

In fact, it is believed that only 10% of all cats in the world are long-haired due to the recessive nature of the gene! So the chances of a solid grey long hair cat are pretty long odds! Grey Shorthair Tabby Cat Are All Shorthair Grey Cats Purebred?Īs we have alluded to, if the correct genes are inherited then a mixed breed cat, a domestic shorthair cat, can be a solid blue cat! In fact, solid grey long hair cats are even rarer than short-haired grey cats! This is because long hair genes are also recessive! A long-haired cat must inherit a copy of the recessive gene from each parent to be long hair. Coat color and pattern are determined by different genes to those that control hair length. So, given we know how solid grey cats come about can we safely assume they are all going to be shorthair? Well, no.
#Short haired tabby russian blue full#
Basically, if you mate two solid grey cats you should get a full litter of solid grey kittens! Chartreux cat Are All Grey Cats Shorthair? So, it could be said that solid grey cats that spontaneously arise are rare – but people have had a hand in the process, and breeds that are known for solid grey cats, such as the Russian blue or Korat cat have developed from the mating of cats with both types of recessive genes. Now, to further complicate the picture, on top of inheriting the non-agouti recessive gene they would also have to inherit the recessive dilution gene at the same time, from both parents! This would produce a solid color kitten with dilution of the black coat. If the tabby father passed on a non-agouti gene and an agouti gene and the mother cats did the same the odds are that the offspring would inherit the dominant agouti gene and be tabby – but the fact a kitten could inherit two recessive non-agouti genes, one from each parent, means two tabby cats could produce a none tabby offspring – the odds are long, but it is possible. Genes are paired, so recessive genes only kick in if a pair of recessive genes are inherited – otherwise, a dominant gene in the pair overrides the recessive. This makes it sound easy, but the rarity factor lies in the fact that the non-agouti and dilution genes are recessive genes. These genes remove the tabby stripe and fade the black coat to a grey or blue. All other variations of pattern and color come from separate genes – these include genes for dilution, stripes, masking or piebald genes, and the like.įor a solid grey cat to occur naturally, and they do, the cat needs to be a black cat that inherits the non-agouti gene and the dilution gene. In the cat world, the two primary coat colors are red and black with black being dominant. Solid grey cats, on the other hand, are not so common. They occur naturally in domestic shorthair cats and in many purebred cats. Get the answer to these questions and more below and find out which breeds are specifically known for their blue cats.

How Much Does A Grey Shorthair Cat Cost?.Any Known Health Issues With Grey Shorthair Cats?.
