How To Know Your Cat Colour Type...

There are many types of colour a cat might have. It depends on the matter of genetics. Basically, cats come in three basic colours which is red (orange), black and white. Have you heard of the terms "tabby", "calico", "ginger" and "tortie"? How to differentiate them?


Tabby
Tabby cats constitute the oldest and most common pattern seen, and are one of the most popular. They are easily differentiated by their stripes, whorls, and spots, (generally found on their tummies). Tabby usually has an "M" mark on its forehead.

Chocolate ticked tabby

Ginger tabby

Calico
Calico colouring is a mix of phaeomelanin based colors (red) and eumelanin based colors (black, chocolate and cinnamon). Some might have blocks of tabby pattern, which produces an extremely colorful and beautiful cat. Most calico and tortie cat are female due to a result of X-inactivation, in which different patches of fur receive coding for different hair color due to the activation of an X chromosome from either the mother or the father.

Calico

Tortoiseshell / Tortie
As for tortie, their coats weave the three colors throughout, creating a tapestry of color. It's also same as calico where most tortie cats are always female.

Flame, a tortie-and-white cat