Do coat patterns change as a kitten grows?

[huntercats]

I'm just remembering the time when we first met Didi, our housekeepers cat. She was about 4 weeks old and looked almost totally white with a brown patch on her back. As she grew it turned out she was a cream tabby (I started noticing an M on her forehead become clearer) and that patch grew into a cap and mantle sorta thing. Do all cat patterns change as they grow? The kitty in my avi is one of her sons. He's an orange tabby but already has a full cap and mantle.

 

[northernglow]

Yes, they often do. For example colorpoints get darker (are born white), and shaded silvers may loose stripes and spots and get the proper shaded look. Tabby patterns can come brighter and more clear etc.

Here's an example of a shaded silver cat. First pic is newborn (the one in the left shall be our demonstrator). Someone might even mistake him as a spotted tabby at that point.

IMG_2092.jpg

• northernglow
• Jan 26, 2013

And here he is 10 months old. This colour change happened to all of the silver kittens in the first pic (the golden on the right is a spotted tabby).

258575_10151094233172863_748178691_o.jpg

• northernglow
• Jan 26, 2013

And an opposite version happening here. This kitten doesn't seem to have a pattern:

DSC01583.jpg

• northernglow
• Jan 26, 2013

Here he is 1 year old, spotted tabby

DSC02476.jpg

• northernglow
• Jan 26, 2013

 

[missymotus]

Generally coat colours get darker, but don't' change as such. Young kittens often have ghost tabby markings which will fade, or only be visible in sunlight.

Creams and reds often have tabby markings without being tabby cats.