Siamese kitten coloring

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Rhonda - 24 Apr 2004 21:17 GMT

Does anyone know about siamese kitten coloring? I've read that they are
born white, because their coloring is heat-sensitive. After a while,
their points turn darker, and bodies turn creamy-colored.

We took in an adult stray cat who was very pregnant. She gave birth last
week. Two of the kittens were born cream-colored, one with patches of
white on it's back.

Yesterday, I noticed their nose leathers and paw pads starting to turn
darker, and some hairs on their ears turning dark. The mom is a gray
tuxedo cat, I never even considered siamese babies!

Are some siamese kittens born cream-colored instead of white?

Thanks,

Rhonda

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Ted Davis - 25 Apr 2004 02:22 GMT

>Does anyone know about siamese kitten coloring? I've read that they are
>born white, because their coloring is heat-sensitive. After a while,
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>Are some siamese kittens born cream-colored instead of white?

Color point marking are not limited to Siamese cats it can crop up any
time. It's not even limited to any particular color or range of
colors. Ozy
(<http://www.maem.umr.edu/tdavis/cats/03.jan/ozy.267x400.1.jpg>)
appears to be a red tabby color point with blue eyes (somewhat
imperfect markings to be sure, but that's a better description than
anything else.) He's from a litter that included a red tabby male and
an apricot female with medium length hair. He's from an inbred farm
population that just might have some Tai cat genes (both color point
and apricot color can be found there).

The marking is a result of temperature sensitive pigments and varies
with age and sometimes with the season. The cooler parts are the
darkest.

T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my .sig in the body)

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Rhonda - 25 Apr 2004 17:54 GMT

Hi Ted,

Thanks for answering. What a beautiful cat! He is gorgeous.

I've been trying to read up on the pointed-coloring on the internet, and
sounds like both parents have to have the gene. I was confused because
these guys were born cream-colored and getting points, where everything
I read said they are born white. Sounds like there are all different
combinations of that gene, though.

Can't wait to see how these turn out! Thanks for answering.

Rhonda

> Color point marking are not limited to Siamese cats it can crop up any
> time. It's not even limited to any particular color or range of
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my .sig in the body)

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Ted Davis - 26 Apr 2004 01:58 GMT

>Thanks for answering. What a beautiful cat! He is gorgeous.

Around here he has a lot of competition for best looking: Fleagor,
Maryweather, and Snowball are all in contention with him - Maryweather
is so pretty I use a picture of her in a pile of dry leaves as
wallpaper, and as the title picture on my cat pictures page
(<http://www.maem.umr.edu/tdavis/cats/index.html>). Of course, all
eleven of them are pretty at times - depends on which ones are being
most affectionate or doing the cutest things.

T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my .sig in the body)

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kworley - 21 May 2004 08:08 GMT

> Does anyone know about siamese kitten coloring? I've read that they are
> born white, because their coloring is heat-sensitive. After a while,
> their points turn darker, and bodies turn creamy-colored.

Pretty much... the gene is actually an alternative version of the
albino gene. Since it's a recessive gene, a cat needs to have two
copies of the color point gene to have siamese markings. It is
temperature sensitive, so they will get darker in the winter and
lighter in the summer. I just got a Birman lookalike at the rescue
shelter. I don't think Ming is really a Birman, his hair is too short,
but he has the color points and four white feet. He had a pretty bad
case of ringworm which we treated and is now cleared up. The spots
where the hair is growing back is coming in dark, because the bald
areas are a cooler temperature. As the fur gets longer, it should
lighten again.

> We took in an adult stray cat who was very pregnant. She gave birth
> last week. Two of the kittens were born cream-colored, one with patches
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> darker, and some hairs on their ears turning dark. The mom is a gray
> tuxedo cat, I never even considered siamese babies!

If mom has a single copy of the gene, she wouldn't show it. If she
mated with a male who has two copies (he has siamese markings) or who
has only one (he wouldn't show the markings, but he can pass the one
copy on), the kittens can end up with two copies- one from mom, one
from dad, and they would show the markings.

> Are some siamese kittens born cream-colored instead of white?

Since the siamese gene is essentially laid over the top of whatever
other color genes the cat has, if the cat would otherwise be dark
(seal points are a siamese OVER a black cat), the body can be creamy
rather than pure white.

> Thanks,
>
> Rhonda

Katrina
--

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