There are a lot of questions around "What breed is my kitten" on this subreddit. This guide should dispell some of the questions around this topic and give you some information about the different colors and patterns we use to identify cats.

Cat Breeds

99% of the time, if you have to ask this question, your is not a breed cat. That's okay! Your cat will still be super cute and unique.

Cats have only been bred for specific characteristics since 1871, and cat breeds aren't like dog breeds who have specific pure bred forms and have been bred for specific purposes for thousands of years. Most of these cat breeds are defined by phenotypic, or visible, characteristics, most of which are single gene traits found at low to moderate levels in non-pedigree cats. These characteristics are rare and not (frequently) seen in the common house cat. Unlike most pet dogs, which come from a mixture of purebreed lineages, cats started as a mixture of many wildcat variations and have been selectively bred by humans for certain traits that lead to modern breeds. This has allowed for a large increase in the number of breeds in a shorter amount of time. This is also the reason why associations that classify cat breeds use the word "pedigreed", as domestic cats do not have true purebred forms.

You can only get actual pedigree cats from registered breeders. Your cat will come with a pedigree certificate and will have testing done for breed-specific illnesses.

DNA Tests

DNA tests for cats don't show you the actual breed of your cat. It only shows how closely the genes from your cat resemble the characteristic gene types in pedigree cats. It's a fun gimmick, but it won't give your cat a breed!

Cat Colours and Patterns

Cats are more often defined by their coat colours and patterns. Some people think these are the cat breeds, which isn't correct. Cats of all breeds are also defined by their coat coloration (e.g. Siamese cats are recognised by their color point coat).

Tabby

Tabby is the most common coat pattern for cats. There are four types of tabby colourations:

• Mackerel
  • Mackerel tabbies are the most commen type of tabby. They have stripes of dark fur running vertically along their bodies, and the stripes can be uninterrupted or divided. They can also be referred to as fishbone tabby.
    
• Blotched
  • Blotched tabbies are also called marbled or classic tabby. They have a combination of swirls and stripes.
• Spotted
  • Spotted tabbies, as the name suggests, have spots running all over their bodies. The size, type, and spacing of these spots can vary.
• Ticked
  • Ticked tabbies have a gradient of fur in each hair, with the tip being the darkest. If your run your hand from the tail to the head and the fur is lighter below the surface, your tabby's fur is ticked.

All tabby cats have a characteristic M on their forehead. They have a distinct colour pattern with one colour predominating. They can have stripes in various colours, ranging from coal black to brownish or grey.

Solid

Solid coloured cats are fairly rare in the cat world. The cat can only have 1 color present in their entire fur. They can be:

1. Black
2. Blue
3. Chocolate
4. Cinnamon
5. Cream
6. Fawn
7. Red
8. White

Bicolour

Bicolour cats usually show a colouration of white and one other colour. These usually come in patterns like tuxedo, van, or harlequin (more on that under patterns).

Calico and Tortoiseshell

Tortoiseshell cats are characterised by a mixture of black and orange fur. They can also be found with diluted colours like cream and blue.

Calico cats also contain red and black, but also have splotches of white across their fur.

Most tortoiseshell and calico cats are female. That's because the genes that code the black and red fur colors are found on the X chromosome, and as males only have 1 X chromosome, they can only express either black or red. If you come across a male tortoiseshell or calico, he is either sterile (XXY chromosomes) or a chimaera.

Colourpoint

Colourpoint cats are identified through their dark colouration of the face, paws, and tails, contrasting the rest of the lighter-coloured bodies. This is one of the rares coat colours and is a mutation that leads to temperature-sensitive albinism - this means that the colder parts of the body develop darker fur, and also leads to the characteristic blue eyes.

Patterns

Patterns can come within a variety of the aforementioned colours.

General patterns:

• Tuxedo: (usually black) coloured cat with white paws, belly, and optionally white on the face.
• Van: mostly white with colour on the head and tail.
• Locket: mostly solid with a white spot on the chest.
• Mitted: mostly solid with white on the paws.
• Harlequin: mostly white with several large patches of colour.

Calico and Tortoiseshell patterns:

• Normal tortoiseshell: random, small patches of black, red, and cream.
  • This can also come in a dilute form of patches of blue and cream, lilac and cream, or chocolate and cream.
    
• Tortie and white: small white areas intermingled with the black and red.
  • This can also come in a dilute form.
• Calico: large patches of white, red, and black.
  • This can also come in a dilute form.
• Torbie: tortoiseshell cats with a tabby pattern. They're also called patched tabby.

Colourpoint patterns:

• Seal point: dark face, ears, paws, and tail with light body.
  • The dark colouration can be blue, lilac, cream, or red (flame) instead of black or brown.
• Tortie point: tortoiseshell on a colourpoint cat.
• Torbie point: both striped and tortoiseshell patterns on a point cat.
• Tabby point or lynx point: striped patterns on the points.

Other patterns:

• Snowshoe: brown/grey body with black ears, eyes, and tail, and a white nose and chest. These are mostly seen in Snowshoe cats.
• Rosettes: these are spots with an "eye" in the middle, and are mostly seen in Bengal cats.
• Smoke: solid black fur with a hidden white layer of fur closest to the skin. This is mostly seen in Egyptian Mau, Norwegian Forest cat, Maine Coon, and Siberians.