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Color and pattern are important to many breeds up to and including a breed to be a certain color(s)/pattern(s). Abysinnians, Russian Blues, Egyptian Maus, and Ocicats are but a few examples of breeds with color/pattern requirements. Other breeds (such as the Scottish Fold, Devon Rex, American Curl) place no real importance on color as their breeds come in a vast array of colors and patterns. The Persian breed became so large in numbers that it was eventually broken into color divisions.
Standards and genetics may restrict a breed's coloration and pattern and may require or exclude some color combinations. Different breeds may even call the same color by different names. However, the basics of these patterns are the same across breeds.
Solid -color is the same all over the body. No patterns or markings, and the color is even.
Bi-Color -White and one additional color. Coloration is in distinct patches of color. These areas may be solid, tabby patterned, or tortoiseshell patched.
Calico -White with distinct patches of either black and red or blue and cream (the latter is known as a dilute calico). This is a color pattern, not a breed. The Japanese refer to this pattern as "mi-ki." Primarily, though not exclusively, restricted to females as the occurrence of red with black is sex-linked.
Color-restricted - Color is restricted to the extremities only (the ears, a mask on the face, the paws, and the tail) and always associated with blue eyes. The gene that produces this pattern is color-sensitive, so that the coloration occurs on the coolest portions of the cat's body. This pattern is most closely associated with the Siamese breed, but is found in many other breeds and also in domestic cats.
Tabby -a base color with lines of color running through it. It occurs in a variety of patterns. The pattern occurs in a large number of breeds and is not a breed itself. It is thought that all cats are genetically tabbies, with other color patterns masking it. In bi-colored and patched patterns, the colored area may have a tabby pattern to it.
Tabby patterns include:
Classic -the lines form a swirling pattern, with butterfly-shaped lines on the shoulders, bull's eyes on the sides, and solid and broken rings of color on the legs and neck, and an "M" on the forehead. Probably the best known of all patterns.
Mackerel -like the fish it takes its name from, the color patterns occur in vertical lines down the sides of the cat, with an 'd2M" on the forehead
Spotted -Tabby pattern occurs not in lines, but is broken into spots following the same delineations.
Smoke -Color is restricted to the uppermost portion of the coat, with the undercoat being white. The cat appears to be a solid color, and it is not until the coat is turned back that the white is seen.
Shaded - Undercoat is white, with color occurring along the ends of the hair follicle.
Tortoiseshell - Black with patches of red mingled in. The dilute form of this pattern (blue with patches of cream) is called "blue-cream." Primarily, though not exclusively, restricted to females as the occurrence of red with black is sex-linked.
Van - Color is restricted to the head area and tail , with one spot of color on the body. The name is derived from the Turkish Van cat's color pattern.
Additional color pattern features include:
Ticked - A black or dark area of color on the end of the hair shaft, distinctly different from the rest of the hair. Primarily associated with Abyssinians, and in some colors of Oriental Shorthairs.
Tipped - A white area of color at the end of the hair shaft, distinctly different from the rest of the hair. Primarily associated with Russian Blues.
Random spotting - Small areas of color that occur in no pattern whatsoever. Associated with Egyptian Maus.
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