Some
breeds are based on their colors or patterns e.g.
Siamese while others exclude certain colors. Some colors
occur through careful selection, others
appear out of the blue e.g. Lilac (Lavender)
appeared in normally blue (gray) Korats due to
mutation or recessive (hidden) genes. There are
hundreds of possible color permutations; some are
not allowed in pedigree cats but you may well see
them in random-bred (moggy) cats. Some colors are
rarely found in the moggy population as they only
show up in selectively bred cats.
These
are plain English descriptions and not affiliated
to any breed or registry. It is not an
authoritative list. Not all colors are recognized by all registries. Some are experimental, some
look so similar that they can only be worked out
if you know the colors and genetics of the cat's
ancestors (this only matters if you are showing or
breeding cats). Some color/pattern combinations
appear in several places in this article because
they are related to other combinations. This
article won't mention genetics except in very
simple form in one or two places - it is just a
plain English guide for cat-lovers!
Coat
Color, Patterns & Markings
Glossary
Self Colors
Tabby Colors and Tabby
Patterns
Agouti Colors
Broken Colors
Chinchilla, Tipped, Shaded
and Smoke Colors
Colorpoints
Mink Colors (Tonkinese)
Van/Van Bi-Color/ Harlequin/
Seychelles
Mitted and Ragdoll
Future Color Possibilities
A
word of warning: different colors have different
names in different breeds/countries and the same color-name might be used in different
breeds/countries for different colors! The
inclusion of a description of a color or pattern
is no comment on its desirability, just the fact
that it exists!
Likewise, omissions are because of
lack of information. I've tried to include
synonyms and only refer to breeds if necessary to
clarify name clashes/conflicts. Some of the terms
are old-fashioned or are restricted to certain
breeds only. At the end of this file is a list of colors/patterns which haven't yet been documented
in cats but which might be possible if the right
mutation occurs
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