After noticing the hair growing back on my cat’s leg after his surgery, I saw that underneath his black fur was lighter. That made me curious, so I looked into it and found the answer was gene expression.
My cat's mum is a Ragdoll, and his dad is an unknown black cat. He was the first kitten in the litter, born by accident.
Sister (left), Bro (middle), Blu (right)
His siblings are all beautiful black, too. His sister has a smokey-coloured coat, and they all have a calm and gentle Ragdoll personality.
Now to the fur, his mum’s lighter colour means she doesn’t produce much melanin (pigment), and his dad produces a lot. When those genes combine, the top layer of fur gets more pigment, so it looks black, but the base of the fur stays light creamy or white because not as much pigment reaches it.
This is why you can see a pale colour underneath darker fur. It’s a common trait in “smoke” cats too.
When my cat is in the light or sunshine, his fur looks lighter and shimmers. This is because of the lighter colour underneath the black fur.
Now I understand why his fur looks lighter underneath.
His mum doesn’t produce much pigment, and his dad does.
The top layer gets more pigment, so it looks black,
but the base stays light because less pigment reaches it.
It’s all down to gene expression.
Now he is saying, "Please leave me alone" haha!
Have a lovely day,
Mariah 😺💖
