Does My Kitten Have Ghost Markings?

Paris Pluto

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Hi all,

This is my gorgeous baby Jiggy. She is almost 10 weeks old and I was just wondering if the marks on her tail will stay or fade? I've been reading conflicting answers and I just wanted some opinions?

This is my first ever cat and I am soooo in love.
 

abyeb

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Yes, it looks like she has ghost tabby markings, in the classic (aka marbled or bullseye) pattern. Ghost markings in kittens will usually fade once they reach adulthood, so Jiggy will probably end up being solid blue.
 

StefanZ

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I wonder. She seems to be a solid blue, and thus, these stripes on tail should be ghost markings. And tend to disappear with adulthood.

But the ghost markings are usually of the striped type. Here they seem to be of the classic tabby type on her side.

So either I must relearn some, or she may be a classic blue tabby after all... Lets see what happens with time.

Do you know her background? Parents? Was any of the parents a tabby?

Also, more good pics are welcome, so we may see if she is a look alike to some recognized breed. That is what we usually do here...
 
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Paris Pluto

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I wonder. She seems to be a solid blue, and thus, these stripes on tail should be ghost markings. And tend to disappear with adulthood.

But the ghost markings are usually of the striped type. Here they seem to be of the classic tabby type on her side.

So either I must relearn some, or she may be a classic blue tabby after all... Lets see what happens with time.

Do you know her background? Parents? Was any of the parents a tabby?

Also, more good pics are welcome, so we may see if she is a look alike to some recognized breed. That is what we usually do here...
I have absolutely no idea about her parents at all.

Here are so other pictures, not sure if it'll help but once is with natural light and one is with flash.
 

Wags

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What a beautiful kitten - here is a pic of Niki's ghost stripes (tail 'rings') she is slowly growing out of them (even though I am kind of quite fond of them lol) FYI Niki is a Russian Blue and 13 months old
View media item 420739
 

Wags

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Wow! Niki is so beautiful and majestic.
Thanks - she knows it too. But also has the sweetest nature and is an absolute clown when playing - she loves chasing balls up an down the hall way and hiding in closets ( and although I suspect this makes me a 'bad' mother I actually shut her in one all night by accident - she managed to open all my shoe boxes and made quite a mess of the contents lol)
I notice that Jiggy has pink/purple-ish paw pads which is uncommon in grey cats (my understanding is that they are usuallyusually grey- matching their fur)
 
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Paris Pluto

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Thanks - she knows it too. But also has the sweetest nature and is an absolute clown when playing - she loves chasing balls up an down the hall way and hiding in closets ( and although I suspect this makes me a 'bad' mother I actually shut her in one all night by accident - she managed to open all my shoe boxes and made quite a mess of the contents lol)
I notice that Jiggy has pink/purple-ish paw pads which is uncommon in grey cats (my understanding is that they are usuallyusually grey- matching their fur)
Haha she must have a shoe getish!

Thanks for pointing that out about the paw pads, I didn't even notice! I must be so smitten with her haha. I was also under the impression that paw pads are usually related to the colour of the fur or nose and her nose is grey.

When I picked her up, the house that I went to had at least 15 cats so I assume she is quite possibly a mix of mongrel haha.
 

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What your question cooks down to, is if the whitish bulls eye visible on the first photo, but less so on the other photos - is it for real, or is it just some trick of light...

You being there can decide best. :)

IF there is a lighter bulls eye, she is probably a blue classic tabby.

If there arent any lighter bulls eye or other lighter stretches, just the darker stripes on her tails - these are ghost markings, and she is a true solid blue. No true tabby.
 

StefanZ

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She doesnt seem to be apparent look alike to any established breed, however nice looks she has.. You can always call her for a maltese cat, which are all blue cats where we cant decide what exact breed they may belong to. Hey, once upon a time the early Russian Blue were too called for Maltese cats...
 
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Paris Pluto

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She doesnt seem to be apparent look alike to any established breed, however nice looks she has.. You can always call her for a maltese cat, which are all blue cats where we cant decide what exact breed they may belong to. Hey, once upon a time the early Russian Blue were too called for Maltese cats...
Thanks for your help! The bull's-eye you see in the picture is just the light. I've inspected her in all types of light and don't see it.. I'm not too fussed about the breed, I was just curious about the markings on her tail. Thanks so much for your input :)
 

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I have the same question. The mom of my little boy was sold blue, the dad bi-colored (blue and white) and he seems to have some tabby pattern, mostly on his legs and tail (which confuses me a bit, since tabby is supposed to be a dominant feature, and if the parents didn't have it neither should hr, right?).

This was taken a month ago:

IMG_20180523_114851_HDR.jpg


He is now almost 5 months old and the markings still look the same. Hard to get a good picture of his tail, but here are the legs:

IMG_20180625_101404_HDR.jpg


Do you think he will grow out of them? I don't really mind them, I'm just confused on how he got them :ruminating:
 
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Paris Pluto

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I have the same question. The mom of my little boy was sold blue, the dad bi-colored (blue and white) and he seems to have some tabby pattern, mostly on his legs and tail (which confuses me a bit, since tabby is supposed to be a dominant feature, and if the parents didn't have it neither should hr, right?).

This was taken a month ago:

View attachment 238538

He is now almost 5 months old and the markings still look the same. Hard to get a good picture of his tail, but here are the legs:

View attachment 238539

Do you think he will grow out of them? I don't really mind them, I'm just confused on how he got them :ruminating:
Omg he is sooooo cute!! My kitty is almost 7 months now and the markings on her tail are still there so I guess it's just a waiting game to see if they will fade when her adult coat comes through..
 

abyeb

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I have the same question. The mom of my little boy was sold blue, the dad bi-colored (blue and white) and he seems to have some tabby pattern, mostly on his legs and tail (which confuses me a bit, since tabby is supposed to be a dominant feature, and if the parents didn't have it neither should hr, right?).

This was taken a month ago:

View attachment 238538

He is now almost 5 months old and the markings still look the same. Hard to get a good picture of his tail, but here are the legs:

View attachment 238539

Do you think he will grow out of them? I don't really mind them, I'm just confused on how he got them :ruminating:
He’s adorable! It looks like he has some ghost tabby markings, but they’re barely visible, so I think he will probably grow out of them and be a solid blue like mom. She might have had ghost tabby markings when she was a kitten, too.
 

lutece

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Blue kittens usually have some ghost tabby markings. It is highly variable how long they stick around. At 5 months, a kitten still has its "kitten coat"; most will still have ghost markings at that age. When the adult coat comes in, the ghost markings on the body usually go away (although you may be able to faintly see them sometimes). However, ghost markings on the tail can take a lot longer to go away... even as adults, blue cats often have some faint stripes on the tail, and that is normal.
 

lutece

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I wonder. She seems to be a solid blue, and thus, these stripes on tail should be ghost markings. And tend to disappear with adulthood.
But the ghost markings are usually of the striped type. Here they seem to be of the classic tabby type on her side.
So either I must relearn some, or she may be a classic blue tabby after all... Lets see what happens with time.
StefanZ, the ghost markings on a solid blue kitten will reveal whatever tabby pattern the cat would have, if it were a tabby. Depending on the tabby pattern genes the kitten is carrying, it could be a classic (blotched), mackerel (striped), broken mackerel, spotted, or even a ticked tabby, and you will see ghost markings corresponding to the pattern.

Sometimes the ghost markings are very faint, even on a young kitten, and sometimes the markings are very strong and take a long time to go away. Breeders of solid blue cats of course try to select for faint markings that go away more quickly. The ticked pattern is nice because there will not be any markings on the body. The spotted and mackerel patterns are usually visible on a young kitten but not very strong. However, the classic pattern can be really annoying because it often has more contrast and can take longer to go away. As an example, here are some pictures of a Chartreux kitten with a very obvious classic bullseye pattern, as a young baby and as a three month old. The ghost markings did go away with maturity.

IMG_20120605_094600.jpg IMG_20120605_094656.jpg IMG_20120816_174122.jpg
 

Tashanasha

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I honestly find his tail quite lovely, especially when seen from behind when he is exploring and holding his tail horizontaly - then it almost looks like a bullseye :D

This is a bit off topic, but any ideas when he's kitten coat will change fully? As for now he has a mullet going on - the coat is short and crispy on the head and shoulders and longer on his back :D
 

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Hey guys,

I also adopted a kitten 3 months old. They were given her away and the advertisement said she is russian blue.
However, I am not so sure. She is a doll !! But probably a mix RB. Could you tell me what you think?
I read that the eye colour changes after 4 months and the ghost markings dissapewa as they grow old.
 

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