Fur Question

[Rei's Mom]

My little Soul is about 4 months old now. I got here when she was about 9 weeks. When I brought her home she is black and white. Now I've noticed that when she's in direct light her most of her black looks brown. It's weird because when I first got her her coat looked a shiny genuine black and white in the sun. I've not had this happen with Rei and she's about a month older than Soul. She's still striped black with that thick white/grey undercoat. Only thing now is she had random white pieces of fur growing around her neck. Is this normal for kittens?

 

[abyeb]

I think it sounds normal- I've seen black cats who look more dark brown in the light. White patches in the fur can also develop over time. When my Charlie was a kitten, he had just a little bit of white under his chin, but how he's more like a full orange tuxedo pattern.

 

[Topherius]

My little Soul is about 4 months old now. I got here when she was about 9 weeks. When I brought her home she is black and white. Now I've noticed that when she's in direct light her most of her black looks brown. It's weird because when I first got her her coat looked a shiny genuine black and white in the sun. I've not had this happen with Rei and she's about a month older than Soul. She's still striped black with that thick white/grey undercoat. Only thing now is she had random white pieces of fur growing around her neck. Is this normal for kittens?

Kittens have a downy sort of fur they grow out of over time. Ive had tuxedo cats that have the brownish sheen in the light though they look solid black and white. I think we need pics though *wink*

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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Rei's Mom - In most cases, when black cats show a reddish-brown appearance in stronger light, it's an indication of tyrosine deficiency (black eumelanin pigment is actually produced by the oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine). You can ask your veterinarian if she or he would suggest an L-tyrosine supplement, although in an adult cat, tyrosine deficiency won't cause any health problems as far as I'm aware.
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[Rei's Mom]

Kittens have a downy sort of fur they grow out of over time. Ive had tuxedo cats that have the brownish sheen in the light though they look solid black and white. I think we need pics though *wink*

I love showing off my babies so pics are not a problem lol. I don't have any good ones of the sun shining on Soul or the back of Rei's neck where the white fur is growing. But for the most part Rei looks the same and Soul is slowly getting that brown tint in The sun

 

[Rei's Mom]

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Rei's Mom - In most cases, when black cats show a reddish-brown appearance in stronger light, it's an indication of tyrosine deficiency (black eumelanin pigment is actually produced by the oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine). You can ask your veterinarian if she or he would suggest an L-tyrosine supplement, although in an adult cat, tyrosine deficiency won't cause any health problems as far as I'm aware.
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I never knew that. I remember being told a while ago that Rei may have a fever coat and that's what gives her the "smoke" coloring so I was wondering if maybe it were something similar with Soul.