Patterns for cats: Patterns and colour distribution
In cats, the coat is more than just a colour: the pattern designates the way in which this colour is distributed throughout the coat. Along with the base colour, it is a fundamental element of the cat's appearance, influencing both aesthetics and recognition at shows or within a breeding programme.
🧬 A little genetics...
The pattern is the result of the expression of genes responsible for the distribution of pigmentation in different areas of the body. Some of these genes influence contrasts, borders or even colour combinations, such as white, black, red or cream.
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🎨 The Eight Main Patrons
There are eight main patterns, each offering a unique aesthetic:
1. Plain Dress (Solid Colour)
The cat has a uniform colour all over its body, with no visible markings. Occasionally, ghosts of tabby markings may be perceptible in certain young cats or under certain lighting conditions.
2. Tabby dressA widespread pattern inherited from the wild cat. It comes in several forms, all characterised by a frontal "M", markings around the eyes and more or less pronounced lines on the body:
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Mackerel Tabby: fine, regular vertical stripes
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Spotted Tabby: round or oval spots on the flanks
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Blotched Tabby: large spirals or swirling patterns
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Ticked Tabby: each hair is ticked (alternating bands of colour), giving a "sandblasted" appearance.
Cross-breeding between cats with different colours and tabby patterns can give rise to a variety of patterns, some of them spectacular and complex. These patterns are known as :
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Rosette: oval or rosette-shaped spots, partially open
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Donuts: solid circular marks or marks with a darker outline
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Marbled (Blotched): large spirals forming a swirling pattern
These variations are particularly visible in certain lines or breeds close to the wild type, such as the Bengal.
The illustrations below help to visualise these differences in pattern :
3. Colorpoint
Characteristic of breeds such as the Siamese or the Neva Masquerade, this pattern manifests itself by a dark colouration limited to the extremities (face, ears, legs, tail), while the rest of the body remains lighter.
The colorpoint pattern can be associated with all the main colour and coat pattern variations: solid, tortie, tabby, bicolour, tricolour and silver. The trunk coat is always a light shade (beige to cream), the intensity of which varies according to the colour of the extremities.
In the case of a Silver Point cat, the distinction with a non-silver colourpoint can be subtle. It is based on careful observation of the body colour: individuals carrying the genetic inhibition linked to locus I (melanin inhibitor) have a more luminous coat, tending towards silvery beige or off-white.
4. Bicolour
The bicolour coat is the result of the expression of the white spotting gene, located at the S (White Spotting) locus. This gene causes localised inhibition of embryonic melanoblast migration, leading to depigmented (white) areas on the coat. It is expressed in a variable way depending on the genotype:
ss: absence of white
Ss: moderate mottling
SS: extensive mottling (high white)
The coat necessarily combines white with one or more pigmented colours (solid, tabby, tortie, etc.). White areas appear mainly on the belly, legs and chest, with frequent but not systematic symmetry. A proportion of white close to 50% defines a true bicolour.
The presence of the S gene can also influence eye colour, sometimes resulting in heterochromia or blue eyes, independently of the cs (TYR) gene associated with colorpoint. If the depigmentation reaches the auricles, a risk of deafness, similar to that in white cats homozygous for the W locus, is suspected, although no study has yet confirmed this link for the S gene alone.
The colourpoint and tortie (tortoiseshell) coats are not considered to be bicoloured, even when several shades are present, as they are not the result of white variegation.
To classify variations in the distribution of white, ten levels of variegation have been defined and grouped into three classes :
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< 40% white
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40-60 % (typical two-tone form)
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> 60% (high white)
Certain recurring patterns are considered distinct phenotypes :
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Mitted (white underside)
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Tuxedo (white belly and legs, coloured back)
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Harlequin (Midhigh White)
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Van (High White, predominantly white, coloured only on head and tail)
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Mask-and-Mantle (coloured face mask and back coat)
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Cap-and-Saddle (toque on the head and dorsal saddle)
5. Tortoiseshell (Tortie)
The tortie (or tortoiseshell) coat is characterised by the simultaneous presence of two basic colours, one of which must be red (russet or cream) and the other black (or diluted derivatives such as blue or lilac), distributed randomly over the entire body. Unlike tricolour (calico) coats, the tortie has no white areas: the absence of white variegation (locus S) is a condition of the phenotype.
This colour pattern results from the expression of the O (Orange) gene, carried on the X sex chromosome. This gene masks the production of eumelanin (black pigments), replacing it with pheomelanin (red pigments). Colour mosaicism is a consequence of the random inactivation of one of the two X chromosomes (lyonisation phenomenon) in genetically XX females, heterozygous at the O locus (XᴼX⁺).
In males, normally XY, such a combination is impossible. The rare tortie males observed generally have an XXY chromosomal abnormality (Klinefelter syndrome), rendering these individuals sterile in the majority of cases.
When a tortie shows a clear bicolour separation of the face, this is sometimes referred to as a chimaera phenotype, although this term refers strictly to a fusion of two genetically distinct embryos. This is an exceptional case and should not be confused with a simple asymmetric expression of the O gene.
6. Calico and Torbie dresses
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Calico coat
The calico phenotype results from the coexistence of three distinct pigment groups: black eumelanin, red pheomelanin (or their diluted forms), and areas depigmented (white) by the S (white spotting) gene. The percentage of white is significant, generally greater than 25%, and can be as high as 75%. The pigment distribution is known as piebald (non-uniform, in large patches).
The underlying genotype involves two heterozygous X chromosomes at the O (Orange) locus, i.e. XᴼX⁺, with random inactivation of one of the two X chromosomes in the somatic cells (lyonisation), explaining the mosaic of colouration.
Calico males, which are extremely rare, generally have an XXY chromosomal abnormality (Klinefelter syndrome) and are phenotypically sterile.
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Torbie Dress
The torbie coat (or tortoiseshell-tabby) combines the expression of a tortoiseshell coat (XᴼX⁺) with tabby markings (A/ gene, associated with one of the T locus variants). It is characterised by a coat with areas of intermingled pheomelanin and eumelanin, modified by agouti patterns (stripes, spots or mottles), giving a striped or mottled effect to the russet and black patches.
When a white variegation gene (S) is also expressed, the breed is referred to as calico tabby or torbie and white, depending on the proportion of white present.
7. Mink
This intermediate pattern between colourpoint and sepia is characterised by a lightly coloured body, darker extremities and blue-green to aquamarine eyes. It is typical of Tonkinese-type breeds.
8. Sepia
The sepia coat is characterised by a less contrasting pigmentation than that of the colorpoint, presenting an almost uniform coloration with a slight darkening at the extremities (points). The eye colour varies between green and yellow.
9. Special effects or shades in cats
Some feline coats display remarkable chromatic variations, resulting from a progressive gradation of the pigmentation of the hair, from base to tip.
As mentioned earlier, the agouti coat is characterised by tabby patterns, including the following phenotypes: ticked, mackerel, marbled and spotted. These tabby coats can be described as 'Silver' when one allele induces a silver effect.
On the other hand, non-agouti coats include the solid, particolour, tortie, mink and sepia phenotypes. In these colours, the silver effect is referred to as "Smoke".
All these colours can be combined with these effects, giving rise to variations such as Torties Silver, Blue Smoke, Red Silver, etc.
On these coats, the initially yellow pigmentation at the base of the coat is attenuated by a depigmentation allele, which tends towards white, creating a silvery effect. This produces a marked contrast and a luminous background. The light tint is generally white or cream, while the dark tint can be of any colour, resulting in dilution variations or a gradient effect of the colour.
There are five main effects :
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Tipped: only the tip of the hair is coloured, the rest being plain and light.
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Shaded: the first half of the hair (root to mid-length) is light, the second half darker.
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Smoked: approximately 80% of the length of the hair, from the tip, is dark, while the root remains light.
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Grizzle and Shimmer: these particular coats, notably observed in the Chausie, have a dark or silvery covering on a light non-silver background.
