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The International Cat Association

What Color is My Cat?

Have you ever wondered what color your cat is? Did you know that there are red, white and blue cats? Or chocolate and cinnamon?

According to each breed standard, a breed may be accepted for registration in a variety of colors. Or some breeds such as the Russian Blue is recognized in only one color, blue. And some breeds have different patterns such as a marble Bengal, or a Chocolate Point Siamese.

Now you can determine not only the color of your cat, but any breed by viewing the pictures of cats that are examples of different colors.

Ruddy Ticked Tabby

Sealpoint/White

Black/White

Black Tortoiseshell/White

Blue

Red Classic Tabby/White

Seal Point/White & Blue Point/White

Black Silver Spotted Tabby

Cats come in an amazing variety of colors and patterns. It is not unusual to see many different colors in the same litter of kittens.There are two primary colors in cats – black and red. All other colors are variations of black and red with the exception of solid white. White is a masking gene. It hides – masks – all other color. So a solid white cat is either black or red but the color is hidden by the white.All colors are also seen with different markings – called patterns. The three most common patterns in cats are solid, tabby and pointed. All colors and patterns can have some white. Referred to as white spotting, this is also a masking gene. However, white spotting only hides some of a cat’s color instead of all of it.

It is not color and pattern that determine a cat’s breed. That is established by the physical characteristics described in each breed’s standard. Just as all pointed cats are not Siamese and all longhaired cats are not Persians and all tailless cats are not Manx, all blue cats are not Russian Blues. The same color and pattern can be seen in many different breeds. For example, there are brown classic tabby Maine Coons, American Shorthairs, Oriental Shorthairs, Devon Rex, Persians, Norwegian Forest Cats, Siberians, and Scottish Folds. There are seal point Siamese, Himalayans, Birmans, Snowshoes, Ragdolls, Balinese, and Tonkinese. Domestic cats have all the same colors and patterns that are seen in Pedigree cats.

The color and pattern names used on this site are the official names used by The International Cat Association (TICA). This is a list of other names commonly used to describe the same color:

Official Color

Commonly Called

Orange, rust, marmalade, yellow, ginger
Gray, grey
Brown
Brown
Grey or gray
Calico
Buff

The addition of different modifying genes changes the two basic colors. Red can change to cream. Black can change to blue, chocolate, cinnamon, lilac, or fawn. Chocolate, cinnamon, lilac, and fawn are seldom seen in the general cat population. This site will concentrate on the most common patterns and the four most commonly seen colors – black, blue, red, and cream. We hope you enjoy the challenge of determining your cat’s color and pattern.

Solid – Cats that are one color and do not have any stripes.

Black and red are called “full colors” in the cat fancy. When a cat inherits the “dilute” genes, black becomes blue and red becomes cream. Even solid color cats that are the same color can look different since the shade of a color can vary. Except for white, it is not unusual for a solid color cat to have a faint suggestion of tabby markings especially when they are kittens. These are called “ghost markings”. These ghost markings are seen most often on reds and creams.

Blue

Cream

Chocolate

Blue

Black

White

Black

Red

Tabbies – Cats with stripes – called tabby markings. The tabby markings have four different patterns.

These cats are the same colors as the solid cats. The only difference is the addition of stripes – called tabby markings. The silver tabby is the only tabby that does not also come in solid. Silver is a variation of black that is only seen in tabbies.

Even within each of these colors, there is a wide range of differences. Some reds have a deep, mahogony color while others are very light. Blues can have a very light, powdery blue shade or be almost a navy blue.

All tabby patterns are usually more distinct on a shorthaired cat than on a longhaired cat.

Many people think that all tabbies are also with white. A very common feature of all the tabby patterns is a white chin. Tabbies also have white around their eyes that is called “eye liner”.

The most common tabby pattern is named after the fish! A good description of the vertical stripes that are parallel on the cat’s sides. Some people also refer to mackerel tabbies as “the guys in the pinstripe suits”!

Red and a Cream Mackerel Tabby

Silver Mackerel Tabby

Brown Mackerel Tabby

Blue Mackerel Tabby

Blue and a Brown Mackerel Tabby

Brown Mackerel Tabby

Red Mackerel Tabby

Brown Mackerel Tabby – The very small amount of white on this fine fellow does not mean that he would be registered as a “with white”. The spot on his neck is called a locket. He also has a little bit of white on his toes!

Often referred to as a swirled or bulls-eye pattern. The stripes are much wider than a mackerel tabby’s stripes with a circular pattern on the sides. These tabbies will often have broad stripes running down the middle of their back.

Blue Classic Tabby

Silver Classic Tabby

Brown Classic Tabby

Silver Classic Tabby

Red Classic Tabby

Cream Classic Tabby

Red & Brown Classic Tabby

Brown Classic Tabby

Instead of lines that create a pattern, spotted tabbies have small individual spots.

Silver Spotted Tabby

Blue Spotted Tabby

Brown Spotted Tabby

Cream Spotted Tabby

Bengal

Bengals have a brown color and variation of the spotted pattern that is not seen in other cats. The spots occur in a random pattern and vary in size. The spots can be solid. Spots that have a dark outline with a lighter color in the center are called rosettes.

Instead of a pattern on the body, every individual hair is ticked – has bands of color on it. In Pedigree cats, some breeds are allowed to have stripes (called bars) on their legs and face. Other breeds are required to be totally free of any barring.

Silver Ticked Tabby

Brown Ticked Tabby

Red Ticked Tabby

Torties/Torbies – Usually females, these cats are a mixture of both black and red. They can be solids or tabbies.

(Tortoiseshell and Tortoiseshell Tabby)

Tortie is short for tortoiseshell. Yes, the name comes from the tortoiseshell turtle. Torties combine two solid colors – red and black – and a majority of torties are female. Why female? In cats the red and black colors are on the X chromosome. Since females are XX and males are XY, it is usually only females that have both red and black.

The primary color on most torties is black. The amount of red can vary from just a few toes to lots of obvious red. It is rare but some torties have more red than black. They used to be called “reverse torties”.

Torbie is short for tortoiseshell-tabby. When you add tabby stripes a tortie becomes a torbie. They are also called patched tabbies since they are a tabby with patches of red or cream. Adding stripes also tends to make the red harder to see. Most torbies will have some red on their feet, even if you don’t see it anywhere else.

Many people find the difference between torties and torbies rather confusing. Even on a solid color cat, you can often see stripes on reds and creams. The only way to be sure if you have a tortie or torbie is to ignore any stripes showing in the red or cream areas – just look to see if the black color is solid or has stripes!

Torties and torbies are very interesting! They tend to have what the cat fancy calls “Tortie-tude”. More than any other color, these girls have an “opinion” on everything. They will tell you exactly what that opinion is! At the same time, they can be one of the sweetest cats you will ever own.

Every tortie has its own unique color pattern. Torties have been called Mother Nature’s idea of abstract art.

Black Tortie

Blue Tortie

Silver Classic Torbie

Brown Mackerel Torbie

Brown Classic Torbie

Pointed – Color is only seen on the face, feet, and tail. Those points can be solid or tabby.

The earliest pointed cat was the Siamese so even today many people think that all pointed cats are Siamese. There are now many other pointed breeds – Ragdolls, Birmans, Balinese, and Tonkinese. Some breeds like the Siberian, Cornish Rex, and Exotic Shorthair can be any color or pattern including pointed. Pointed is just the name of a color pattern so domestic cats can also be pointed. The only thing that all pointed cats have in common is blue eyes.

Red Point

Seal Point

Blue Point

Blue Lynx Point

Seal Lynx Point

Seal Point

Cream Point

With Whites – Any of the above with white added. The term particolor means any cat with white.

All colors and patterns can also come with white – called particolors in the cat fancy. This is caused by the white spotting gene.

Below are three names for with white patterns and their descriptions. However, the location and amount of white can vary tremendously. Mother Nature must think that cats with white are very special. That is why she paints each one individually so no two are ever exactly alike. Some Pedigree breeds such as Birmans, Snowshoes, Ragdolls, and Turkish Vans do require that the white only be in specific areas.

Mitted Pattern – The white may only be on paws, belly, chest and chin.

Solid black and white cats are often referred to as Tux. That is not a breed or an official color name. Just a great nickname since the black and white color combination looks like a cat wearing a tuxedo.

The picture of a Sphynx, the hairless breed, is included to show that a cat’s skin is exactly the same color as their fur.

Cream with White

Black with White

Black with White (Van Pattern)

Black with White

The pattern on the body of any tabby can be very distinct or rather difficult to see. Regardless of the color, all tabbies have tabby markings on their head including stripes that form an “M” on the forehead. The tabby markings on a classic tabby are always much wider stripes than the stripes on a mackerel tabby. A tabby with white in the van pattern, is just called a tabby with white since it is impossible to tell if the tabby markings are classic or mackerel or spotted or ticked.

Blue Mackerel Tabby with White

Brown Mackerel Tabby with White

Brown Classic Tabby with White

Red Classic Tabby with White

Silver Tabby with White (Van Pattern)

Red Ticked Tabby with White

Torties and torbies with white are very eye catching colors. In the cat fancy, this is referred to as having “flash”.
The first two girls are excellent examples of different shades of the same color. One is a very dark blue color. The light blue is referred to as a powder blue in the cat fancy. Because the amount of white differs, the girl on the left used to be called a dilute tortoiseshell with white and the girl on the right was a dilute calico.

Notice the picture of the black tortie next to the brown torbie . You can see stripes in the red color on the tortie. This is very common. Since the black areas are solid instead of striped, she is a tortie.

Blue Tortie with White

Brown Classic Torbie with White

Black Tortie with White

Brown Spotted Torbie with White

Brown Mackerel Torbie with White

Silver Classic Torbie with White

The presence of the white spotting gene on a pointed cat can cause patches of color to show on the cat’s body. Sometimes a lot of color will show but all pointed with white cats will still have blue eyes.

Seal & Blue Point with White (Bi-Color Pattern)

Seal Point with White (Mitted Pattern)

Seal Tortie Point with White

Black Tortie with White

Brown Spotted Torbie with White

Brown Mackerel Torbie with White

Silver Classic Torbie with White

Seal Tortie Point with White

If you are interested in learning more about colors and breeds or even showing your pet, please check the TICA Show Schedule:

Visitors are always welcome at TICA shows!!!!!!

We Gratefully Acknowledge Helmi Flick Cat Photography For Providing The Photos Used In These Sections!

Cat Colors & UCD

Color Genetics are a wide and interesting field. Below are several documents to help you in this general context.

If you want a complete picture of the theory behind the genetics and descriptions of colors accepted by TICA, the Uniform Color Descriptions & Glossary of Terms is a very detailed publication. The other documents listed below are little helpers for specific contexts (e.g. “Color Me Red” is a short explanation under which circumstances a cat may be completely or partially red).

32 Division Show Order Color List

Basic Color Genetics Seminar – Slide Show Presentation

Color Coding

Color Me Red

Sepia, Mink, Pointed Breeding Guide

Simplified Color Chart for Sepia/Mink/Pointed Categories

Simplified Color Chart for Traditional Category

Uniform Color Descriptions & Glossary of Terms

Find a Breed

The International Cat Association

What Color is My Cat?