Party color refers to complex colors of two colors other than white. The tortoiseshell cat, commonly seen in Japan, is also known as a tortie. A straw cat refers to a party-colored cat with stripes.

Calico is what is commonly known as a calico cat. These cats have three fur colors: white, brown, and black, mixed on a white base.

Male Calico and Tortoiseshell Cats are Rare

Male cats have XY sex chromosomes, while females have XX. Since the genes for black and orange fur are only located on the X chromosome, male cats can only carry either the black or orange gene.

Rarely, male calico or tortoiseshell cats are born with an XXY sex chromosome, but this occurs in only about 1 in 30,000 cases.

4. Other (Pointed, Shaded, etc.)

In addition to the fur colors and patterns introduced so far, there are several others found in specific cat breeds.

The "pointed" pattern, seen in Siamese and Ragdoll cats, where the fur color is darker on the extremities such as the face, ears, paws, and tail, is also captivating. It is said that the fur color darkens in areas with lower body temperature.

Additionally, some cat breeds, like Persian cats, have dark colors only at the tips of their fur. The name varies depending on the proportion of coloring; fur with only dark tips is called "chinchilla" or "tipped."

If the color extends halfway down the fur, it's called "shaded," and if the color extends all the way to the root of the hair, it's called "smoke."

Summary

It is said that a cat's fur color and pattern are "applied like sauce drizzled on their back."

Indeed, if you look closely at a cat's body, the patterns are concentrated on their back, abdomen, and head, and many cats have white bellies. Moreover, no two cats of the same breed have identical patterns.

Furthermore, a cat's fur color and pattern can sometimes indicate their personality tendencies.

It might be interesting to observe your beloved cat's fur color and pattern and imagine their origins and personality.

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