Kitty color terms you should know and understand if you are breeding or showing cats or are just a knowledgeable feline fancier.
Cat colors can be so difficult to describe. These terms and definitions will help you identify your cat’s coat colors and patterns. You might also find “Feline Characteristics” helpful in identifying your cat’s appearance.
A
Albino – A white cat caused by lack of melanin pigmentation
B
Blue-cream lynx point – Color points that are a mixture of blue and cream with underlying tabby markings
Blue / Blue point – A bluish gray coat color
Blue cream – Cat has blue and cream colors in her coat
Bronze - Rich warm red with darker spotting and ticking
C
Calico – A cat with patches of black, red, and white
Cameo – A cat whose fur is white at the base and red on the outer part of the hair shaft
Champagne – Soft beige
Chestnut – Solid warm brown
Chinchilla – Fur that is white at the base and darker at the tips
Chocolate lynx point – Medium chocolate brown with an underlying tabby pattern
Chocolate tortie point – Where the color points are medium chocolate brown with other tortoiseshell colors
Cinnamon – Rich dark brownish red
Cream – The dilute color of red, a pale beige
Cream lynx point – Color points that are cream or pale red with underlying tabby markings
E
Ebony – Black
F
Fawn – Pale beige color
L
Lavender – Pale, pinkish gray
Lilac – Pale, pinkish gray
Lilac cream point – Color points are lilac and cream
Lilac cream lynx point – Color points are lilac and cream with an underlying tabby pattern
Lilac lynx point – Color points are lilac with an underlying tabby pattern
Lilac point – Color points are a pale, pinkish gray
Lynx point – Color points have an underlying tabby pattern
P
Piebald – Mostly white with other colors
R
Red lynx point – Color points are red with underlying tabby pattern
Ruddy – A dark ginger, red color
S
Sable – Dark brown
Seal lynx point – Color points are dark seal brown or black with underlying tabby pattern
Seal point – Color points are dark seal brown or black
Seal tortie lynx point – Color points are dark brown with other tortoiseshell colors and an underlying tabby pattern
Seal tortie point – Color points are dark brown to black with other tortoiseshell colors
Silver – Cat color that is white with black ticking
T
Tortoiseshell – Also called a Tortie, where the hair is black, red, and white
The copyright of the article Cat Colors in Cats is owned by Darlene Cheek. Permission to republish Cat Colors in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
