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Bicolor cat

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Chelsea Clinton's cat Socks (1989–2009) lived in the White House from 1993 to 2001. Socks was a bicolour cat with low-grade spotting, or tuxedo cat.

A bicolor cat (also bi-colour cat or Tuxedo Cat) is a cat with white fur combined with fur of some other colour, for example, solid black, tabby, or colourpointed.[1] There are various patterns of a bicolour cat. The coat patterns range from the Van-patterned, which has colour on the tail and crown of the head, to a solid colour with a throat locket or medallion.[citation needed] Bicolour coats are found in many cat breeds and are in domestic longhair and domestic shorthair cats.[citation needed]

Tuxedo cats have a low-to-medium grade white spotting limited to the face, paws, throat, and chest of an otherwise black cat. This nickname is used in the United States. [citation needed] Van-patterned cats have high-grade bicolour, which is typical for the Turkish Van breed. There are many patterns, such as "cap-and-saddle", "mask-and-mantle" and "harlequin" (also known as "magpie").[2]

Solid-colour bicolour cats occur because there is a white spotting gene present with a recessive allele of the agouti gene. The agouti gene evens out the striped pattern within coat colours. In contrast, tabby cats have an agouti gene that produces striping of the coat. The Abyssinian has agouti (ticked tabby) fur, giving the appearance of even colour with colour-banded hairs.

Bicolour patterns

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Bicolour grade chart, ranging from 1 (solid coloured) to 10 (solid white).
Bicolour pattern chart

Bicolouration in cats is graded from one to ten; with one being completely coloured, and ten being completely white. There are also several patterns with their own names.[1]

Van pattern

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Van-patterned red tabby-and-white Turkish Van cat

Van-patterned cats are bicolour cats,[1][3] they are mostly white (generally more than 75% white). They have colour around their ears and tail, separated by white colouring.[1] They may have small (roughly coin sized) coloured spots on and around their spine. The term Van pattern comes from the Turkish Van (named after Lake Van), which is a Van-patterned bicolour breed. The Van pattern is known to animal geneticists as the Seychelles (Seychellois) pattern and is classified into three variants:[4]

  • Seychellois Neuvieme is white with coloured tail and head splashes (classic Turkish Van pattern)
  • Seychellois Huitieme is white with coloured tail and head splashes plus additional splashes of colour on the legs
  • Seychellois Septieme is white with splashes of colour on the legs and body in addition to those on the head and the coloured tail

This pattern type has high-grade white spotting. The coat pattern ranges from seven to nine on the Bicolour grade chart.

Harlequin patterned

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Another type of colour-and-white cat is the harlequin patterned bicolour cat.[1][3] This coat pattern is sometimes referred to as a "cow cat," "moo cat," or "magpie" and includes the "cap-and-saddle" and "mask-and-mantle" patterns. The harlequin patterned coat is predominantly white (generally 50%-75% white)[1] combined with coloured markings on the cat’s body, including its head and tail. The coat does not have the solid coloured "jacket" like the tuxedo coat. Harlequin patterns have multiple, conjoined, or larger spots on the body and/or an extended head spot that reaches the face. Harlequin coats have large coloured patches over a white body, with a coloured mask over the head. Harlequin cats can be called "Black-mask cats" because they look like they are wearing a black mask over their heads.[citation needed]

True bicolour pattern

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Bicolor patterned black colourpoint-and-white British Shorthair with symmetrical colour distribution and a white blaze on its face

The cat labelled "bicolour" or "true bicolour" is the preferred pattern in show-quality bicolour purebred cats. Bicolour patterned cats have medium grade white spotting (generally approximately 50%-25% white).[1] The cat registry Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) states that for a "standard" bicolour coat to compete in shows, "the color patches must be separated from each other, even in color and harmoniously distributed." [citation needed] They also state "at least 1⁄2 should be coloured, but not more than 3⁄4; the rest is white."[1] The World Cat Federation (WFC) allows an amount of colour between 1⁄2 up to 2⁄3 for bicolour patterned cats.[3] The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) says that "cats with no more than a locket and/or button [patch on chest] do not qualify for this colour class."[2]

Tuxedo pattern

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A tuxedo patterned black-and-white cat

A tuxedo cat, Felix cat[5] or Julius cat is a bicolour cat with low-grade white spotting (generally close to 25% white) in the coat. The term "tuxedo cats" is typically used for black-and-white coloured cats, but tuxedo patterned cats come in all cat colours. They are called tuxedo cats due to the resemblance to black tie formal wear, commonly known in the United States and Canada as a tuxedo. [citation needed]

To be considered a true tuxedo cat, the feline's colouring should consist of a coloured coat, with white fur limited to the paws, belly, chest, throat, and often the chin - sometimes the tail. Tuxedo cats can appear to have goatees due to the black colouration of their mandible, lower jaw, and chin. White muzzles or a white colouring on their faces are a common attribute of tuxedo cats.[6] Most tuxedo cats are also "black-mask cats" with a complete white blaze, a common name for felines who, due to their facial colouration, look as if they are wearing a black mask over their eyes, and often over their entire head. The ideal colour distribution is symmetric, and the white areas are of modest size and limited to the desirable areas.

A Snowshoe cat showing the Snowshoe pattern.

In most cat registries, the tuxedo pattern is not an official term used to categorise white spotting patterns in show cats. The standard or code used to indicate the white markings in the Snowshoe cat breed is equal to the white spotting pattern known as "tuxedo" among tuxedo cat enthusiasts.[7][8]

Genetics of coat patterns

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Main article: Cat coat genetics

The basic colours and patterns of cat fur are defined by fewer than ten genes.[9] Cats with white colour in their coats are thought to have a mutant white-spotting gene that prevents the formation of coat colour in patches over the cat's body. This gene has been investigated in several species, particularly mice, and is co-dominant to normal coat colour as it prevents the migration of melanocytes into the developing hair follicles.[10] The genetics of this pattern are not as well understood in cats but at least some of the genes involved in melanocyte migration and survival may play a role similar as in other animals.[11]

Three genotypes possible with the S (white spotting) gene, with capital S standing for a wild-type copy and lower-case s standing for the mutant.[9]

  • SS (two dominant alleles) results in high grades of white spotting (sometimes resulting in a solid-looking white cat or a white cat with just a few colour hairs)
  • Ss (one dominant, one recessive allele) results in medium grades of white spotting
  • ss (two recessive alleles) results in solid colour or low grades of white spotting (sometimes as little as a few white hairs)

The lack of tabby striping in bicolour cats is controlled by the agouti protein, which inhibits the production of melanin and thus prevents the formation of dark hair colours.[12] In agouti cats the gene is turned on and off as the hair grows, producing hairs with alternating stripes yellow and black.[9] In domestic cats, inactivation of the agouti gene by a deletion mutation causes all-black coat colour.[13]

Bicoloured cat breeds

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The bicolour coat colouration is not restricted to a specific breed of cat, as it can be found in many different types of pure-breed as well as mixed-breed domestic cats.[citation needed] However, some breeds have bicolour coats in their breed standards. These include the Ragdoll, American Shorthair, Manx, British Shorthair, and Turkish Angora.[14] The Turkish Van and Snowshoe[1][8] cat breed are restricted to cats with bicoloured coats.

In contrast, other common breeds of cat have specific coat patterns specified in their breed standards. Cats with such specific coat patterns include the Russian Blue, which has a coat of one solid colour.

Possible bicolour colourations

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Comparison of a black colourpoint-and-white adult (left) and kitten (right).

White spotting is not limited to solid colour-and-white combinations, and can also occur with any of the tabby patterns, resulting in tabby-and-white bicolour coats. colourpoint cats can have bicolour points (colourpoint-and-white), although this variation is not recognized for showing in some cat breeds. An example of a bicolour colourpoint cat breed is the tuxedo patterned colourpoint-and-white Snowshoe cat.[1][8] The body markings of bicolour colourpoints become clearer with age, as the body fur of colourpoint cats darkens as the cats grow older and the white patches become more distinctively visible.

White spotting can also occur in combination with tortoiseshell coats, these are known as tricolour cats, tortoiseshell-and-white cats, or calico cats (US English). Tortoiseshell-and-white cats can also be found in combination with a tabby or colourpoint pattern.

Bicolour cats that are black and white are sometimes called "magpies". The cream and white bicolour cat is the rarest of the bicolours, while the black and white or "blue" (grey) and white are the most common.[citation needed]

A female bicolour patterned black-and-white cat with pink and black paw pads

Skin colouration

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Bicolour may also appear in the skin colour. This feature may be seen in bicoloured hairless cats [citation needed]. Paw pad colouration may be black, pink, or a mixture of both. Paw pad colouration may match the pattern of a cat's coat that is nearby the paw. If the colour boundary crosses the underside of the paw, the pads on either side may be different colours or even bicoloured.[citation needed]

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See also: Fictional cats
Domestic short-haired cat with tuxedo coat

Jellicle cat is a tuxedo cat in the fictional tribe of nocturnal black and white cats described by T. S. Eliot in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, which was first published in 1939.[15] In the musical Cats, the character Mr. Mistoffelees is a tuxedo cat. Mr. Mistoffelees is a stage magician wearing a lacy ruff and bow tie. The character Bustopher Jones outfit consists of a tuxedo and spats. The musical differed from the book in that the characters included cats with many different coat colours, rather than just bicolour cats, but it retains the repeated assertion that "Jellicle cats are black and white." Cats with these markings also played a starring role in the drawings illustrating The Unadulterated Cat, a book written by Terry Pratchett, with cartoons by Gray Jolliffe.[16]

Other cartoon bicolour cats include Sylvester the Cat, Felix the Cat, Tom Cat from Tom and Jerry, Oggy from Oggy and the Cockroaches, Blackie the Cat from The Cat that Hated People, Ventriloquist Cat, Krazy Kat,[17] Jess from Postman Pat, Kitty Softpaws from the Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots and its sequel, Disney's Figaro, the Cat in the Hat from the Dr. Seuss book of the same name, Beans from Looney Tunes, Penelope Pussycat, Sebastian the cat from Josie and the Pussycats, and Chao from Osamu Tezuka's Unico series. A bicolour cat named Mittens is one of the main characters in the 2008 Disney animated film Bolt. Aldwyn from The Familiars is a tuxedo cat, while Meowrice (voiced by Paul Frees) from Gay Purr-ee is a bicolour.

A tuxedo cat is also the protagonist of the popular children's book Tip-Top Cat, and another is the giant Kat Kong in the children's book of the same name. Bo, a character from the TV series Abby Hatcher, is a "Fuzzly" who resembles a tuxedo cat. Tuxedos are one of the ten breeds of cats in the video game Minecraft. Morgana, a playable character in the JRPG Persona 5, is a bicolour cat. Klonoa, the main character of the titular Klonoa games, closely resembles a tuxedo cat. Cait Sith, a playable character from the video game Final Fantasy VII is a tuxedo cat.

Notable tuxedo cats

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fédération Internationale Féline (1 January 2023). "Colour varieties with white" (PDF). Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "7+ Bicolor Pattern Variations in Cats (And Why They Occur)". PetHelpful. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c World Cat Federation (28 June 2021). "Glossary of terms - wcf en". Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Seychellois". Fanciers Breeder Referral List. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
  5. ^ "This Is What to Expect with Tuxedo Cats". The Spruce Pets. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. ^ Syufy, Franny (21 May 2015). "About Tuxedo Cats". About.com. The About Group. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Snowshoe cat breed". 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b c The International Cat Association (13 August 2018). "Snowshoe Breed". www.tica.org. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Coat Colors & Fur Types". Feline Genome project. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
  10. ^ Yoshida H, Kunisada T, Grimm T, Nishimura EK, Nishioka E, Nishikawa SI (2001). "Review: melanocyte migration and survival controlled by SCF/c-kit expression". J. Investig. Dermatol. Symp. Proc. 6 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1046/j.0022-202x.2001.00006.x. PMID 11764276.
  11. ^ Cooper MP, Fretwell N, Bailey SJ, Lyons LA (2006). "White spotting in the domestic cat (Felis catus) maps near KIT on feline chromosome B1". Anim. Genet. 37 (2): 163–5. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2005.01389.x. PMC 1464422. PMID 16573531.
  12. ^ Jackson IJ (1997). "Homologous pigmentation mutations in human, mouse and other model organisms". Hum. Mol. Genet. 6 (10): 1613–24. doi:10.1093/hmg/6.10.1613. PMID 9300652.
  13. ^ Eizirik E, Yuhki N, Johnson WE, Menotti-Raymond M, Hannah SS, O'Brien SJ (2003). "Molecular genetics and evolution of melanism in the cat family". Curr. Biol. 13 (5): 448–53. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00128-3. PMID 12620197.
  14. ^ "CFA Breeds". The Cat Fanciers' Association. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
  15. ^ T. S. Eliot (1982). Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-168656-8.
  16. ^ Pratchett, Terry; Jolliffe, Gray (26 September 2002). The Unadulterated Cat (New ed.). Orion. ISBN 978-0-7528-5369-7.
  17. ^ The Purrington Post, 1 February 2018 - A Tribute to Tuxies and their 'Tuxitude', Famous Tuxies
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