First of all, lets define the purpose of the column. It is a «share the wealth» instrument for MCBFA members to use to ask all those questions we forget when we are at the veterinary’s … some. of which might stump him too. No question is too silly. Secondly, while I will edit this column, I do not claim to be a «know it all and will welcome help from all of you out there. If you disagree or have an alternate suggestion, please say so, but on paper so we can print it.
The topic for this issue is cat colors. I feel fairly safe with this one since 3 years ago I didn’t know a tabby from a tortie and my grandmother’s blue-cream looked like that because she was old and faded! Like many of you, I grew up with tigers, maltese, gray and orange cats; spotted, speckled, black, and white cats; and «lucky» three colored cats, most of whom lived at the barn and worked for their board and room.
Lets start with «tiger cats These are tabbys and there are essentially two patterns: the mackeral tabby, the fellow in the convict suit with stripes all over; and the classic tabby who has stripes on head, legs, and tail but looks like a marble cake in the middle. Some people call this swirled pattern «bull’s eyes». Tabby markings are genetically dominant much to the dismay of breeders who want solid colors. Many solid colored adults entered the world wearing stripes which faded as they grew up,
Tabbys come in every color. If your «tiger» has a buff or brownish base coat with black stripes he is a brown tabby. If his base coat is pale gray with black stripes he is a silver tabby, or he may be a red or blue tabby etc.
Speaking of colors, your «orange» cat is red in the fancy. If they are very pale orange or buff colored, they are cream. The old gray neighborhood bum has turned blue as has the «maltese» mouser who worked at the butcher shop. That speckled cat, the one that looked like a black cat who’d run through a paint factory is a tortoiseshell, Incidentally, it is 99.4% sure he is a she. The same goes for the calico…. thats the «lucky» cat with large well defined patches of orange Oops!. red, white, and either black or blue (gray). The spotted cats, white with big spots (all one color) are now particolors. Some associations also apply this term to cats with white boots and shirts, while others insist that particolors must be at least one third white. Take your choice I still confused.
Believe it or not, blacks are still blacks and whites are still white but watch out, If your black cat is wearing white underwear (ruffle up his coat) then he is a smoke’. Same goes for your blue. If your white cat has colored tips on the outer coat then you have a silver or a cameo depending upon whether the tipping is black or red.
Finally, if you find that your tortoiseshell has stripes, she’s a torbie, If she also appears to have taken a bath in bleach you’ll have to call her a smoke-torbie; and if she stood in the bleach too long, you’d better add «with white» to take care of her mittens,
I have covered only the basic patterns and colors; cats have real creative talent in this field. One of the reasons I am so «hooked» on Maine Coons is that we tend to accept them in the colors they choose, I hope that never changes, I’m eagerly awaiting the day my Bridget presents me with a kitten in Blackwatch Tartan
Cormie.