# Is this a flame point?



## amy22 (Jul 5, 2013)

Emily is my new buddy, but I'm wondering what her coloring is considered. The adoption center told me she's part siamese: she has blue eyes and is cross-eyed so it makes sense. She also has a very loud, insistent meow. I've been referring to her as a flame point, but I noticed that she actually has very faint tabby stripes. My iPhone picked them up a little clearer when I took a pic of her against a striped background, but they are definitely there. Is she an orange tabby then? Isn't it uncommon for females to be orange tabbies?


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

She looks like a flame point. My neighbor had one that looked a lot like yours. How old is she? If she is still young her points might get darker as she gets older. There are orange tabby females, though they are not as common. I volunteer at a shelter and see a few orange girls there. She is a beautiful cat!


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Honestly, not a clue, but Emily the flame point/orange tabby is adorable!


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

My old boy, Shadow, was a slightly darker version of this but still pale and was called a Champagne Tabby.


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

Is her tail darker than her main coat? She certainly looks like she could be, either flame/red point or cream point (though I can't find any good photos of cream point). I'm not sure about the tabby striping, it may just be a throwback to the old tabby genes or she could be a mix.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

I don't know, it's hard to tell from the single photo. Do you have more pics? 

Hopefully Catloverami comes along, she's very good with cat coloring/breeds. I always thought pointed cats had a very distinct dark "points" on face (nose), ears, legs and tail while the rest of the body was light colored? That was my impression anyway, but I could be wrong. 

Emily is a very pretty cat! And yes, I also believe female Reds are less common but not extremely rare, just that more often red cats happen to be male. Doodlebug (one of our moderators) has beautiful female orange and white kitty (Maine **** named Holly), for example.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

*Oriental-mix, cream mackeral tabby color*

Strictly speaking, _Siamese_ only come in 4 colorpoint colours: Chocolate point, Seal point, Lilac point and Blue point, with a pale body color and the points being on the legs, tail, face, and ears.
Breed Profile: The Siamese

_Colorpoint Shorthairs _are cats with a similar Siamese-type conformation, but come in _other pointed colors_, such as Red point, or Red Lynx point...Lynx=tabby stripes, Seal Tortie Point, Cream Lynx point. The body color is pale like the Siamese.
Breed Profile: The Colorpoint Shorthair

_Oriental_ has the similar Siamese-type body conformation as does the Colorpoint Shorthair and Siamese, but comes in solid colors, tabby patterns, bicolors, particolors like torties (tortoiseshell), calicos.
Breed Profile: The Oriental 

So I would say your cat Emily is an Oriental-mix, Cream mackeral tabby color. Mackeral is the tabby pattern that shows vertical stripes on the body like a Mackeral fish. Since she doesn't have any registered papers with a cat association such as CFA=Cat Fanciers Assoc., it's assumed she is a mix and if you compare her picture with the purebred cats, it's likely she has some DSH=Domestic shorthair in her genetic background. 

She looks like a very sweet cat, and her blue eyes are lovely with her cream markings. Lucky you!


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## amy22 (Jul 5, 2013)

Wow Ami, thanks! She is a very sweet kitty; and since she's a rescue we'll never know her full heritage. Her build is more traditional cobby than oriental but her beautiful ice-blue eyes melt my heart. Her stripes have either darkened with time (and diet) or they are just more noticeable. I can now tell she has rings along her tail and she has the typical "M" on her forehead that you see with mackerel tabbies. We went to the vet today for microchip and they kept cooing about her beautiful colors.

She also has a nice "meezer" meow, sounds almost like a baby.


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## amy22 (Jul 5, 2013)

Regarding colorpoint shorthairs, is it the same biology as Siamese points? I know Siamese have darker color at their points because melanin is either broken down or deactivated at normal body temperature. Is it the same concept for colorpoint shorthairs or are they just pointed?


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## ndiniz (Jun 29, 2009)

She is so freaking adorable!!!!!


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

catloverami said:


> Strictly speaking, _Siamese_ only come in 4 colorpoint colourshttp://www.cfa.org/Breeds/BreedsSthruT/Siamese.aspx


That depends on where you live. I know that some cat councils don't accept Siamese cats with those other colours as part of the breed standard and they are known instead as colourpoint shorthairs. However I think in the UK and Australia the red point and some other colours are accepted as part of the breed. It's interesting because in a number of breeds for both cats and dogs, they're outcrossed with other breeds to get a coat colour that doesn't occur naturally and then the colour has been bred back in. But sometimes it's accepted as part of the breed, and sometimes not. So it really depends which association you're dealing with.

In any case, whether siamese or colourpoint shorthair, your cat is a traditional cat, not a modern one.


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