Colorpoint Cat
A colorpoint cat refers to a cat breed that has a pale body, with dark pigments occurring at the extremities, that is, the feet, tail, ears, and face. The point coloration has been naturally inherited by the Siamese and some related Asian breeds, but the pattern is now artificially induced in some modern Western breeds. Lynx point pattern, for example, is created by breeding a colorpoint with a tabby cat. It has a pale body, along with a mix of point coloration and tabby stripes on the legs, head, and tail.
Colorpoint Cat Colors
The colorpoint coat occurs in cats due to albinism caused by the modification of an enzyme, tyrosinase, responsible for the production of pigments. The modified enzyme is active at cooler parts of the skin but does not work at body temperatures. A colorpoint cat can have dark colors, as well as orange, red, fawn, pale gray, tabby, or tortoiseshell patterns as point coloration.
Colorpoint Cat Patterns
- Point: It causes point coloration at the extremities, and occurs due to the presence of two cs genes.
- Sepia: It is the darkest among all the patterns, with the pigment being pale at the abdomen. It is caused by the presence of a cb gene.
- Mink: The pigments are much lighter than the sepia pattern, and the cat carries both the cs and cb genes.
List of Cat Breeds That can have Point Coloration
- British Shorthair
- Siamese
- Thai
- Peterbald
- Siberian Cat
- Tonkinese
- Balinese Cat
- Ragdoll Cat
- Snowshoe Cat
- Colorpoint Shorthair
- Javanese
- Himalayan
- Highlander
- Napoleon
- Birman
- Exotic Shorthair
- Skookum
- Cyprus Cat
Colorpoint Cat Pictures
