# Curious about black coats



## ofallxtoxpieceso (Sep 6, 2011)

I currently have 3 three-week-old foster kittens. One is all grey and the other 2 I thought were all black. Today I was feeding them and it was very bright in the room. In the bright light their coats appeared to be broken up by dark reddish brown striping, especially the fur closer to their bellies. It doesn't matter to me what they end up looking like but I was just curious if they would end up with true black coats out if they would have really dark tabby colorings. I'll try to post some pics later but it's much less noticeable than it is in person


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

There was a thread on this recently... check out all the red looking black cats!

http://www.catforum.com/forum/36-cat-chat/195233-red-undercoat-black-cats.html

You can even sort of see it in my my signature picture of Blacky.  I'm still uncertain of what causes it, but anyway, your cats should for the most part look black, except in sunlight.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

This is quite common. Black is a masking gene, so the "real" coat pattern is hidden but in some cats it can be seen in sunlight. I've had 3 black cats and only one of them (Kobi) is truly black. You could see mackerel stripes on Onyx. And Maggie not only had stripes, but appeared reddish brown in the sun.


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## TinyPaws (Jun 23, 2013)

Thomas is a black and white tuxie..
.. get him in the sun

 browny tinge!


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## Lotu (Apr 26, 2013)

My 5 1/2 month old kitten has ghost tabby markings...they aren't really reddish, but when she is in certain light it looks like darker tabby stripes. Her sister/litter mate is a brown mackerel tabby, so it is a family trait for her. I thought she was all black, but after I got her I noticed the tabby markings and a few white hairs on her neck.


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## ofallxtoxpieceso (Sep 6, 2011)

Thanks for the replies everyone  I was just curious. We found a black kitten almost a year ago and my aunt took him in but his coat is jet black. 

@tinypaws, your kitty is adorable  

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## TinyPaws (Jun 23, 2013)

ofallxtoxpieceso said:


> @tinypaws, your kitty is adorable


Thank you!!


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## seattlecoon (Mar 2, 2012)

My girl was black and white when she came to us and is listed as black and white on her registration. A year and a half later she has turned brown and white! Her coat is many shades of brown and there are very faint tabby markings on her head.


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## Cat Lover Lennie (Jan 7, 2013)

My "jet black" cat turned out to be a rich Hershey chocolate in bright sunlight. I was shocked!


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