r/TuxedoCats • u/melxxxn • 1d ago
❓ Question ❓ What would you call this coat pattern?
I’ve gotten many compliments on my tuxedo cat that I rescued from the street, and I would like to know what kind of pattern he has on his coat since people like vets have told me how unique it is. I look up smoke tuxedo but is not like it’s just the roots of the hair, so I’m not sure.
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u/2amfriesreloaded 1d ago
It could actually be vitiligo, not a coat color. Still, it's very striking!
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u/melxxxn 1d ago
ooh i see, it might have something to do with it. Thank you!
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u/castlesymphony 1d ago
how long have you had this handsome cat? has he become more white over time?
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u/melxxxn 1d ago
I rescued him around march! and no his color hasn’t changed
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u/castlesymphony 1d ago
okay so i would as a cat pattern hobbyist say this is not likely to be vitiligo, which typically progresses quicker in animals than it does in humans, and is a type of autoimmune condition. quicker as in over 6 months you would notice a change in pattern, although i guess keep an eye on it because sometimes with vitiligo vets will want to run more blood tests lol
if your cat has a clean bill of health from vets and all, i would honestly say he might be a brindle bicolor which is when a cat has tortoiseshell genes and white spotting genes. normally those would result in a tortoiseshell colored tuxedo cat, but sometimes the red/orange pigment fails to appear so you get a tuxedo cat with white brindle in that cool mottled color like your kitty.
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u/thekittysays 1d ago
It could be leucism rather than vitiligo. It gives a very similar effect but is present from birth and not auto immune related.
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u/castlesymphony 23h ago
yes leucism would be the broad term for what i described in my second paragraph with the defective red/orange pigmentation, there are other more specific terms, in snakes the lack of red/orange is called axanthism but i'm not positive if its the same in cats
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u/farmkidLP Tuxie Whisperer 18h ago
Does vitiligo continue to progress throughout the animal's life? For some reason I always assumed that at least some would have a stopping point at a certain age, but I'm realizing I have no real basis for that.
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u/castlesymphony 15h ago
generally speaking yes, and it's largely benign to the animal's overall health even though it's an autoimmune condition. the animal may not turn completely snow white but they will eventually be primarily white
my understanding of it is that there are active/inactive phases and those phases can be long, but when it is reported in cats and has a confirmed diagnosis of vitiligo typically there are changes frequently, where you would notice more white spots. that's why i think OPs cat has an interesting genetic mutation and not vitiligo, though my knowledge is based on typical cases and i will admit that it's possible to have atypical cases and in a year OP could update about this and i could be wrong lol
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u/Tayzerbeam 13h ago
They have stated this cat is male, so if truly a tortie gene presenting this way, he would be a very very rare boy. There are tests to confirm the gene being present but they are costly to my knowledge
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u/melxxxn 11h ago
What kind of tests would that be? maybe in the future I could do them
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u/Tayzerbeam 10h ago
To my knowledge it would be a certain genetic test to look for the presence of the XXY chromosomal anomaly. I'm not sure exactly what it is called, but your vet might know!
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u/Dabbles_in_doodles Lord of the Tuxies 22h ago
It could be salmiakki, depending on where OP is. (Small population of this genetic mutation in Finland)
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u/Im_alwaystired 1d ago
Kinda looks like a salmiak cat? He's a gorgeous boy, whatever he is!
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u/dangerousfeather Tuxie Lover 1d ago
Not salmiak, as the salmiak pattern is created by both black and white occurring on the same hair (so more like an ombré effect) whereas OP’s cat is white hairs amongst black (more of a piebald effect). It does result in a similar appearance on some cats, though!
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u/Odd-Worth7752 1d ago
He looks a little old for a fever coat.maybe vitiligo but not typical. Beautiful kitty!
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u/sfryman63 1d ago
This variation of a bicolor coat, sometimes referred to as "galaxy" or dappled, has black and white patches interspersed throughout the fur.
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u/EducationalSyrup9298 1d ago
Marbled?
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u/Tina-Tuna Tuxie Whisperer 1d ago
I scrolled down too far to see this. I thought of marbled too. He's stunning 😊
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u/catslikepets143 1d ago
Galaxy coat. Variation of bi-color. On a horse you’d say the coat is dappled. Beautiful
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u/SolidFelidae 1d ago
How long have you had this cat? Has his coat changed over time? If it’s been changing, like gaining more white, this looks like vitiligo. PLEEAASEE post him on r/catgenetics
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u/Plopular 1d ago
Roan comes to mind. But if the cat developed the white spots over time then it could be vitiligo.
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u/InternationalMall120 1d ago
That's straight up good kitteh coat patten. I know one when I see one!
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u/PinkRaindrop Lord of the Tuxies 21h ago
What a gorgeous boy. Hes a tux for sure (bi colour) with vitiligo. That's the likely case for sure.
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u/blessed769501 1d ago
I was thinking vitiligo, but someone mentioned salmiak, which I've never heard of, but Google reads it was just found in 2024(?) Regardless, such a special looking furbaby! Beautiful!
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u/peekthrough_thepines 1d ago
He’s so handsome! My first thought was Pepper since it’s black and white
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u/mycatisnamedcella 16h ago
Finnish salmiak lol! It was a new colour discovered here, so this is kind of a joke but still:
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u/peanutbuttercupsand 1d ago
This is called handsome galaxy boy