# Names for cats markings?



## Korat (Jun 2, 2011)

I just described a cat as having a 'white beard'  and then wondered, are there any accepted standard terms for cats markings?

There are loads for horses - alot of which are actually defined, for identification purposes. (Just trivia for those of you who aren't familiar with horses, on an identification chart, as well as drawing out the markings, and writing them down ... they mark and record the places where the coat changes direction.)

Horses for example, everything from a simple 'star', stripe, snip, to a bald face, medicine hat, stockings, ermine marks, frosting, cobwebbing, tetrarch spots, bloody shoulder, galustra plume, dorsal stripe, leg barring, zebra stripes.... list is endless.

What about cats?


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## hal1 (Jul 16, 2011)

Hmmm, this may not be what you're looking for, but the spots on a bengal are multi-colored spots within a spot


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## Korat (Jun 2, 2011)

hal1 said:


> Hmmm, this may not be what you're looking for, but the spots on a bengal are multi-colored spots within a spot


Theres one I suppose, 'rosette' is that the 'proper' name for those spots? I guess I was thinking more non-breed specific but thats a start! ... I know there are names for patterns, like mackeral tabby etc


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## spotty cats (Sep 23, 2011)

A white chin would be "cat colour" and white. Or a bi-colour cat.


On Bengals, not all are rosetted others are just spotted. Along with the marble pattern.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Yes, cat markings have a names. Sometimes the marking names change depending on where you live and/or have overlapping names.

What color is my Cat

There's other coat colors/patterns not listed there, often used more in specific breeds, just to make things confusing, like the "chinchilla" markings...

And this site is helpful but without pictures unfortunately: Cat Colours and Patterns - Plain English Version

And yeah, the "white chin" (if that's what you're discribing) would be a "*color* and white" or "bicolor" depending on the coat. If it's a black and white you could also call it a tuxedo. The white chin its self doesn't have a name as far as I know, though.


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

Intresting. I looked at the What color is your cat link and what I would have called a classic tabby is really a mackerel tabby, and what I would call a gray tabby is a brown mackerel tabby. They are the most common around here. I really like the silver classic or mackerel tabby coloring.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

Mitted with blaze:


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## spotty cats (Sep 23, 2011)

kty78 said:


> I really like the........mackerel tabby coloring.


Seems you are confusing colours and patterns. McTabby is a pattern, available in different colours.


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

spotty cats said:


> Seems you are confusing colours and patterns. McTabby is a pattern, available in different colours.


Oh. I wasjust going by the examples on the link. They said classic tabby and mackerel tabby. With different colors shown for each.....


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

Oh yeah, I meant silver McTabby....


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

Blue Torbie (Patched Tabby) with Blaze.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

_Korat_, 
Here's breed and colour descriptions for example, the British Shorthair cat:
http://www.cfainc.org/documents/breeds/standards/british.pdf
http://www.cfainc.org/client/breedBritishShorthair.aspx

Most domestic shorthair/longhair tabbies have a whitish chin, whether brown tabby, blue tabby but definitely silver tabby. I haven't heard of a lot of different names for white on face like there is for horses (star, snip, etc.), but in cats it's usually referred to as a "blaze", or "inverted V-blaze" as my Zuba has. 

Some breeds have a greater emphasis (and more points) for particular colour and pattern, e.g. _Ragdolls_, the CFA show standard states that on the face mask _"white inverted “V” remains within outer edge of eyes. Symmetry preferred",_ otherwise the judge must penalize in a reduction of points.

Hope this has been helpful.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

_cooncatbob_, actually I think the correct color description for Samantha is Dilute Tortoiseshell or Blue-Cream. Hard to tell from the one photo, but I don't really see any definite tabby pattern there. A blaze is usually preferred in tortoiseshell coloring, altho this isn't mentioned in the CFA color description for Maine Coons, but is for e.g. American Shorthairs and Persians.


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

catloverami said:


> _cooncatbob_, actually I think the correct color description for Samantha is Dilute Tortoiseshell or Blue-Cream. Hard to tell from the one photo, but I don't really see any definite tabby pattern there. A blaze is usually preferred in tortoiseshell coloring, altho this isn't mentioned in the CFA color description for Maine Coons, but is for e.g. American Shorthairs and Persians.


Actually she had over all tabby markings and not just in her face, but the camera flash high lights her frosting and washes out the marking on her body.
The breeder listed her on her CFA papers as a "Blue Patched Tabby" and on her TICA paper as "Blue Classic Torbie"
Unfortunately since she was a indoors only cat all the pictures I have of her were taken indoors with a flash.


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