Soonerstate revamped. they dont have the link anymore. Anyway.. I wouldnt place my trust of colors in this guy.. do look elsewhere.

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Matreshka Sibirskaya Koshka www.matreshkasiberians.com

Ah thanks Nadia...no wonder the link doesn't work!

Frankly I don't think cat colors are one of those things you can pick up so easily and especially not just by reading. You can grasp most of the basic concepts perhaps like dominants and recessive colors but once you get into masking colors (like whites) and tabby patterns it becomes a lot more complicated!

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And you're cheating, having abys! (Is there anything more straightforward for colour or pattern?) I really don't find white (masking) too difficult - so long as there are complete pedigree details.

Actually, my most 'interesting' pattern ID experience ever was in Sth Africa, where I had a dilute tortie/white (calico) champion served up. As I stroked her saddle, I felt ticking. Eh? So I started looking VERY closely. She had tabby barring in her blue areas (legs) which was odd. Then I checked her (tiny!) nose. Most was white-pink, because of a splash of white fur there, but there was a bit about the size of a match head and a half on the top which was a rose pink, and it had a TINY 'outline' effect.

I asked whether she had a tabby parent. Nope. OK - does she have a white parent? Yep. Turned out the white father had a tabby sire. There you go! She was indeed a ticked tabby. The most interesting thing about it was that my hands alerted me to her true pattern.

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Lesley (Tasmania)

Not really "cheating" but perhaps a little sly... And, even more sly by breeding them one colour at a time!

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