How rare is black smoke coat?

jezahb

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I am curious. Some places seem to say that black smoke is very rare in "moggies" (essentially mix breed cats with no purebred in them anywhere) but then had someone argue that they knew several strays at the shelter who had "black smoke" coloring. The coloring I am talking about is the CFA definition, not a unsound coat or slightly lighter undercoat, but a drastic difference between the top coat and undercoat. My rescue Raven is clearly a smoke, his hair shaft splits about halfway from black to light grey/white and it shows through when he moves. 

So is Black Smoke rare in the DSH/DMH populations? Or is it common to find mixes with it?
 

pinkdagger

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I have seen some people say it's rare, but serendipitously when I was looking into rescues for a new family member, I found an entire family of black smoke tabbies, and the cat I brought home from the same rescue (but from a different family) is also a black smoke tabby. Since then I've seen some other users post pictures of their black smokes too, so I personally don't consider it rare.
 

GoldyCat

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It's not common in the random cat population, but you will find it in clusters. I believe the gene that creates a smoke pattern is dominant. Therefore, you're likely to see an entire litter of smokes rather than just a single one once in a while.
 

momto3cats

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I was surprised when I learned that smoke is considered rare, since I had a cat growing up who was born in a friend's barn and was very clearly a black smoke. I don't remember anyone thinking her coat color was unusual at the time. We also had her littermate who was solid black.
 

carebearbaby1

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My Toby is a silver smoke, I adopted him from the shelter. His litter included 3 brown tabby brothers, a calico sister and him. I've seen one other silver smoke for adoption there, a female, several years after I adopted Toby, but none other than those two.

 
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jezahb

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  Wow can I just say Toby is one stunning kitty! I have never seen a cat his coloration before, what a handsome guy!

I had seen from various sources that Black Smoke was a rare color in the random cat population but it makes sense that it CAN appear randomly since all colors have to eventually appear in order for them to be bred into a breed. Like the Cornish Rex for instance, randomly some barn cat had a cat with curly hair and boom we have the start of a breed. I just found it curious that Raven had the smoke coat with his wedgie head, seemed like two "rare" traits appearing in the same cat was unusual to say the least. I guess at the end of the day it doesn't matter since I will love him no matter what, I was just curious if someone who knew about feline genetics could explain the likelihood of it. 

I guess just like the cats we love, sometimes cat lovers can be curious too! 
 

saffycat

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I adopted a feral bottle fed baby yesterday. He is a black smoke. I know his brother is all black with a white bow tie but the others were already adopted. Don't know if there were other smokes. He is gorgeous. I imagine we will see them more and more like the ginger tabby females. When I was a kid, they were considered rare. I adopted one about 16 years ago, and they were still rare then. (She's still with me.)
Here's my new boy. He looks a little weird because they shaved him. He had lice and nits are so hard to remove.I imagine the rest of him will darken up as his hair comes back.
 

critterchick

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The triangular shaped head might be a result of your kitty being the runt of the litter. As for the smoke fur coloration,I've been working almost 20 years with animals in an array of settings including vet offices and shelters. I have only seen one smoke colored kitty who belongs to a friend of mine. His name is very creative...Smoke ha. I have seen quite a few long/medium hair kittens that look like they might be,but turn out not to be. Are there particular breeds that the color is common? Thanks!
 

rockstaseb

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Hey guys, 

I own a black smoke. He is entirely black but has white roots. The white shows a little in the neck and behind his ears.

I have seen his siblings and they looked nothing like him. As a kitten, he looked like a black tabby with silver lines. I thought he looked kind of weird but awesome at the same time. As he grew up he became a big boned pure black cat with white roots. My cat is 15 lbs without being obese. He has an abnormally big nose that makes him look like a black panther. People say that he has weird eyes because they are smaller than usual. 

enough said about my cat,

-Are black smokes really rare? I'm a real cat lover and he's the only black smoke that I've seen in my life. Even the other cats on the internet look nothing like him. I've owned another pure black cat in the past, but his roots were brown, which is normal for a black cat.

-Second question: if id clip off my cat's fur, would he become white? I'm not planning on doing it, but if my hypothesis were to be true, would the white hair darken back to black once it grew back?

The thing i like the most about my cat: I tell people that my cat is white and they don't believe me until i prove it to them :p and i can draw in his fur by exposing the white

here are some pictures of his growth:

   first day at home (8 weeks old)

 about 3 months old

 about 4 months old

 6 months old (already adult size)

 the white shows when wet (zebra cat)

 Here's my sexy cat today!
 

rockstaseb

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ahh she/he's beautiful, it looks just like mine. mine looks like a plain black cat too, but it has white roots compared to normal black cats who have brown roots
 

sprngrboy

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Hi  I used to show Persian cats and black smoke or other smoke colors aren't rare in the purebred

Persian cat.
 

anabell

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My husband found a kitten at the dealership where he works where its surrounded by fields and industrial area. The kitten was in the engine and had been first seen the night before going into mechanic shop. He brought him home and he is quite unusual.He looka black but has stripes but only seen in light he has white roots and sometimes appears brown he is thin and long with a long tail. He also has mitten paws. He is very beautiful. He is 8 weeks now.

 
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anabell

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My husband found a kitten at the dealership where he works where its surrounded by fields and industrial area. The kitten was in the engine and had been first seen the night before going into mechanic shop. He brought him home and he is quite unusual.He looka black but has stripes but only seen in light he has white roots and sometimes appears brown he is thin and long with a long tail. He also has mitten paws. He is very beautiful. He is 8 weeks now.



 
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parisinthe30sx

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It's not very common in my opinion. I've rescued alot of cats and have only come across one with black smoke coloring, But that's just my take. He sure is a cute kitten! I love black cats, I have two :)
 

amphigori

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Anabell, I had to create an account here just so I could log in and reply to you!

We have a black smoke cat that my husband also found at the dealership where he works, which has an industrial yard around it! And our kitten was also found in the engine bay after someone drove a car into the workshop! His wee paws were burned, but he was otherwise OK.

What are the chances of us both getting our smoke cats that way, ha ha! Ours also has bright pink paw pads and a pink nose.  Here are a few pictures of him, 2 when we first got him, and one a bit more recently!



 
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