Thread: Maine Coon Colours

Identifying the colour and pattern of a maine coon cat to me certainly, didnt seem so straightforward. Whilst at a breeders I was asking her what the name of the big Cream cat was called when she said oh you mean Scooby, he's red/silver shaded which was new to me as he looked well, just a nice beige cream colour without any indication of the red/ginger that I understood as red. So this is what Marilis Hornidge, author of "That Yankee Cat" has to say about colourings and patterns.

Solid Colours

This single colour is also referred to as a "One Level Shade"

White : pure white
Cream : The off-white colour without ANY markings and shadings
Black : Pure deep and dense black without any hint of rust
Blue : Refers to the blue/grey colour. If your cat is grey, then he's a blue.
Red : The orange marmalade shade. If the red is very pale, then this is also be referred to as a cream.

Smoke / Cameo

If a black, blue or red cat has a white undercoat then this is referred to as a smoke. You can only see the undercoat when the coat is ruffed up, i.e. the white is only the undercoat. However, if a white cat's overcoat has black tips, then this is also a smoke. If a white cat has coloured tips on his overcoat, then this is referred to as a cameo.

Thats the simple part, now onto the patterns

Calico : This is an easily recognisable pattern. Half to two thirds of the body is white, with a patchwork quilt of red and black elsewhere.

Parti-Colours : White and One other colour. Generally regarded that one third of the body must be white, preferably the bib, belly and all four paws with the other colour being a solid red,blue or black.

Tabby : Probably the most common pattern for maine coons. Tabbys are divided into two patterns, the Mackeral Tabby and Classic Tabby. The Mackeral Tabby has stripes all over with a connecting line running down its spine, giving that 'fish-bone' look, whereas the Classic Tabby has stripes on its legs, head and tail but the rest looks sort of like a 'marble cake in the middle' to quote a caption from the book. This is also sometimes referred to as a patched tabby.

Tortoiseshell : Or 'Torty' for short can be described as a black cat with obvious patches of red and cream. Often this is accompanied with a 'Blaze' which means the face is divided evenly between black and one other colour.
A tortoiseshell that has stripes as opposed to patches of colour is known as 'Torbie'


The Smoke term can also be used with any of these patterns meaning that the cat looks bleached like the shaded denim look when jeans have faded over time.