When you’re walking down a street and see a cat with an extremely rare color or pattern, do you stop for a second and admire how beautiful they are? I certainly do! The same thing happens when I scroll Instagram, if I see a beautiful and rare cat, I find myself just staring at it in awe.
There truly is a lot of versatility in the cat world – it seems like there are a million different coat colors and patterns! Of course, some are more rare than others.
Cats with an extraordinarily rare coat color and pattern are the celebrities of the cat world! Their coats are very distinctive and absolutely stunning, so much so that you simply have to take a second look.
In this article, I will show you some amazing cats with rare coat colors and patterns, many of which you will never have seen before, so scroll on!
1. Albino
The albino cat is the rarest type of coat. Complete albinism is caused by two recessive alleles in the C gene, and cats are highly unlikely to have both of these alleles.
These cats should avoid the sun to safeguard their distinctive albino blue eyes. The sun can also harm their skin, particularly around the nose and ears.
2. Taupe
Dm, or a “dilute modifier” gene is a gene that has effects that are more noticeable when the cat’s color is already dilute. Essentially, this gene will modify (wash out) the already diluted color pigment.
Taupe is a modified blue, and blue is a dilute black color.
This Dm gene is usually only found in English Balinese and Siamese cats, so you’re highly unlikely to see any other cat with this coat color.
3. Apricot
The same diluted modifier that causes a taupe coat color also causes apricot, but on a cream color.
Apricot is an almost-white cream color. This is because the dm gene has two d alleles, which causes further washing out – or dilution – of the pigment.
4. Caramel
Caramel appears to be a light gray color, but it is actually a modified lilac coat color. This is the result of the “dilute modifier gene”, the same gene that modifies cream to apricot, and blue to taupe.
As you can see, only cats who are homozygous for the dilute gene, will have their color altered.
5. Blue
Blue is a diluted form of black, resulting in a gray-colored coat. This coat color is particularly beautiful in longhaired gray cat breeds like the Norwegian forest cat, where the color is on full impressive display for everyone to see.
Solid blue cats are extremely rare in the cat world. They can be of various shades ranging from light blue-gray to dark slate. The Russian blue cat has a solid blue coat coloration. Apart from its magnificent short blue-gray coat, this cat also has brilliant green eyes.
6. Lilac
If a chocolate-colored cat has the dilute gene, the effect is that the chocolate is lightened to a lilac (or lavender) tone. Some describe it as a gray color with a pinkish tone.
In certain light, the undercoat’s pinkish undertone can be seen. This color of cat typically has a lilac-pink nose and paw pads.
For this color to occur, a cat must receive the recessive dilute gene and the recessive chocolate gene from both parents, so this hue is extremely uncommon.
7. Fawn
Fawn is a variant of cinnamon, which is caused by a recessive gene called the dilution gene. It creates a lighter shade of brown than lilac and is diluted with brown. Some also call this color beige.
The Oriental and British Shorthair breeds are the most common carriers of non-agouti cinnamon and fawn hues.
8. Cream
The color of this cream coat is a diluted red that is light but has a little rusty undertone. Cream is unusual in mixed-breed cats, as it is with the majority of the other dilutions, but is becoming increasingly prevalent in purebred cats.
Cream-colored cats have an orange color variant that is attenuated by a dense pigment gene and controlled by a red gene. The presence of red variants in the fur color is determined by this red gene, which is located on the X chromosome.
9. Cinnamon
The cinnamon coat color is a lighter reddish-brown color, best compared to the hue of a cinnamon stick.
The cinnamon gene has been around for a very long time, despite being a relatively recent introduction into the standards of many breeds. The Abyssinian breed has the earliest record of the cinnamon gene, and it is thought that this breed is where the gene first appeared.
10. Chocolate
The gene responsible for producing a black coat produces a chocolate color when diluted.
While certain varieties, like the Balinese and Siamese, might have a chocolate color as points, the Havana Brown is a breed that has the distinction of being solid chocolate.
What Is The Rarest Color In Cats?
The rarest color pattern in cats is pure white and albino. Apart from these two, diluted colors (lilac, fawn, cream) are also somewhat rare, as well as modified dilute colors (taupe, caramel, and apricot).
Final Thoughts
We are all familiar with the fact that cats come in a variety of colors and patterns because we have all seen plenty of them in our lifetimes. There are numerous different feline breeds, and many of them have easily distinguishable colors and markings.
The majority of cats have black, white and/or orange colored fur, but these three basic colors can be seen in different hues, and some of them are pretty uncommon.
Some rare cat colors and patterns include albino, solid white, blue, lilac, fawn, cream, taupe, caramel, apricot, cinnamon, chocolate, smoke, mitted, tuxedo, tortie, calico, harlequin, charcoal, and solid black, as well as the patched and spotted tabby.
They are all very pleasing to the eye, as I’m sure all of us cat lovers can agree! If you have a cat with a rare coat color and pattern combination, you’re very lucky!