.jpg)
Abicolor cat (orbicolour cat inCommonwealth English) is acat with whitefur combined with fur of some other color, for example, solid black,tabby, orcolorpointed.[1] There are various patterns of a bicolor cat. Bicolor coats are found in manycat breeds and are indomestic longhair anddomestic shorthair cats.[citation needed]
Tuxedo cats have a low-to-medium grade white spotting limited to the face, paws, throat, and chest of an otherwise black cat. Van-patterned cats have high-grade bicolor, which is typical for theTurkish Van breed. There are many patterns, such as "cap-and-saddle", "mask-and-mantle" and "harlequin" (also known as "magpie").[2]
Solid-color bicolor cats occur because there is awhite spotting gene present with a recessive allele of theagouti gene. The agouti gene evens out the striped pattern within coat colors. In contrast,tabby cats have an agouti gene that produces striping of the coat. TheAbyssinian has agouti (ticked tabby) fur, giving the appearance of even color with color-banded hairs.
.jpg)
.svg)
Bicoloration in cats is graded from one to ten; with one being completely colored, and ten being completely white. There are also several patterns with their own names.[1]
Van-patterned cats are bicolor cats,[1] they are mostly white (generally more than 75% white).[3] They have color around their ears and tail, separated by white coloring.[1] They may have small (roughly coin sized) colored spots on and around their spine. The termVan pattern comes from theTurkish Van (named afterLake Van), which is a Van-patterned bicolor breed. The Van pattern is known to animal geneticists as theSeychelles (Seychellois) pattern and is classified into three variants:[4]
This pattern type has high-grade white spotting. The coat pattern ranges from seven to nine on the Bicolor grade chart.[citation needed]
Another type of color-and-white cat is the harlequin patterned bicolor cat.[1][3] This coat pattern is sometimes referred to as acow cat,moo cat,magpie orpanda cat and includes the cap-and-saddle and mask-and-mantle patterns.[citation needed] The harlequin patterned coat is predominantly white (generally 50%-75% white)[1] combined with colored markings on the cat's body, including its head and tail. The coat does not have the solid colored "jacket" like the tuxedo coat. Harlequin patterns have multiple, conjoined, or larger spots on the body or an extended head spot that reaches the face. Harlequin coats have large colored patches over a white body, with a coloredmask over the head.[citation needed]
.jpg)
The cat labeled "bicolor" or "true bicolor" is the preferred pattern in show-quality bicolor purebred cats. Bicolor patterned cats have medium grade white spotting (generally approximately 50%-25% white).[1] The cat registryFédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) states that for a "standard" bicolor coat to compete in shows, "The colour patches must be clearly separated from each other, even in colour and harmoniously distributed."[1] They also state "at least1⁄2 should be colored, but not more than3⁄4; the rest is white."[1] TheWorld Cat Federation (WFC) allows an amount of color between1⁄2 up to2⁄3 for bicolor patterned cats.[3] TheCat Fanciers' Association (CFA) states, "Cats with no more than a locket and/or button [patch on chest] do not qualify for this color class."[2]
Atuxedo cat,Felix cat[5] orJulius cat is a bicolor cat with low-grade white spotting (generally close to 25% white) in the coat. The term "tuxedo cats" is typically used for black-and-white colored cats, but tuxedo patterned cats come in all cat colors. They are called tuxedo cats due to the resemblance to theblack-tieformal wear of the same name; however, the origins of the term "tuxedo cat" are murky at best, with linguist Cecily Raysor Hancock having been only able to track the term back to the early 1980s in America.[6]
To be considered a true tuxedo cat, the feline's coloring should consist of a colored coat, with white fur limited to the paws, belly, chest, throat, often the chin, and sometimes the tail.[1] Tuxedo cats can appear to havegoatees due to the white coloration of their nose orchin.[5] Most tuxedo cats are also "black-mask cats" with a complete white blaze, a common name for felines who, due to their facial coloration, look as if they are wearing a black mask over their eyes, and often over their entire head. The ideal color distribution is symmetric, and the white areas are of modest size and limited to the desirable areas.[citation needed]
.jpg)
In most cat registries, the tuxedo pattern is not an official term used to categorize white spotting patterns in show cats. Thestandard or code used to indicate the white markings in theSnowshoe cat breed is equal to the white spotting pattern known as "tuxedo" among tuxedo cat enthusiasts.[7][8]
The basic colors and patterns of cat fur are defined by fewer than ten genes.[9] Cats with white color in their coats are thought to have a mutantwhite-spotting gene that prevents the formation of coat color in patches over the cat's body. This gene has been investigated in several species, particularly mice, and isco-dominant to normal coat color as it prevents the migration ofmelanocytes into the developing hair follicles.[10] The genetics of this pattern are not as well understood in cats but at least some of the genes involved in melanocyte migration and survival may play a role similar as in other animals.[11]
Three genotypes possible with theS (white spotting) gene, with capitalS standing for a wild-type copy and lower-cases standing for the mutant.[9]
The lack of tabby striping in bicolor cats is controlled by theagouti protein, which inhibits the production ofmelanin and thus prevents the formation of dark hair colors.[12] In agouti cats the gene is turned on and off as the hair grows, producing hairs with alternating stripes yellow and black.[9] In domestic cats, inactivation of the agouti gene by adeletion mutation causes all-black coat color.[13]
The bicolor coat coloration is not restricted to a specific breed of cat.[citation needed] However, some breeds have bicolor coats in their breed standards. These include theRagdoll,American Shorthair,Manx,British Shorthair, andTurkish Angora.[14] TheTurkish Van andSnowshoe[1][8] cat breed are restricted to cats with bicolored coats.
In contrast, other common breeds of cat have specific coat patterns specified in their breed standards. Cats with such specific coat patterns include theRussian Blue, which has a coat of one solid color.
White spotting is not limited to solid color-and-white combinations, and can also occur with any of thetabby patterns, resulting in tabby-and-white bicolor coats.Colorpoint cats can have bicolor points (colorpoint-and-white), although this variation is not recognized for showing in some cat breeds. An example of a bicolor colorpoint cat breed is the tuxedo patterned colorpoint-and-whiteSnowshoe cat.[1][8] The body markings of bicolor colorpoints become clearer with age, as the body fur of colorpoint cats darkens as the cats grow older and the white patches become more distinctively visible.
White spotting can also occur in combination with tortoiseshell coats, these are known astricolor cats, tortoiseshell-and-white cats, orcalico cats (US English). Tortoiseshell-and-white cats can also be found in combination with a tabby or colorpoint pattern.[citation needed]
Bicolor cats that are black and white are sometimes calledmagpies.[citation needed]
Bicolor may also appear in the skin color.[citation needed]Paw pad coloration may be black, pink, or a mixture of both. Paw pad coloration may match the pattern of a cat's coat that is nearby the paw.[citation needed]
 | This sectionmay containirrelevant references topopular culture. Please helpimprove it by removing such content and addingcitations toreliable,independent sources.(November 2025) |
Jellicle cat is a tuxedo cat in the fictional tribe of nocturnal black and white cats described byT. S. Eliot inOld Possum's Book of Practical Cats, which was first published in 1939.[15] In the musicalCats, the characterMr. Mistoffelees is a tuxedo cat. Mr. Mistoffelees is astage magician wearing a lacyruff andbow tie. The characterBustopher Jones outfit consists of a tuxedo andspats. The musical differed from the book in that the characters included cats with many different coat colors, rather than just bicolor cats, but it retains the repeated assertion that "Jellicle cats are black and white." Cats with these markings also played a starring role in the drawings illustratingThe Unadulterated Cat, a book written byTerry Pratchett, with cartoons byGray Jolliffe.[16]
Other cartoon bicolor cats includeSylvester the Cat,Felix the Cat,Tom Cat fromTom and Jerry, Oggy fromOggy and the Cockroaches, Blackie the Cat fromThe Cat that Hated People,Ventriloquist Cat,Krazy Kat,[17] Jess fromPostman Pat,Kitty Softpaws from theShrek spin-offPuss in Boots andits sequel, Disney'sFigaro, the Cat in the Hat from theDr. Seuss book of the same name,Beans from Looney Tunes,Penelope Pussycat, Sebastian the cat fromJosie and the Pussycats, and Chao fromOsamu Tezuka'sUnico series. A bicolor cat named Mittens is one of the main characters in the 2008 Disney animated filmBolt.[citation needed]
A tuxedo cat is also the protagonist of the popular children's bookTip-Top Cat, and another is the giantKat Kong in the children's book of the same name. Bo, a character from the TV seriesAbby Hatcher, is a "Fuzzly" who resembles a tuxedo cat. Tuxedos are one of the ten breeds of cats in the video gameMinecraft. Morgana, a playable character in the JRPGPersona 5, is a bicolor cat. Klonoa, the main character of the titularKlonoa games, closely resembles a tuxedo cat. Cait Sith, a playable character from the video gameFinal Fantasy VII is a tuxedo cat.[citation needed]
Media related toBicolour cats at Wikimedia Commons
