Colors of British cats

Conventionally, all the colors of British cats can be divided into groups. In cats with solid color Each wool has a uniform color throughoutlength. This color is considered classic. Also, the classic colors of British cats - tortoiseshell, chocolate-tortie, blue-cream, etc. However, strictly speaking, these mixed colors can not be distinguished in a separate group, because they are not peculiar to cats - only cats. Classical colors of British cats make up a group of basic colors .

The following color groups are based on additional signs of color. When coloring tabby hairs in a cat paintedunevenly, due to which the cat's wool forms a pattern (marble, spotted, brindle). In silvery (smoky) cats - a light foundation of wool and a dark tip. Cats of the Himalayan color (color-point) are somewhat like Siamese: with their light body color they have dark ears, limbs, a mask and a tail. Colors of British cats from the group of particolors are the basic colors in combination with white.

In the color of a cat, the signs of almost all groups can be combined. This is due to the mutual influence of genes responsible for the colors of British cats. Therefore, each color has its own code, in which, in addition to the cat breed, there are signs of its color. In fact - to which groups of the above can be attributed a cat.

The first three letters of the code are the breed of a cat. In purebred British it is BRI (British Shorthair) and BLH (British Longhair). Then the letter of the base color is indicated. The following basic colors of British cats stand out:

• white (white) - w


• black (black) - n


• blue (blue) - a


• chocolate (chocolate) - b


• cinnamon - o


• purple (lilac) - c


• fawn - p


• red (red) - d


• cream-e


• tortoiseshell (tortoiseshell) - f


• blue-cream-g


• chocolate-tortie (h-tortie) - h


• tortoise cinnamon-tortie - q


• lilac-tortie - j


• fawn-tortie - r

After the letter of the base color codes of additional color-forming features are written, it can be both letters and numbers.

Combinations with white (particolor, piebald colors):

• bicolour - 03


• harlequin - 02


• van (van) - 01

Varieties of combinations with white differ in the location of the spots and the ratio of white and basic colors. Coloring cats van completely white, colored tail and 1-2 small spots on the head, small spots in the shoulder area and on the back sides of the limbs are permissible. Coloring cats harlequin also mostly white, small colored spots are located on the body and limbs. Coloring cats bicolor mostly dark, white spots can be on different parts of the body (paws, chest, head).

Striped (tabby):

</ strong>

• agouty - 21


• spotted - 24


• mackerel / tiger (maskerel / tiger) - 23


• marble - 22

When painting agouti hair can be conditionally divided into zones colored in different degrees. Tabbi Mackerel (tiger) is a vertical parallel strip. Marble Tabby (classic tabby) - wide spiral strips on the sides, three strips along the ridge, spots on the abdomen, rings on the tail and paws. Spotted Tabby differs in small spots or intermittent streaks throughout the body.

Silver:

• Smoke (including tabby - spot on silver, tiger on silver, marble on silver) (smoke, silver tabby) - s


• Shaded - 11


• Chinchilla (tipped) - 12

Have smoky cats half hair is colored, white root. When painting shaded 1/3 part of the tip painted, when painted chinchilla - 1/8.

Code for color color-point (link-point) - 33

For example, the code BRI fs 03 means that the cat (or cat) is a short-haired Brit with smoky turtle color, bicolor. Some colors of British cats should be accompanied by a standard with a certain eye color. Cats that have white color can haveorange or blue eyes, there is also a disagreement. For cats, the color of the silver tabby (smoky cat with spots or stripes) is allowed orange or green eyes. Color-points should ideally have blue eyes, but in fact, this is not always the case.

The eye color codes are as follows:

• blue - 61


• orange - 62


• disagreement - 63


• green - 64

It should be remembered that the above diagram is rather conditional. Different colors of British cats must obey a number additional requirements.