Interested in what color/pattern your cat is? Let's find out!
I have yet to master the art of feline genetics, so bear with me. We're basically skimming the surface of cat genetics for dummies (not really, 'cause genetics, in general, are up there with rocket science. Sooo, this is basically cat genetics for the average human being).
All colors come from black and red.
Black-Based Colors:
The most common color is black. Black is dominant, so it can't be carried, meaning a black cat only has to have one black parent.
Some black cats have very faint tabby markings. Black cats that spent a lot of time in the sun may have a rusty tint to their fur due to the sunlight.
Black is diluted to blue. Dilute is the lighter version of that color. The mating of two dense colored cats carrying the dilute gene will result in 25% dilute kittens. The dilute gene is recessive and the dense gene is dominant so black is dominant over blue. Blue cats are sometimes referred to as gray or just dilute, but the fancy term used by breeders is blue.
Dilute modifiers lighten the dilute colors even more.
Blue is then modified to caramel.
Chocolate and cinnamon are black-based as well. Chocolate is diluted to lilac. Cinnamon is diluted to fawn.
Red-Based Colors:
All red cats are tabby because the non-agouti gene doesn't work where the red pigment is present.
80% of red tabbies are male. Only 20% are female. To produce a female red tabby, both parents must either possess either red or cream.
Since red can't be carried, a red tabby, calico, or tortoiseshell has to have a red tabby, calico, or tortoiseshell parent.
Red is diluted to cream. Cream is then modified to apricot.
Patterns
The most common pattern is tabby. Tabby is dominant, meaning a tabby cat only has to have one tabby parent. They are a few different types of tabby. You can read about them here. Tabbies with white are considered tabby and white.
Calicos and tortoiseshells are tri-colors. People oftentimes get the two mixed up. Calicos have a white base and patches of red (cream in dilutes) and black (blue or lilac in dilutes). Torties have a more mottled/speckled look. They have little to no white. Tortoiseshells with, say, 20% or more (just a semi-educated guess on the percentages) white are considered tortoiseshell and white.
Bi-colors such as tuxedos have two colors - white and another color, like black or blue.
The Van pattern was named after the Turkish Van. Cats with the Van pattern are mostly white. The only parts of their coat possessing color is the fur on their head and tail.
Colorpoints are temperature-sensitive, so only the color parts of their body; muzzle, tips of their ears, and the tip of their tail possess color.
Shading patterns include chinchilla and smoke. Only the tips of a smoke cat's hair have color, whereas the roots are white. Tabbies can be smoke as well as solids. Chinchillas have a white undercoat. Their hairs are tipped with black.
Works Cited
"Cat Coat; What's The Color of Your Cat?" The Little Carnivore, 20, May 2020,
"Cat Color: Sliver and Smoke Cats," The Little Carnivore, 27, January 2021,
"C. Dilute Color (Gray, Lilac, Fawn, Cream)," FelineGenetics,
"Chinchilla Cat - Cat Breeds Encyclopedia," Cat Breed Encyclopedia,
"Dilute | Veterinary Genetics Laboratory," UCDavis Veterinary Medicine,
Hartmann, Sparrow, "Chocolate and Cinnamon | Sparrow's Garden," Sparrow's Garden,
McCracken, Susan Logan, "Cat Colors--Get the Fascinating Facts Behind Cat Coats & Patterns," Catster, 19, October 2020,
Syufy, Franny, "All About Red Tabby Cats," TheSprucePets, 20 August 2019,
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