When a female cat has only one red gene this modifies the masking characteristics of the red gene. The science is complex but the resulting color is a combination of red and non-red colors. Often times these colors show in a blended mosaic of red and non-red colors. Patched Tabby is the terminology used to describe this color combination in a tabby cat and the tabby markings should be obvious within both the red and non-red areas. Other less commonly used terms are: tortie-tabby and torbie. This picture shows (from left to right) a blue silver patched tabby, a chocolate patched tabby and a chocolate silver patched tabby. ANY tabby pattern in any color can be patched.

When the patched tabby adds the recessive non-agouti (a) genes, it becomes a tortoiseshell or tortie. The non-red areas will typically show no tabby markings while the red areas might show some "ghost" tabby marking. The chin and lower cheek area is usually colored instead of white. Tortoiseshell and patched tabby cats are almost always 100% female but the rare tortoiseshell male has been documented. No two tortoiseshells or patched tabbies will ever look exactly alike and there are extreme variations between the amounts of red and non-red colors from cat to cat.

The introduction of the dominant Inhibitor gene (I) to the previously shown tabby formulas gives the "silver tabby". The inhibitor gene stops the development of pigment in the "inhibited" area of the hair shaft. The hair shaft has a silvery-white color at it's base. The amount of white at the base of the hair shaft can vary from a minimal amount only visible under the microscope to cats that appear to be almost totally white with only the very tips of the hair shaft colored. This picture shows a black silver tabby. The clearer the silver (with no reddish areas), the more desirable the color. Any tabby pattern in any color can also be silver.

Smoke is the combination of the Inhibitor gene (I) to the non-agouti self colored cats. Selective breeding can increase the amount of color inhibiting and this is practiced regularly in long-haired breeds. This picture shows a black smoke kitten sitting between a non-smoke chocolate and a non-smoke black. Any solid colored cat can be a smoke. Ghost tabby markings may be visible on a red/cream smoke.

Pointed is the name of a pattern. The pointed pattern gene (cs) is recessive to the dominant full color pattern (C) and a cat must have two cs genes to be called pointed. This pattern is typically visible in the Siamese breed. Pointing causes the pigment to be darker on the colder areas of the cat namely the feet, tail, ears and face. This is known as a thermal pattern. Pointed kittens are born snow white and the color comes in as they mature. Darker shades of pointing will be obvious sooner than the lighter shades making some of the pale colors difficult to determine until the cat reaches adulthood. Pointed cats will often continue to darken as they mature. Examples of the aging of pointed colors can be seen on the Pointed Examples page. Pointed cats come in any of the basic colors, tabby, silver, smoke or tortoiseshell. Pointed cats have blue eyes that vary in shade. This picture shows a black point dam with her black point baby soon after birth.

Sepia is the name of the thermal pattern that is most well known for being part of the Burmese breed. The sepia gene (cb) is recessive to the dominant full color pattern (C) and a cat must have two cb genes to be called sepia. It is similar to pointed but instead of having an obvious light colored body, the sepia shading is more subtle. The sepia pattern kitten has some body color at birth and can be difficult to tell from a full color pattern. In Devons, sepia has received very little attention and isn't truly recognized or much understood. Most sepia Devons are registered as full colored cats. Some breeders believe that a true sepia Devon will have a very close lying coat that is shinier than a normal Devon coat but this is only a theory. Sepia cats could come in any of the basic colors, tabby, silver, smoke or tortoiseshell. Identifying sepia in a self colored Devon is difficult and the addition of the variations makes the definite identification of the pattern almost impossible unless the genetics of the parents indicate that the sepia pattern is the only possibility.

Mink is the name of the thermal pattern that occurs when one recessive pointed gene (cs) and one recessive sepia gene (cb) are present in the same cat. Neither recessive gene is dominant to the other and the outcome is a blended pattern known as "mink". Minks are typically seen in the Tonkinese breed. The mink pattern varies widely from almost pointed to almost sepia in hue. Many pale minks have been improperly registered as pointed cats and the mistake is only learned after mating. There is a widely circulated rumor that all mink cats have aqua colored eyes and this is not true. Minks can have eye colors ranging from pale blue to pale golden green with many shades in between. Although the aqua eye color is desirable, sometimes it doesn't fully develop until after the cat reaches maturity. Devons in the mink pattern are not penalized for having an eye color that is not aqua. Mink cats come in any of the basic colors, tabby, silver smoke or tortoiseshell. This picture shows (from left to right) a chocolate tabby mink, a black tabby mink bi-color and a red tabby mink bi-color.

Once the color and pattern variations are established, the addition of the "white spotting" gene (S) establishes the bi-color or "and white". This gene is dominant and it's counterpart is the recessive "non-spotting" (s). White spotting can vary from the solid colored cat with a white locket on it's chest to the high white cats with only one or two colored spots that are referred to as "Van". Calico is the special name given to a tortoiseshell bi-color that has large areas of white with clear red and non-red spots.

In cats, white is not a color it is the absence of visible color. A cat with the dominant white (W) gene will have a complete color and pattern gene package that isn't visible to the naked eye. Only through selective breeding and genetic analysis can the true color and pattern of a white cat be determined. Some white kittens are born with a small patch of color on their head that can give a clue to the color hiding behind the white mask. This "kitten cap" fades as the kitten matures. White is dominant to the "non-white" (w) gene and breeding programs that use solid white cats after several generations find themselves overrun with solid white due to the nature of dominant and recessive genes.