Cat coat color identification help

skittledoo

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#1
My "temp" kitten, Whiskey is really turning into a pretty little cat. I know his coloring is a tabby of some sort, but I'm not positive what type of tabby specifically. He is wayyyy darker than the tabby I had growing up. He looks dark gray in some lighting and almost black in other lighting with silver underneath. My guess is maybe smoke tabby? I'm not great at identifying coat colors in cats though so wondered what you guys think.

And photos


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~Dixie's_Mom~

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#3
Cutest.kitten.EVAR!!

Do you have any pics w/out flash? That might be easier to tell. I'm no good at cat colorations, but he is BEAUTIFUL!!
 
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#4
Well that tabby pattern I believe is called mackerel. As for color, I've seen that called a black tabby, although he may lighten up considerably as he ages to more of a grey tabby.
 

Moth

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#5
I second the mackerel tabby :)

I have never seen one quite that color either though.

He is very handsome...
 

Shai

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#6
Well that tabby pattern I believe is called mackerel. As for color, I've seen that called a black tabby, although he may lighten up considerably as he ages to more of a grey tabby.
Yep I think basic coat color is a mackeral tabby like Brie, though he looks more like black on dark grey whereas she is more black on a warm silvery-honey color.

It's neat how he has very little lightening on his undersides and no white markings...very cool looking cat!
 
K

Kaydee

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#7
Awesome kitty!!!! I don't know a specific name but I have seen that coloration in some of our dark gray and black cats. If close family tree is tabby, even the black ones have stripes in there.
 

skittledoo

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#10
Dixie I can try and get some pics outdoor today. I'll take him out on the porch in a bit and get some natural outdoor shots.

He's so cool looking.

Also, I laughed that you're still calling him your temp cat
Ya... I have a feeling he may end up staying. I really didn't plan to keep him when we found him, but you bottle feed a baby and they tend to grow on you. He gets along SO well with the dogs too which makes it a harder decision to make lol. It's really going to depend on where we move to which is why I haven't made an official decision yet about him. My parents might keep him if we can't though since they really like him... But I have the slightest feeling little Whiskey is staying.

I was looking online and it looks like sometimes the smoke and black tabbies lose their stripes when they grow up. What's your best guess... Think he will lose the striping? Either way he is going to be a gorgeous cat. Is their a difference between black and smoke tabby? Or is it the same type of coloring that different people call different names?
 
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#11
God only knows. There are so many ridiculous names for cat coat colors, many of them describing the same thing, that I just smile and nod when I hear them.
 

skittledoo

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#12
Haha ya I'm seriously clueless when it comes to cat color... Even orange cats have multiple names people call them depending on how Orange.... Buff, marmalade etc... Meh... I just call them orange? LOL
 

Shai

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#13
There are three major cat colors:

(1) Ooooh pretty!!!!
(2) Huh, never saw anything like that before. Cool.
(3) RUN AWAY!!!

;)
 

nikkiluvsu15

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#15
I love his coloring! Wow, he is so cute <3 I miss having a kitten!

There are three major cat colors:

(1) Ooooh pretty!!!!
(2) Huh, never saw anything like that before. Cool.
(3) RUN AWAY!!!

;)
I think the "RUN AWAY!!!" must be calico.... they suck you in because they are pretty, but then you learn their true personalities. Crazy and evil :lol-sign:
 

skittledoo

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#17
Haha my last orange cat was a perfect little angel.... *whistles*




Actually... Although he could be a terror he actually was a pretty cool cat and lazier than most orange cats I've known, but he could be a little fireball when he wanted to be.
 
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#18
My Lady Chesh looked almost exactly like that as a kitten, and her paperwork says that she is black smoke. Her tabby has almost entirely disapeared, leaving only a small 'kiss spot' on her head.
Lovely baby.
 

Grab

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#19
I think it's called smoke. Some do lose the tabby markings. I've seen a few adult cats who have retained them though. We saw one from our local kill shelter a few months ago...he was a giant male, and quite stunning looking. He came in from the shelter to get a Rabies vax so he could go to Petsmart to their adoption area...the next day he was in with his new owners, lol.
 

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