Zeus' Coloring

[crazy-cat-lover]

Zeus' mane is silver tipped, he never used to have it, but now it's starting to show up more. He has the same thing starting under his arms and on his belly. Is he a smoke?

The red circles show where the color is appearing on his neck!

 

[crazy-cat-lover]

Bump!

 

[valanhb]

Tasha, our esteemed guest doesn't always have a chance to check in every day. Just wanted to let you know.

 

[elizabeth a.]

I love being an "esteemed" anything, thank you!

I can't answer this one with what you've given me so far. Can you give me any more information about color of parents or any other relatives? Or can any of you other folks with smoke experience help answer this question? I'm always learning too, and I value input from folks with the hands-on experience I lack in something like this.

 

[crazy-cat-lover]

His mother was a Snowshoe Siamese and his father was a black Siamese cross. His fur color on his underside is chocolate, with silvery ends. When he was a kitten, he had silver tipped fur everywhere!

 

[sandie]

In order to be a smoke, the entire undercoat is white and not the tips. In order to be a reverse smoke (very rare) the length of the hair would be white, and the undercoat black.

 

[elizabeth a.]

Thanks, Sandie! As you point out, the inhibitor gene affects the less pigmented areas of the hair, not the tips.
The extra information helps, I think, as I now know that Zeus has the siamese gene. That makes pigment production sensitive to environmental temperature. Maybe there's some kind of "break-through" happening, maybe the result of a modifier. The lighter areas are showing up on a warm part of the body, and this idea might even explain the silver tips that disappeared in the mature coat, just as siamese coats are white at first. Even though the gene should be recessive, there could be some modifier allowing it to have a mild influence.
Good Halloween mystery, thanks to Zeus!

 

[crazy-cat-lover]

Thanks!

Here's one that shows his underside!

 

[elizabeth a.]

Cute tummy!
OK, OK....not a very scientific response, but what else can I say? Neat feet?!!