Devons come in all domestic cat colors and pattern combinations. Here, I will show how some of these color combinations look when combined with the curly coat. This page starts by showing the foundation colors. Color identification begins here and sometimes it's simple. But variations and patterns can combine in hundreds of different ways. This myriad of combinations can sometimes make proper color identification difficult.

The basic wild-type cat is a black tabby. All cats are tabby and will have in their DNA a gene indicating what type of tabby they are (i.e. classic, spotted, ticked or mackerel). Under certain conditions, the tabby patterns are not visible to the naked eye. The tabby pattern manifests when the dominant agouti gene (A) is present. Solid colored cats have two recessive non-agouti genes (a) and they are referred to as "selfs".

B L A C K		Tabby Black gene (B/-) Dense gene (D/-)
		Solid Black Tabby + Non-Agouti gene (a/a)
All cats have two black pigment genes. White and red cats have their black genes masked but they are still there. Black cats also have the dominant dense color gene present (D). Black tabbies comes in shade variations from a cool yellowish-gray ground color to a warm brownish ground color. The bottoms of the feet and the tip of the tail will always be black. Some cat registries call the black tabby a "brown tabby".

B L U E		Tabby Black gene (B/-) Dilute gene (d/d)
		Solid Blue Tabby + Non-Agouti gene (a/a)
A chemically black cat with two recessive dilute genes (d) present. Blue can vary in shade as witnessed in the breeds of Korat and Russian Blue. In color genetics, the addition of more recessive genes makes the color statistically less probable.

C H O C O L A T E		Tabby Chocolate gene (b/-) Dense gene (D/-)
		Solid Chocolate Tabby + Non-Agouti gene (a/a)
Chocolate (b) is a mutation of the black gene (B) and it is recessive to black. Medium chocolate colors can be achieved with selective breeding otherwise the color tends to a cool dark chocolate shade. Many people determine color by the nose leather and paw pads but these too can vary in shade and they are only a part of the total process in determining a Devon's color.

L I L A C		Tabby Chocolate gene (b/-) Dilute gene (d/d)
		Solid Lilac Tabby + Non-Agouti gene (a/a)
Lilac (sometimes called Lavender) is chemically chocolate with two recessive dilute genes present. It is a rosy shade of bluish-gray. An uncommon color due to the combination of recessive chocolate and dilute genes.

C I N N A M O N		Tabby Cinnamon gene (b1/b1) Dense gene (D/-)
		Solid Cinnamon Tabby + Non-Agouti gene (a/a)
Cinnamon (b1) is the second mutation of the black gene and it is recessive to chocolate. It is a warm medium brown with reddish overtones. Cinnamon has not appeared in all cat breeds and is rare in the Devon Rex. Statistically this color, once achieved, is difficult to maintain due to the double recessive nature whereby cinnamon is recessive to (and less probable than) chocolate and chocolate is recessive to black. Cinnamon tabby closely resembles red tabby. The difference becomes apparent at the bottoms of the feet and the tip of the tail which will be chocolate.

F A W N		Tabby Cinnamon gene (b1/b1) Dilute gene (d/d)
		Solid Fawn Tabby + Non-Agouti gene (a/a)
A chemically cinnamon cat with two recessive dilute genes present. Fawn resembles lilac but has a more peach overtone. A very rare color in Devon Rex due to the extreme combination of recessive genes. Cinnamon (and fawn) probably originated with the Abyssinian breed. In North America, the Abyssinian is no longer an acceptable outcross to the Devon Rex thus producing cinnamon in the Devon gene pool must come from existing cinnamon carriers rather than bringing in more Abyssinian bloodlines.

R E D		Tabby Orange gene (0) or (00) Dense gene (D/-)
		Solid Red Tabby + Non-Agouti gene (a/a)
Red (sometimes called Orange) is a complicated gene that is linked to the sex chromosome "X". The presence of two dominant orange genes in a female cat will completely override the appearance of the black pigment genes. The presence of one dominant orange gene in a male cat will achieve the same effect. The black genes are still present, only masked. Because all cats are tabby and because of reasons too complex to discuss here, most self red cats have "ghost" tabby markings. It is difficult to tell a genetic red tabby from a genetic red self and both are often registered and shown as red tabby to avoid confusion. There are clues to look for. The red tabby will often have the white chin and cheek markings that are typical in most tabby cats. The "thumbprint" tabby mark on the back of the ear may not be present on the red self. Tabby cats typically have an eyeliner effect around the eyes. But, these clues can be subjective from cat to cat. Ultimately, the best test is to breed back to non-red self colored cats to see if the resulting offspring are self or tabby. Using selective breeding, a red self with barely visible tabby markings can be obtained as has been demonstrated in the Persian breed.

C R E A M		Tabby Orange gene (0) or (00) Dilute gene (d/d)
		Solid Cream Tabby + Non-Agouti gene (a/a)
A chemically red cat with the addition of two dilute genes. All of the complexities of red apply to the cream colored cat. It is even more difficult to tell a cream self from a cream tabby. Breeders that concentrate on producing cream colored cats look for the deeper shades breeding away from the very pale cream colors.