Tabby Cats And Other Colors Of Cats
Posted by Fred on July 23rd, 2008 at 12:24pm
By Martin Marks
Patterns are a mixture of colors in a definite arrangement. The
six fundamental types of coat patterns present in cats with some
differences are Tabby, Tortoiseshell, Solid, Bicolor, Colorpoint
and Tricolor.
1. Tabby: This coat pattern is the most widespread found
naturally and is present in four varieties: blotched (marbled),
striped (mackerel), ticked (agouti) and spotted.
2. Tortoiseshell: An unswerving blend of black and orange or
thinned shades of blue and cream form this exclusive coat
pattern. This coat pattern is a tricolor present almost uniquely
in females with a blend of orange and black. Male cats rarely
show this pattern and are likely sterile. These cats also show
an inner tabby pattern called as “torbie”.
3. Solid: This pattern is the easiest and identifiable one, as
it consists of a single coat uniformly spread throughout the
body. An interesting solid pattern with hair of different color
is seen in young cats. The secondary colored hair vanishes as
the cat grows and very soon, the cat displays a solid hairy
pattern all over. It is not possible to acknowledge a cat that
has a spot of some other color on its coat, as a solid. People
generally refer cats with a solid pattern as “self’s” or
“self-colored”.
4. Bicolor: The word bicolor is actually a white-colored coat
along with another color. The other color displays a tabby or a
solid pattern. People commonly describe a cat with a white
colored coat as a harlequin. “Van” is the term describing a
definite variation in which the feline is white colored, with
spots of color present only on the tail and head. Names are
given for the patches of white present on a bicolor cat, which
express their positions such as mittens (paws), locket (chest),
and buttons (patches on the abdomen).
5. Colorpoint: The paws, face and tail (points/tips) are dark
in color in comparison with the rest of the body in this coat
pattern. The colorpoint pattern mainly depends on temperature.
The hotter body parts show a lighter color and vice versa. The
dissimilarity between the main body color and the spots differ,
but this coat pattern is very easily recognizable. The spots are
present in varied shades and colors containing red (flame),
brown (seal), lilac and blue. In some varieties, generally, the
spots have a tabby pattern or a tricolor pattern containing the
above-mentioned colors. “Lynx” is the term used to describe
colorpoints having a tabby pattern.
6. Tricolor: The main color components of the tricolor coat
patterns are black, white, orange and red or thinned shades of
blue and cream. The proportion of the color and white displays
the number and position of the shades of the additional two
colors. If there is some amount of white, the remaining two
colors may combine to form a pattern called as a “tortoiseshell
and white”. The patches of black and red become visibly
distinct, as the white color increases. Calico is the term used
for this type of coat pattern in cats.
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