Cats come in many different colors, but ultimately, cats only have two basic colors: black and red (brown melanin). After these two pigment genes interact with the dilute pigment gene, they are divided into two factions.

The black faction derives from chocolate, cinnamon, blue, lilac, and light brown.

The red faction produces orange and cream colors. 

Some of you may wonder why there is no white color, but genetically, there is no such thing as a white cat. White is not a color in the genes, but rather a cat carries a special gene that prevents the pigment from reaching the skin. This gene prevents pigment from reaching the skin, leaving the original color on the cat covered in white. The coat color of the offspring of such cats is unpredictable, and their eyes are usually blue, orange, or heterochromatic pupils.

The degree of albinism is also adjustable, so there will be cats that are white but not completely white. For example, tuxedo cats, tricolor, British Shorthairs with blue and white, and American Shorthairs with white.

Black Cat Sherif 

Cat teacher 

Tom

For example, tuxedo cats, tricolor, British Shorthairs with blue and white, and American Shorthairs with white.

We all know that the sheriff in Black Cat Sherif is a tuxedo cat, the cat teacher in Natsume's Book of Friends is a tricolor, Tom in Tom and Jerry is a short blue and white cat, and the Chi cat is a short plus white cat.

Accent coloring is also due to white gene action, but the whiteness is different. It is the influence of the mother's womb that begins in the kitten's womb when the kitten is in the mother's womb. The kitten's body temperature is higher when it is in the mother's womb, so its entire body is light-colored (nearly white). After birth, lower temperature parts such as limbs, ears and tail gradually deposit pigment to form accent colors.

The formation of patterns in cats belongs to another system, and patterns are mainly divided into tabby spot genes and gradient genes. The four classic patterns of the tabby spot gene are the fishbone pattern of the Abyssinian, the classical spot of the American Shorthair, the leopard cat's spot, and the mackerel spot of the British Shorthair.The origin of the gradient gene is more complicated, and it is difficult to produce naturally, which is why the gradient is relatively rare.

So, who exactly inherits the kitten's color is related to the sex of the kitten, and the gene that determines the cat's color is attached to the X chromosome. So, we just need to remember that young male kittens take a color from their mother, and young female kittens take a color from each of their mom and dad, which is why tricolors are basically female. There are also more little females in ginger cats.

And the base color system and the pattern system can also be stacked on top of each other, resulting in a vast array of cat colors and patterns.