Tabby And Smoke?

[DaysinMaine]

I have a domestic long hair boy who has my heart.

I noticed when I was petting him, that his fur is considerably lighter at the base. He is a "blue tabby domestic longhair" but I was wondering if it was possible for a cat to be a tabby AND also be a smoke? I don't have any photos of the hair I'm speaking of, but here is a photo I took of him last evening

 

[DaysinMaine]

He may be considered medium and not long, but in my readings I found that in the "technical cat world" medium hair doesnt really exist which is why I said long

 

[abyeb]

He’s so handsome! I would say that he’s a blue tabby; he doesn’t look smoke in the picture, he might just have a lighter undercoat.

 

[jen]

He also doesn't look long haired to me. Medium at best, short with some whispy longish parts perhaps? lol

 

[DaysinMaine]

He also doesn't look long haired to me. Medium at best, short with some whispy longish parts perhaps? lol

Hes not short hair Perhaps this tail photo will do his coat justice. I said long because I was told there is technically no such thing as medium hair in the cat world.


Pardon my other boy valentine for peeking in.

 

[lutece]

You are correct that cats are genetically either longhair or shorthair, and technically there is no such thing as "mediumhair." I'm not a fan of the term "mediumhair" since it can be confusing, however many people do use it informally to refer to longhaired cats like yours that have a full tail but don't have a very long coat on the body. Another term used for such cats is "semi-longhair."

As far as the coat being lighter at the base of the hair, that is true of a lot of cats that are not smokes. Your kitty looks like a typical blue tabby in the pictures. I am guessing that it's more of a beige / cream color at the base, not white? A smoke would have white at the base of the coat.

 

[DaysinMaine]

You are correct that cats are genetically either longhair or shorthair, and technically there is no such thing as "mediumhair." I'm not a fan of the term "mediumhair" since it can be confusing, however many people do use it informally to refer to longhaired cats like yours that have a full tail but don't have a very long coat on the body. Another term used for such cats is "semi-longhair."

As far as the coat being lighter at the base of the hair, that is true of a lot of cats that are not smokes. Your kitty looks like a typical blue tabby in the pictures. I am guessing that it's more of a beige / cream color at the base, not white? A smoke would have white at the base of the coat.

I'm confused as well because he has a cream coloration...but the base of his hairs on his back are silvery/white...I will have to post a photo when I get home. To me he is a typical blue tabby, but I noticed the other day when I parted his hair, that his undercoat was a silvery/white. Is this a normal thing for tabbies? He has cream mixed into his coat as well

 

[jen]

So that makes me wonder, when their body fur is short like yours is but they have a floofy tail what are they considered? Shorthaired or longhaired?

 

[lutece]

A cat with a floofy tail is a longhaired cat. Most will also have at least a semi long ruff and britches. Many longhairs look less longhaired when they are out of coat during warm sunny seasons, or when they are young and immature. The floofy tail is a very good indicator of longhairedness, however.