Cats of Colour

Lovely Elvis

Cats come in many sizes, many degrees of fluffiness, and many, many colours.

Living with me and my husband currently are a black cat with a little white, a white cat with a little black, and a half-white-half-grey tabby cat with a puzzle for a face! Other cats in my extended family include the two blue-grey and white boys owned by my parents-in-law, two black cats owned by my brother-in-law, a ginger fluffball and a tortoiseshell living with my older brother, and a black, a grey, and a tortie-and-white (calico) living with my dad and his partner.

Little IlonaYes, we like cats in my family. And they are all beautiful.

I also fostered kittens for a couple of months about two years ago. A very worthwhile thing to do, and something I’d love to do again sometime. Our foster kittens were a black and white girl, a silky blue-grey boy with a little white on his chest, and a stunningly beautiful little girl who was a patchwork of white, light grey tabby with dark stripes, and ginger patches.

As someone who sometimes writes blogs about cats – and takes photos for that purpose – I’ve come to greatly appreciate the nuances of their colours. The primarily black cats can be difficult to photograph because of the lack of contrast in their colouration, especially if the lighting at the time Pretty Siiriis less than optimal. For cats with varied colours – like the kittens, for example – it can be much easier to truly capture their beauty.

What’s the most interesting/unusual colouration of cat you’ve owned? Or perhaps you happened to see a particularly unique looking cat once. Let us know in the comments!

Love,

Lady Joyful

 

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34 thoughts on “Cats of Colour

  1. franhunne4u says:

    I have a dark tortoiseshell since 2011, which got reddish-browner with time … Or maybe I just see more of her since she got less and less shy. But I did not choose her for her colour – or I would never have chosen my tom. FunTom and his then companion joined me 2011 – both predominantly white cats with black backs and masks – FunTom got his name from it: FunTom of the opera – as his white in his face looks like the mask of the villain …

    • Jelca says:

      I have a tortie since 13 years, my first. She was lost in the streets and joined my Cyper-stripe mail. She has very beautifull eyes. I favor a perfect Cyper. And love grey cats, the bleu type, of wich I had four *now one left. Had many more and loved them all.

  2. grannyK says:

    Over my 57 years, I have only been without a cat for about 3 years. One of my favorite cats was an orange tabby. We now have an elder (18 years old) calico and two cole black cats. Those are the ones we claim as ours, at any rate. There are other interesting colored cats that are feral that hang around the house. Beautiful animals.

  3. sidilbradipo1 says:

    Giulio was my aunt’s blue persian cat. He was dark blue on his back and medium blue on his fluffy belly, with copper eyes <3
    Giulio was an unique cat, a so-called purebred with pedigree.
    This is the most unusual colouration of a cat I happened to see 🙂
    Ciao
    Sid

  4. Kate Crimmins says:

    I have a totally black cat. With the right lighting on photographs you can see stripes in his fur. I’ve been told that all black cats are tabbies under a dominant black gene. It’s especially noticeable in his tail. However, you can’t see it just looking at him. He is a silky black cat.

    • Lady Joyful says:

      I’ve not heard that before, but it makes sense. Certainly with the shorter haired black cats I’ve owned, when they would lay in the sunlight it was clear that they had stripes of deep brown. Thanks for commenting 🙂

  5. mvaden1948 says:

    Oh, now that I have a black cat (with a tiny bib…I call it his cravat …of white) I understand the difficulty of photographing black cats…even with the pet portrait setting on my camera. And I hate using a flash on anything but sometimes I have to….but not when I’m trying to get his face…a flash in the eyes is just rude.
    I have had a variety of cats and prior to Diavolo I had Lili…a very fluffy, silky tuxedo sort of evenly mixed and her mom Nissana was a sleek predominantly black tuxedo…as in more black than white. Then there was Snookie a brown/black/orange….sort of brindled tortie. Denys was a Bengal tabby with black spots on his tummy which made him look like he was wearing a double breasted vest! I could go on and on. I’ve had cats since birth (with a two year dry spell when my landlord wouldn’t allow cats) and at 66 there have been more than a few.

  6. Carol says:

    I haven’t had a cat with unusual coloring, but I love, love, love the calicos. For a while, those were the only cats I would adopt, now I’m all tabbies, but eventually, I will have a calico again!

  7. hairballexpress says:

    The human always has a hard time talking pictures of cute little me because I’m a blue cream tortoiseshell – and if it’s cloudy, there’s usually not enough light. But I keep telling her to keep trying, because Zim so Flippin CUTE!

  8. lawjic says:

    Lady Joyful, I think your contributions are interesting and fascinating, and so are YOU! Personally, I choose only DSH calicos and torties. My cat that just died, Ms. Cali, right after her 19th birthday, “came with a big orange/white tabby” brother. They were bonded and I adopted them in 1995. Tigger was eaten by a coyote at age 2. He was not as fast or bright as Ms. Cali and he was a 22 pound cat, but he was gorgeous. MS. CALI LOVED HIM. I did too.

    We grieved; she became an inside cat, which is HARD, once you have been allowed to HUNT and kill things for 2 years. Ms. Cali was the best, brightest, most loyal, funniest cat I have ever had. Losing her concurrently with my young and vibrant beloved Mother has devastated me. This all happened in a 3 week period. I euthanize my life long best friend and two days late my young mother has a massive stroke and died 11 days later; We BURIED her on her BIRTHDAY of all days: JUNE 14, 2014 (She was born on Flag Day).

    I do not compare Ms. Cali to my mother. But these are losses of EPIC proportions and every day the GRIEF gets worse. I do not know that I am capable of recovering. I just exist now day by day and hope each one does not continue to keep getting worse. Then you make a lovely post and so your name suits you: “LADY JOYFUL” (lover of all cats!)

    Ms. Cali is IRREPLACEABLE. So when I read your stories, I have hope that SOME DAY, and I do not know when, I may have room in my heart to love another beautiful cat. I would want two very bonded young adults (been there and done that with kittens) needing a home, with the hopes that ONE may be a Tortie or Calico DSH.

    Thanks for sharing all your wonderful posts! You are the best! I am a fan!

    • Lady Joyful says:

      Aw, thanks for the praise lawjic, how lovely of you 🙂

      Sorry to hear of your losses. It is always hard to lose a loved one.

      Thanks for your very thoughtful comment, and I do hope you continue to enjoy my posts in future!

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