Cat Colors

Cat colors are many. It would seem as though they come in all the colors of the rainbow: red, blue, brown, cream… They also come in basic white and black, of course.

Cats also come in an ample variety of coat patterns and variations. In addition to a basic color, cats can have stripes, whirls, whorls, points and other markings.

Interestingly, the color of your cat is not determined by her breed. There are, however, colors and/or patterns that may occur more often on a certain breed.

So what color is your cat? If you want to learn more about the different cat colors and pattern variations, please read on.

Your basic cat color

Another important point is that solid colors can also be diluted. For example, thanks to the dilution gene in cats, red turns into cream.

Now here’s a brief guide to the different cat colors and patterns:

Solids – Cats with solid colors have no markings (like stripes, for instance). Solids come in four basic colors plus their corresponding diluted versions. Solid colors include black, red, and blue.

Multiple colors – Some cats come in multicolor patterns:

• Calico cats are considered true tricolor cats, sporting a coat of distinct patches of black, red and white. Others consider tortoiseshell cats to be tricolor cats as well; however, their coat patterns do not display the three colors as distinctly as the calicos.

• Bicolor cats show two distinct colors, one of them being white. Tuxedo cats, with their beautiful black and white coats are examples of bicolor cats.

Patterns – Cats also come in different patterns, including:

• Tabby.This is the best-known cat pattern. Tabbies are the world-famous, tiger-looking, striped cats. The tabby pattern comes in four variations: mackerel, ticked, classic, and spotted. And of course, these striped kitties come in different colors, too. You’ll find gray tabbies, brown tabbies, etc.

• Torties. Also known as tortoiseshell tabbies, these cats come in a pattern of two solid colors: red and black. Some also show a little bit of white fur, but most have no white fur.

• Torbie. Add stripes to a tortie and you get a torbie cat.

• Pointed cats - These cats display "points," or deeper shades of a particular color. These points usually occur in the muzzle, ears, tail, and paws. The Siamese cat is the original pointed breed, but now other breeds also produce pointed cats including the Colorpoint Shorthair, the Himalayan, and the Persian.

Same color, different name

• Red is also referred to as orange, yellow, ginger, and rust.

• Blue is also called gray (or grey).

• Seal and chocolate are referred to as brown.

• Silver is also known as gray.

Gift ideas

You’ll find cat pictures of cats in all colors and patterns discussed here. Cat posters, cat prints, cat photographs, and cat paintings showcasing cats in solid colors or in any of the patterns make great gifts for cat lovers.

Here are some fun books, too:

--Cats by Ruth Heller, Ruth Heller (Illustrator)

--All Color Book of Cats (101 Illustrations in color) by Elizabeth Towe and Christine Metcalf

--The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds (Illustrated Encyclopedias) by Angela Rixon


Related topics

Beautiful white cats

The mysterious black cats

Orange tabby cats

The elegant Siamese cat

Learn about Colopoint cats

Cat breeds

Gray cat names

Black cat names


Leave Cat Colors and return to Cat Articles

Return to the home page of Cat Lovers Gifts Guide