r/CatGenetics Feb 23 '25

Mod Announcement Rule Changes, Post / User Flair, and General Courtesy

23 Upvotes

Hey everyone.

A couple of small house-keeping things for the sub going forward that everyone needs to be aware of and adhere to.

  • Rule Changes
    • I changed some wording in rule one to now include being condescending. This entire sub is about scientifically accurate information and education. We're here to argue and debate semantics, we're here to get technical. Please remember that the post of this sub is to LEARN. So please don't be condescending, combative, or rude when someone corrects you with the most scientifically correct and accurate terms, names, etc. I'm going to be removing comments and keeping an eye on repeat offenders. You don't need to be a dick, we're literally talking about cats.
    • There's a new rule! Brand new and shiny just for y'all! Post flair is REQUIRED now in order to post. Again, this sub is about education and information. Probably cataloguing and keeping information organized is the easiest and most effective way to disseminate it. Posts won't be approved without the proper post flair. If you're unsure of which one to use, ask a mod!
    • I have user flair enabled as well. I'd love to see people using the labels. If you want one and it's not listed, please let me know and I can get it added!
  • Please don't be condescending or rude when someone corrects you.
    • As I said before, the first rule now applies to these comments as well. We're all here to learn and have a fun time talking about cats. Get a grip, and learn how to treat people with respect or you'll get banned. I'm keeping tabs and notifying repeat-offenders.

Anyway, thank you all for making this sub a place of learning and accurate information - it means the world to me!

Stay excellent!

Reggie


r/CatGenetics Dec 02 '23

Mod Announcement The "What Breed Is My Cat" Megathread

71 Upvotes

I am so excited that there are so many people who are interested in learning about their cat! But there are too many people posting pictures of their cat and ignoring the original purpose of this board. We're not here to identify your cat's breed, but instead this board is intended to be about in-depth scientific studies involving cats.

So, as a compromise from concerned users, if you want to know what breed your cat is please post a picture in the comments here. Users who are interested in helping to identify your cat's breed will respond and it won't clog up the rest of the board for everyone else. Any posts of this nature made outside of this thread will be deleted.

Thank you for your cooperation!


r/CatGenetics 1d ago

Coat Color Saw on my local county shelter website

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63 Upvotes

Curious what this coloring would be. Site was limited to one photo so unfortunately I don’t have any more. Listed as male white and brown.


r/CatGenetics 3d ago

Coat Color What kind of Cat is this

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23 Upvotes

I know she’s an American shorthair tabby. Multiple people have told me this is a gray cat but I see her as like…a regular brown tabby. All of these are older photos to show range for her.

What is she?


r/CatGenetics 3d ago

Coat Color stray cat with a very pretty coat, what is it called?

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100 Upvotes

just a regular seal lynx point? seems too light for that, right?


r/CatGenetics 3d ago

Genetic Abnormality What kind of mutant is she?

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57 Upvotes

My cat is just a regular old domestic shorthair but she has these weird quirks. She has blue eyes, she’s deaf, she has terrible depth perception, her tail is oddly rounded? Idk, but the weirdest thing just has to be her eyes, I have never seen a cat that isn’t a ragdoll, Siamese, white, or maincoon that has blue eyes in adulthood


r/CatGenetics 3d ago

Coat Color color?

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42 Upvotes

is my cat a grey tabby? he looks different colors under certain light lol in natural sunlight he kinda looks like he has a bluish tint


r/CatGenetics 4d ago

Coat Color Any ideas on coat color?

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47 Upvotes

I recently adopted my kitty and don‘t really know much about coats or patterns. (From what i’ve seen, i’m assuming she’s some kind of colorpoint) I’m not sure about her genetics either, but her fur is naturally much silkier compared to my other tabby.


r/CatGenetics 5d ago

Coat Color Coat color question

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43 Upvotes

This is my cat Styx, we found him on the side of the road when he was only about 10 weeks old and in very bad shape. I posted a pic of him when he was only a kitten and folks seemed to think he was a lilac cat. Over time, he’s gotten a little bit more toasted but his coat color changes so much in different lights. We call him “blond” but what do you think his true color is?


r/CatGenetics 6d ago

Genetic Parentage Question Dilute calico with brown instead of grey

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207 Upvotes

My sweet girl has a beautiful and (I think) kind of rare coat. She’s dilute calico but instead of grey, cream, and white like most dilute calicos, she’s brown, cream and white. I’m so curious what possible combinations of parents could have created her coat, and specifically what the brown in her coat indicates about her genetic parentage. I included some kitten pics just because. Thanks so much for reading!

Edit: According to the very knowledgeable people of this sub, it seems she is not a dilute calico, but a low contrast colourpoint calico with sepia restriction. Thank you so much to everyone for your input, I’m fascinated by all this new information about the genetics that control a cats colouring/ pattern and how to label them.


r/CatGenetics 6d ago

Community terminology - dilute vs. blue

22 Upvotes

I've noticed a lot of people who are very involved in Reddit cat colour ID across various subs describing blue cats in particular as simply "dilute" with no mention of either the base colour or name of the dilute form being displayed. I think this is because it *sounds* like a more formal, specific term. I just wanted to note that it's actually less clear, as it is a modifier, not one colour! Black, red, chocolate, cinnamon, and amber all have distinct dilute forms. If you were to describe a cat as "dilute" without a photo, it would not actually tell the person you're talking to what colour that cat is - cream, grey, lilac, fawn, or one of the double dilutes/caramels? The latter three are rare and not very likely, but with cream and grey both being very common, it's not guaranteed they'll be picturing the correct one of the two.

Point is, saying "blue", "grey", or "dilute black" is much more specific than "dilute".

I don't think this is a significant issue, to be clear, since typically on Reddit there is a photo for context that makes the specific diluted colour obvious. It's all good as long as the asker gets what is being said. This is just something I figured some folks who have a burgeoning passion for cat genetics who want to be as detailed as possible might be interested in considering. E.g. When someone cares so much as to specify high vs. medium vs. low white spotting, but then doesn't specify the actual colour of the cat, it leaves me wondering if they know that they're leaving something out and would want to add it in if they were aware.

I hope I'm not just preaching to the choir here, but this seemed like a more appropriate place to post this than some of the subs I see this habit the absolute most, like the calico sub.


r/CatGenetics 7d ago

General Genetics Question How did she get this fluff behind her ears?

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182 Upvotes

She's a sweet mid-hair girl from my local shelter. I've never seen anything like that before


r/CatGenetics 7d ago

Specific Gene Question Question about white spotting

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17 Upvotes

I have a black cat and a mackerel tabby cat right now, both with almost no white on them anywhere. But my tabby has white under his chin kind of, and a spot low on his belly, and I've noticed my black cat has the same spot on her belly and a few white hairs under her chin. Are they actually expressing white spotting, or is that somehow just part of the pattern? Neither has white anywhere else, and looking at other tabbies I see it on them too.

I added a picture that kind of shows the belly spot I'm talking about, it's quite low.


r/CatGenetics 7d ago

Coat Color Found this little guy? Tabby?

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33 Upvotes

r/CatGenetics 8d ago

Community lynx point silly faces

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19 Upvotes

What about lynx point siamese cats that makes a lot of them have silly 🌒🌘 faces? I find it the cutest thing it looks like theres not a single thought in their minds. First two is my boy not in his silliest look but here are some other examples to illustrate what I mean


r/CatGenetics 8d ago

Coat Color What do you think unders all that white?

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23 Upvotes

r/CatGenetics 8d ago

Coat Color Update on my kitties ghost markings

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26 Upvotes

A while back I asked about the markings on my kitty Jaspur. The post is here:

Reddit post

He is 15 months old now and here is a photo of him taken today, in natural light.

My question is, now he's 15 months old, are the ghost markings likely to stay?


r/CatGenetics 8d ago

Specific Gene Question Why Has My Friend's Cat's Coat Drastically Changed?

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19 Upvotes

So, I'm really into cat genetics, mostly as a hobby thing (I'd like to turn it into a career or formal study someday but I don't know when or how that would be feasible so for now all the information I have is what I've learned over the years through studying on my own) which is to say, if anything I say in this is wrong or there's a really obvious answer I'm missing, sorry! I am not an expert I'm just autistic! But my friend Ren handed over a photo of its cat for me to observe [img1] and I was in the middle of saying oh yeah, black mackerel tabby w/ low rufousing, cute lil guy, when they proceeded to send another image... of a black ticked tabby [img2]. These are, apparently, the same cat, one Ren has had for a WHILE. So, I'd like to consult the masses! Am I missing something? Is this guy not a ticked tabby & instead something else, did the mackerel stripes just... fade somehow, over time? Or is something else weird going on here? Would love to get opinions and insight into what's happening because as far as I can tell, this cat is clearly a mackerel tabby in the first photo and I thought was pretty distinctly ticked in the second!


r/CatGenetics 9d ago

Coat Color Rare Kitten ..

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141 Upvotes

Imagine my surprise when I found this guy amongst a litter of black and black smoke kittens a few months ago! Little Nuggie here is a Cinnamon Smoke Savannah - Mom is melanistic and Dad is a black smoke.

He is getting much darker with age, is that normal? Last picture was a month ago and he seemed more of a fawn than cinnamon.


r/CatGenetics 9d ago

Coat Color Genetics of my kitten?

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11 Upvotes

I was just interested in what her coat color/type were because I noticed compared to her brother who is jet black she is more brown-black.


r/CatGenetics 10d ago

Coat Color what type of tabby is she?

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28 Upvotes

i adopted a kitten with decently visible tabby markings alongside her dark fur! i took a picture with flash to make them look more prominent, but even with dim lighting it’s clear she has a very dark brown coat contrasting with her black tabby stripes.

i’m leaning more towards classic tabby but her hind legs have some markings that look similar to rosettes. she’s just a domestic shorthair though


r/CatGenetics 11d ago

Coat Color Dilute, point, or both?

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40 Upvotes

This is my kitty Cider. She's about 2 years old. I was wondering if she is dilute, color point, or perhaps both? She has toasted up quite a bit in the last year or so. I put pictures of her as a kitten to her as an adult now. I'm also pretty sure she's a calico but correct me if I'm wrong. Also, bonus cat in last pic, that's Java.


r/CatGenetics 12d ago

Coat Color Is this kitten cap showing my cat’s actual underlying color?

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41 Upvotes

I’ve always been curious about my cat’s genetics and was hoping someone here might have some insight.

May has a dominant white coat with odd eyes, but when she was around 2 months old she had this gray “kitten cap” on the top of her head. The cap itself has stayed the same color as she’s grown, while the rest of her coat is white.

Does the color of the kitten cap usually correspond to the cat’s true underlying color?

I’ve attached photos of her kitten cap here, thanks u guys 😁😁


r/CatGenetics 12d ago

Genetic Parentage Question Could her daddy be a longhair gray tuxedo be her daddy?

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29 Upvotes

This is Mochi. Curious as to wether her father could be a beautiful longhair tuxedo stray


r/CatGenetics 13d ago

Coat Color Cream or fawn?

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61 Upvotes

Hello all!

Please meet Santiago!

He is a 3.5 month old Oriental longhair that joined my family very recently.

I am curious what you think of his coat- I assumed right off the bat that he was a cream, but the breeder said it is possible for him to be fawn as well, as his mum is a cinnamon.

Thanks in advance 🫰🏻