Maine Coon Queen Is Oddest Color! I Could Use Help.

[MistyDawn]

This is my new queen. I was going to name her JinxysDen Her Ghost in the Fog/Ophelia, but I'm thinking JinxysDen Diamonds and Rust/Diamond after seeing her amazing coloring! I don't even know what she is. Is there a such thing as a shaded torbie??? Is that what she is? The lower half of her coat is white or silver, all of it. I got some photos to show what I mean.

So what the heck color is she? I'm baffled.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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MistyDawn - I'm not seeing much in the way of Tabby markings here.

"silver tortie" - Google Search

THE INDEFINABLE COLOURS

 

[mightyboosh]

Whatever it is, it's wonderful.

 

[abyeb]

Oh my goodness, she’s beautiful!

 

[MistyDawn]

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MistyDawn - I'm not seeing much in the way of Tabby markings here.

"silver tortie" - Google Search

THE INDEFINABLE COLOURS

Yeah, you just couldn't see her face well in these shots, and the phone I'm taking them with is dreadful. My old one bit the dust and I'm waiting for the new Note.

She's very strange. Tabby marks on the face, but her back is just a finger painting of black and rust red, with the occasional white or silver showing through because, when parted, all hairs are white/silver from about halfway down. She's very interesting and I have no idea what she's called. Even her breeder's vet didn't know. Neither does the breeder. The more you look and part hairs to see what's underneath, the stranger it gets.

And thank you, to everyone else. I can't wait to see how her coloring and features evolve with age. She will be magnificent, I have no doubt.

 

[lutece]

Looks like silver torbie to me. You can see the tabby pattern on her head. The tabby pattern on the body of a longhaired cat can sometimes be hard to make out, and this is especially true if it's a classic pattern, so my guess would be that she is a classic. With mackerel you would probably see the vertical stripes.

 

[nansiludie]

My vote is for diamond. She's beautiful. I had a maine coon once, she was a calico.

 

[MistyDawn]

I'm just wondering what's up with the white? The dark parts are only about half the length of each hair. That's pretty odd. Underneath, it's all silvery white.

 

[lutece]

Yes, that is normal. You can call the color "shaded silver" when the white part of the hair covers 1/2 to 2/3 of the length of the hair. Shaded silver is often seen in Maine Coons. When the silver effect is very extreme and the white section of the hair almost extends the whole length of the hair with only a tiny bit of dark color at the end of the hair, the color is called "chinchilla silver"; you will see this color more frequently in Persians and Burmillas.

The silver gene ("Inhibitor") suppresses the warm color at the base of the hair that is seen in a wild type tabby, causing the base of the hair to be white. It is currently believed that there are other genetic factors known as "Wide band" gene(s) that control the proportion of the white part at the base of the hair to the dark area at the tip of the hair.

Gene I: Inhibitor

Silver and Golden

 

[MistyDawn]

Yes, that is normal. You can call the color "shaded silver" when the white part of the hair covers 1/2 to 2/3 of the length of the hair. Shaded silver is often seen in Maine Coons. When the silver effect is very extreme and the white section of the hair almost extends the whole length of the hair with only a tiny bit of dark color at the end of the hair, the color is called "chinchilla silver"; you will see this color more frequently in Persians and Burmillas.

The silver gene ("Inhibitor") suppresses the warm color at the base of the hair that is seen in a wild type tabby, causing the base of the hair to be white. It is currently believed that there are other genetic factors known as "Wide band" gene(s) that control the proportion of the white part at the base of the hair to the dark area at the tip of the hair.

Gene I: Inhibitor

Silver and Golden

I have heard that shaded cats can make smokes if bred to a cat with a black gene? Is this true? Alaska carries a white gene and a black. The pairing may make lighter shadeds or smokes, if this is true! They've been my target colors (aren't they every MC breeder's?) since the inception of this plan.

 

[Sapphirre]

Does anyone know what breed this beautiful baby might be?

 

[MistyDawn]

View attachment 238924 View attachment 238925 Does anyone know what breed this beautiful baby might be?

Black/brown classic tabby, I believe. I have trouble distinguishing tabby patterns. I need to learn.