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Cats boast an array of eye and fur colour combinations that contribute to their unique charm. While all felines boast their own cute looks, certain colour combinations are considered exceptionally rare, adding an element of fascination for cat enthusiasts.
Today we’ll look at the rarest eye and fur colours in cats, as well as the science behind how different colours come about.
Does My Cat Have a Unique Colour Combination?
The rarity of a cat’s colouration is a testament to its individuality and a reflection of the fascinating interplay of genetics. While certain combinations are more common, others stand out as extraordinary due to their scarcity.
Cat fur colours are made of a combination of red, white, and black, which present depending on the cat’s breed and genetics. Cat eyes, on the other hand, tend to range across shades of yellow and green.
Most to Least Common Eye Colours:
- Yellow (60%+)
- Hazel
- Green
- Blue
- Heterochromia
- Copper, Brown & Orange (-1%)
How Do Cat Eye and Fur Colours Work?
The captivating range of cat eye and fur colours arises from complex biological processes governed by pigments and specific genes controlling colour expression. Melanin, the key pigment, is responsible for colouration in both eyes and fur.
Genes dictate how much of each type of melanin is produced. For example, a gene may determine whether a cat produces more eumelanin (resulting in a darker coat) or more pheomelanin (resulting in a lighter coat). Specific genes control whether a cat will have a solid colour or a pattern like stripes, spots, or other variations. The interactions between these genes determine the final coat appearance.
Cats inherit genes from their parents. Each parent contributes one copy of each gene, just like how human genes work. The combination of genes from both parents determines the cat’s appearance. Some genes may be dominant, while others are recessive.
In mixed-breed cats, the combination of various genetic influences creates a canvas of possibilities. Unlike purebred cats with more predictable traits, mixed-breed cats can inherit a diverse set of genes from their lineage. This genetic mix-and-match results in a multitude of potential colour combinations, making each cat a unique masterpiece.
The diverse coat colours found in domestic cats have evolutionary roots. Natural selection favoured cats with a range of coat colours and patterns, providing adaptive advantages in different environments. This diversity allowed cats to blend into various landscapes, offering both camouflage for hunting and protection from predators.
White Fur & Coloured Eyes
Making up just 1-5% of the feline population, fully-white cats have the rarest coat colour. Albino cats are the most common white cats, since they lack melanin, and that’s why their coat has no colour. A white cat being non-albino is rarer, and therefore it’s uncommon for a cat with white fur to have eye colours like yellow or green.
The most typical eye colour for white cats is blue, but fun fact: they aren’t actually blue! What we see as ‘blue’ is an iris with no melanin, making the eye clear (meaning a white cat with blue eyes is albino). All kittens are born with clear eyes – the melanin comes in over time, giving them their actual eye colour as they grow.
So if your white cat has coloured eyes, congratulations – that’s a rare combination!
Cream & Fawn Coats
An offshoot of the white fur gene (when a cat is white but not albino) is the ‘cream’ coat. This colour is a beautiful and rare combination of white with some red undertones or red hairs, creating a soft, creamy or off-white fur. These cats tend to appear when a cat with the orange coat gene also has a dilution gene that lightens the colour. Further, ‘fawn’ is a similar colour to cream but leans more towards a stunning cinnamon, creating an almost teddy-bear-like look. These colour combinations are rare and highly sought after.
Brown Eyes & Fur
While hazel eyes are common for cats, and even copper eyes are possible, true brown eyes are very rare. This level of melanin in a cat’s eyes is incredibly uncommon, so if your cat has dark brown eyes, they’re incredibly unique! And just like brown eyes, brown hair is rare, as it’s much more likely for a cat to be black or a mixture of other colours that appears closer to hazel (like a tabby cat). Chocolate cats are irresistibly soft and fluffy, and you’re lucky if you have one.
Orange Eyes
Orange eyes are not only rare, mostly because they aren’t natural. They were ‘created’ by breeders to bring about cats with an eye colour that stands out vividly from any coat colour. Since these cats didn’t naturally occur, and were instead a result of genetic modification in Britain, this is a rarer eye colour.
The Devon Rex and Main Coone are among the breeds most likely to display the orange eye colour. It would be rarer for a non-pedigree cat (like a domestic short hair) to have orange eyes, since they haven’t been bred with the eye colour in mind.
Heterochromia/Odd-Coloured Eyes
Heterochromia – the name of the phenomenon wherein a person or animal has two differently-coloured eyes – presents in less than 1% of the cat population. It usually occurs due to genetics or an injury, but doesn’t mean there’s anything to worry about health-wise. Odd eyes are mostly seen in white cats, such as a white cat with one hazel eye and one blue eye (the blue eye lacking melanin). This means that cats with darker coats and heterochromia are very rare. Meanwhile, dichroic eyes, which are eyes with two colours within one iris, are even rarer.
So, is your cat rare?
A great way to find beautifully rare and unique cats is adopting or fostering, rather than buying cats from a breeder. Since these cats tend to be mixed breeds, they can come in all sorts of colours and patterns.
Are you looking to adopt a pet or donate to a pet rescue organisation? Georgie and Cindy from Large Hope SEO foster cats and kittens on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. If you’re local, get in touch to discuss adopting from the rescues. See cats and kittens available for adoption or donate so we can save more kittens.
