# kitty coat changing color



## P&R (Sep 10, 2009)

So Zoey's coat has changed, a LOT, in the past 10 days she's been here. She went from being black and orange to being gray and orange. The change came on SO fast that I originally thought it was from her getting into the fireplace to play so I gave her a bath and she seems to be even MORE gray now . Here's a pic of her then (the day we brought her home) and today (only 10 days later). Has this happened to anyone else before?


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

I've never seen it happen so fast 8O . Baby's colour has changed since she was a kitten though. Neat colouring for each 8)


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

IMO...that looks like a "fever coat" and when she next sheds, her coat will return to the dark black/orange colors.


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## P&R (Sep 10, 2009)

Heidi n Q said:


> IMO...that looks like a "fever coat" and when she next sheds, her coat will return to the dark black/orange colors.



Poor baby  is there anything I can do for her? I'm trying to get both kitties in this week for shots and such, I hope she's ok, she's seemed fine


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oh, I'm sure she's fine. The term "fever coat" simply refers to the color change that a dark kitten/young cat undergoes because of some significant event in their young lives. Usually this is seen in newborns but it is also fairly common in young-ish kittens/cats like under 6mo old? If you think of it sort of like the rings on a tree and how the rings can tell scientists and arborists what the tree has lived through, a young cat's fever coat is simply a short-term visual indicator of *something* happening in the cats' recent life, not necessarily fever or sickness.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Here are Google Images of a "fever coat" from a Cat Forum kitty:















http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... n%26um%3D1 

OsnobunniesO's Skylar and her two brothers had fever coats similar to the above image.


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## P&R (Sep 10, 2009)

Good to know it's nothing serious! I was just worried because it really did come on quite fast/out of the blue. She's about 11wks now so hopefully it's just that. Thanks


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

...most of the time I don't think anyone is able to pin-point what the cause of a fever coat was...


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

That is very interesting Heidi. Its beautiful though.


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