Fur colors cat

(non-agouti) Blauw;
The blue (grey) hairs of this fur color are all nice uniform, they don’t show color interruptions and/or other colors (the color blue however occurs in various tints, some blue cats are darker than others).

(non-agouti) Lilac;
Lilac is a light “pigeon grey” color with a pink glow. (dilution of chocolate)

(non-agouti) Chocolate;
This is a deep dark brown color (this color is a mutation/dilution of black)

(non-agouti) Cinnamon
This warm brown color is actually “cinnamon color”.

(non-agouti) Fawn;
This color is also called beige or sandy color, but it is officially called Fawn. It is a dilution of cinnamon and a “warmer” cream tint. You sometimes clearly observe a pink glow.

(non-agouti) Crème
Cream is a lighter variant (dilution) of red; the fur must be a cold pastel color. Sometimes, cream colored cats have a slight tabby pattern, but it is actually expected that a pattern is present as few as possible.

Colorpoint
With the color point cats the “points” (snout, paws, tail, and ears) are darker than the rest of the body. Point-kittens are born completely white; the color only becomes visible a few days/weeks later and develops itself as the kitten gets older.

Seal-point
The points are very dark, almost black.
The body can be cream/beige.

Chocolate-point;
The chocolate point has dark brown points. The rest of the body is cream/beige.

Blue-point;
The points are blue (grey). The rest of the body is white.

*Other colors in this variant are for example: ;
red point, cream point, cinnamon point, lilac point.

Red-point;

Cream-point;

Lilac-point;

Tortoise-point
The Tortoise point has 2 different colors on the points. They occur in various colors, the rest of the body should be much lighter.

Seal-Tortoise-point;

Black Tortoise-point;

Tabby-point = Lynx-point;
With the tabby point (just like with the color point) the points strike the most. They don’t have an uniform color but have a tabby pattern. Remarkable is the character “M” on the forehead although it isn’t always very clear. The tabby point is also called the Lynx, this depends on the breed. The tabby point occurs in various colors, like blue / seal-/ red-/ lilac-/ tabby point.

Blue-tabbypoint;
The blue tabby point has a blue tabby pattern on the points.

Seal-tabbypoint
This point variant has an almost black tabby pattern. The chocolate tabby point has a dark to dark brown tabby pattern.

Red-tabbypoint

Tortoise-tabby point
The tortoise tabby point has 2 different tortoise colors and a tabby pattern on the points.

Mitted;
The Mitted is actually a color point, with the characteristic that the forepaws have white gloves and the hind paws have white boots. Mitted means “gloved”. The chin and chest are preferably white. Some mitted-cats have a blaze on their ridge of the nose.

seal-mitted with blaze
These mitted has, like every seal point, very dark points. The blaze on the ridge of the nose is very clear and it goes without saying that this cat has the typical white gloves and boots.

blue mitted
The blue mitted has blue (grey) points, and has white gloves and boots like all mitted cats.

Bi Color
The bi-color is actually a color point with some breeds (like the Ragdoll, Burman,…), but with this variant the dark colored mask is interrupted by a white reversed “V” (starting at the forehead until below the cheeks). This “V” is preferably as symmetric as possible. This variant exists in various colors like: seal-bicolor, blue-bicolor. But the term bi-color also includes two-colored cats like: cream/white, red/white, black/white etc. Many house cats are actually bi-colors ;)

Seal-bicolor

Blue-bicolor

Black-bicolor

Crème-wit/Bicolor

Agouti = Ticked
A fur in which each separate hair has several dark (transverse) stripes. This is called ticked or agouti (see photo). The ticking also is the basis color (background color) of all tabbies; the uniform colored (non-agouti) hairs which occur in the ticked fur cause the tabby-pattern. Sometimes, the fur doesn’t have uniform hairs and the cat is fully ticked then (for example the Abyssinian). The underside of the paws is darker and sometimes you also observe a darker stripe on the backbone. The tail is also darker.

Silver-ticked

Tabby
Actually, tabby is a collective term for different fur patterns on a ticked background. A darker “M” is present on the forehead, although this isn’t always clearly visible. Tabbies exist in many different colors and in 3 fur patterns. The pattern is clear and much darker than the rest of the fur, namely:
Tabby Blotched
(=marbled) The fur has wide stripes and spots of various sizes and shapes. This pattern has wide stripes over the whole back length. On both sides you can see a dark circle (the so-called “bull’s eye). Both sides are preferably as symmetric as possible. The stomach should be spotted. Tabby Spotted
Tabby Spotted
The fur is completely spotted on the body and it often resembles interrupted lines. These spots may also be elongated or round. The paws, tail and head are striped however. The rings on the tail should be as even as possible.
Tabby Mackerel
(=striped) the fur has dark uninterrupted vertical stripes on the sides. The neck, paws and tail have horizontal wider stripes.

Black/golden-tabby “blotched”
The patterns must be black, the rest of the fur is golden-ticked. Feet cushions must be black or seal (very dark brown) and the bottom side of the paws is black. Preferably the stomach has a warm tint; peachy. The body has a marbled pattern, but the stomach must be spotted.

Black/silver-tabby “blotched”
The pattern must be black, the rest of the fur is silver-ticked. Bottom side of the paws and the feet cushions are black. Stomach has black spots.

Blue-tabby “blotched”
the fur is silver grey/light blue and the tabby pattern is blue-black. Preferably the pattern is much darker than the rest of the fur. There is a clear difference with the black-silver-tabby.

Red-tabby “blotched”
the tabby pattern has a warm deep red color, the rest of the fur has a light red color. The marble pattern is clearly present. Most uniform red cats are tomcats by the way.

Brown-tabby “Blotched”
the marble pattern is black on a “brown” background. White chin/neck/paws are allowed, it is called a “tabby with white” then.

Silver-tabby spotted
The fur is silver-ticked, and has black spots divided over the body. The paws and head have stripes however. The tail has a few stripes. The bottom side of the paws is black.

Zwart tabby mackerel

Red tabby mackerel

Harlekijn
The harlequin has two spots on his head (kind of harlequin hat). There are also 2 or 3 arbitrary spots present on the body, the tail is colored. ¾ of the body is white. The harlequin pattern occurs in many colors.

Blue Harlekijn

Chocolate/Tortoise-harlekijn

Van
The Van-pattern cannot be confused with the harlequin pattern since they are totally different. The Van pattern owes his name to the Turkish Van breed. This pattern has two colored spots on the head, they are often symmetric but that isn’t necessary and they are separated by a white blaze. There is one spot present which starts on the back and continues to the tail point. On the body and/or paws two or three small spots are allowed, but they preferably aren’t present. The stomach and chest must be uniform white!

Tortoise
The tortoise pattern always consists of 2 colors, which have been divided over the body very irregularly (they are in fact mixed)! This color is called tortoise in popular speech. Tortoise cats are almost always female cats, tortoise tomcats occur rarely. Almost 99% of the tortoise tomcats is infertile. The tortoise has many varieties.

Classic Tortoise

Tortoise
There are other varieties amongst the name tortoise, namely dilutions. A dilution which often occurs is the:
* blue-tortoise; blue/cream spotted and/or mixed;
* chocolate-tortoise; dark brown/red spotted and/or mixed,
* cinnamon-tortoise; warm cinnamon brown/red spotted and/or mixed,
* lilac-tortoise; lilac/cream spotted and/or mixed etc…

Blue-Tortoise

Torbie = Tortoise-tabby
If a tortoise also has a tabby pattern (marbled, spotted or striped), it is called a tortoise-tabby, or a torbie (abbreviated)

Black-torbie met wit

Calico
If a tortoise also has white, it is called calico (or tri-color, or “tortoise with white”). Usually the colors are marked out clearer and aren’t mixed. In popular speech this cat is called the “tabby-and-white-cat”. In this variant only female cats exist, since it is genetically impossible to be a calico (tabby-and-white) tomcat.

Smoke
Smoke isn’t a specific color but it has to do with the color division on each separate hair. With smoke cats each hair consists of ¾ dark. The basis however is silver white, which causes that the “color pattern” can be seen best if the cat moves. The collar can have a silvery color. This smoke variant occurs with various colors: a.o: black; =black-smoke, red; =red-smoke, blue; =blue-smoke

Black-smoke

Shaded
Shaded is another term….each individual hair consists of 1/3 dark. The undercoat has a clear lighter color. Different colors occur: golden-shaded and silver-shaded often occur with amongst others the British Short-hair and the Persian.

Golden-shaded

Silver-shaded

Tipped / Chinchilla / Shell
Tipped looks a bit like shaded….however….each individual hair consists of 1/8 dark color (the points). Other names for the Tipped are: Chinchilla and Shell, but these three names all apply to the same fur property. This variant looks lighter than the shaded variant.

Wildkleur-tipped

Silver-tipped

Wit
In fact this is a lack of pigment. White isn’t a color and is also called albino. The most extreme form of albinism is the one with the red eyes. However, this one also occurs with blue eyes. Complete uniform white cats can be deaf and that is why breeders of purebred cats have their white cats/kittens tested by means of a BEAR test. If the cat has one or more colored spots or some colored hairs divided over the white fur, the cat will not be deaf. If the cat has another eye color (for example orange/copper) he will also not be deaf.