COAT COLOURS
Nov 2, 2015 11:17:30 GMT -8
Post by •ZEKE• on Nov 2, 2015 11:17:30 GMT -8
COAT COLOURS
Solid
Completely solid colour, no striping whatsoever. You can have solid greys (also called blues), blacks, whites, even browns. Generally oranges (also called reds) and creams aren’t totally solid, as they will have faint tabby markings on them.
Images (click spoiler)
Images (click spoiler)
Bi-Colour
Any solid colour cat plus white, with the two colours being fairly evenly distributed. For example, black and white, grey and white, etc., with the white being about half the colour composition.
Images (click spoiler)
Images (click spoiler)
… and White
Any solid colour or colour pattern plus white markings. Generally when we say “and white”, there are distinct patches of white on the cat.
Images (click spoiler)
Images (click spoiler)
Harlequin
A mostly white cat with a few larger spots of colour. White is the most noticeable colour.
Images (click spoiler)
Images (click spoiler)
Van or Van Bi-Colour
All white with just small spots or splashes of colour between the ears and on the tail.
Same images as harlequin
Same images as harlequin
Dilute
A paler version of the original colour pattern. So you have pale orange, cream or buff instead of brighter orange, and grey or blue instead of black. Dilute is often used to describe calicos, torties and tabbies.
Images (click spoiler)
Images (click spoiler)
Smoke
Solid black or grey hair with white roots, so that the cat’s coat appears to be smokey (i.e., smokey black with white roots, or smokey grey with white roots).
Images (click spoiler)
Images (click spoiler)
TABBY
Tabbies are probably the most common type of feral cats. Tabbies come in lots of colours. The most common is the brown or brown/grey tabby, which generally has brown, black and grey blended together. You can also have grey tabbies, orange tabbies, and cream or buff tabbies. Silver tabbies generally have black and grey markings on white roots, which gives the cat a more silver appearance (more silver than just grey). Tabbies come in a variety of patterns too, which also help accurately describe the cat:
- Mackerel Tabby: Long, narrow stripes across the cat’s body like a tiger.
- Classic Tabby: Round bulls-eye swirls on the cat’s sides or flanks.
- Spotted Tabby: Spots on the cat’s flanks and underbelly.
- Ticked or Agouti: Ticked cats have different bands of colour along the hair shaft, with the hair being the lightest or palest by the root and the ends “ticked” darker. Stripes are generally not too noticeable.
Tri-Colour
This term is most commonly used to describe calicos and tortoiseshell cats, which are nearly always female because of the gene composition.
- Calico: Calicos have three distinct colours: orange, black and white. Dilute calicos are the same, except they are the paler version, so you have grey, peach and white. Many calicos have a patchwork design to their coat.
- Calico Tabby or "Caliby": A calico mixed with a brown tabby, so you get brown and orange tabby markings plus larger patches of white.
- Tortoiseshell or "Tortie": Torties aren’t true tri-coloured cats, as they are mainly black and orange swirled in a “brindle” pattern. But they are similar to calicos in that they are nearly always female. Sometimes you will see a tortie patterned cat with small splashes of white. These are often called “torties with white”. Dilute torties are grey and peach (or cream), instead of black and orange.
- Torbie: A tabby mixed with a tortie, so you have a tabby pattern with more noticeable orange marbling in it. Torbies look like autumn leaves.
Points
Solid pale cream or darker tan body colour with a different colour on the ears, muzzle, tail and feet, otherwise known as “points.” Points are often used in describing Siamese, Himalayans, Birmans, Exotics and other similar breeds.
Points are not exclusive to purebred or selectively bred cats.
Points are not exclusive to purebred or selectively bred cats.
- Flame Point: Orange colouring on the face, ears, tail and feet, anywhere from bright orange to very pale.
- Seal Point: Dark brown points like the colour of seal skin, and the nose leather and paw pads will be dark brown. Body is generally a muddy colour.
- Lilac Point: Grey points, anywhere from darker grey to very pale.
- Chocolate Point: Points are generally slightly lighter brown than seal points, and the nose leather and paw pads will be pinkish.
- Lynx Point: A point mixed with a tabby, so you’ll see a cream or tan body with a tabby looking face, ears, tail and feet. You can have different colours of lynx points too, i.e., grey lynx point, brown lynx point, orange lynx point...
- Tortie Point: A point mixed with a tortie, so you notice tortie brindle markings on the face, ears, tail and feet.
