What colors can cats be?

Discover the most common and rarest cat coat colors!

If you’ve ever been captivated by a cat’s unusual fur color, you’re not alone. The world of cat coat colors is incredibly rich and fascinating. As breeders at New Wave Kitty Cattery, we see every day just how diverse cats’ appearances can be — from classic brown tabbies to rare silvery hues and the extraordinary dominant blue-eyed individuals. Now we’ll explore:

the unique color varieties within the 5 breeds we specialize in

the most common and rarest cat colors,

how cat coat colors and patterns can be classified,

Most common cat colors

Most domestic cat coat colors are the result of a few basic genetic combinations — but these combinations create an endless variety of shades and patterns. The most common coat colors include:

Brown (chocolate, cinnamon)

Black

White

Gray (blue)

Red (ginger)

Cream

Brown (chocolate, cinnamon)

When it comes to patterns, these are the most frequent:

Solid (single-color)

Tabby – including classic, mackerel, spotted, and ticked

Bicolor – a mix of two colors, like black and white

Tortoiseshell (tortie) – a blend of red and black hairs

Colorpoint – a light body with darker extremities (like in Siamese cats)

Rare cat colors – when genetics create something truly special

Rare coat colors and patterns often result from unique genetic combinations or selective breeding. Some of the rarest shades include:

• Silver – hairs have white roots, giving a shimmering effect
• Golden – warm, radiant base color
• Blue (diluted black) – an elegant slate gray
• Lilac and fawn – lighter, diluted genetic variants

In addition to rare coat and color combinations, dominant blue eyes are also a true rarity. This unique trait is the result of a dominantly inherited blue eye color that remains vivid throughout the cat’s entire life, and unlike traditional blue eyes seen in colorpoint cats, it occurs independently of any specific coat pattern.

Classifying cat coat colors

There are several ways to classify cat coat colors. The main criteria are:

Eye color – particularly important in rare programs like dominant blue-eyed

Base color – black, red, cream, etc.

Dilution – diluted colors like blue, lilac, or fawn

Pattern – tabby, spotted, ticked, bicolor, tortie

Coat type – short, long, curly

Are colorpoint and tortie actual colors?

You may have heard terms like “colorpoint” or “tortie” described as coat colors — and while they often appear in color descriptions, they are technically a bit different:

• Colorpoint (e.g., seal point, blue point) refers to a temperature-sensitive pigment pattern, where the cat’s cooler extremities (ears, paws, tail, face) are darker, while the body remains lighter. It’s a pattern, but because it affects overall appearance, it’s often treated as a color.
• Tortie (tortoiseshell) describes a mosaic of two colors, typically black and red (or their diluted versions like blue and cream), with the patches blending together in a marbled effect. It’s not a pattern like tabby, but not a solid color either — it’s a result of X-chromosome inactivation, usually seen in females.

So, while both colorpoint and tortie are not technically base colors, they’re often grouped with colors for simplicity — and they definitely add to the richness of feline diversity!

What coat colors are typical of the New Wave Kitty Cattery breeds?

At New Wave Kitty Cattery, we specialize in five unique breeds, each with its own palette of colors and patterns:

🐆 Bengal cats

We breed Bengals in every recognized color and pattern, with special emphasis on:

• Clouded pattern – a unique, large, contrated rosettes that mimics wild cats like the clouded panter. 
• Popular colors include: brown, silver, charcoal, snow (seal mink, seal lynx, seal sepia), blue, melanistic, and more

Dominant blue-eyed is an extremely rare eye color in the breed, this striking trait can appear in Bengal cats, resulting in the birth of truly exceptional and rare individuals.

🐯 Toyger

Our Toygers come in two striking color variations:

• Brown – high contrast tiger-like striping
• Silver – cool-toned with a bold wildcat look

🐅 Tigrett

A rare, unique breed:

• Brown
• Blue

🐑 Selkirk Rex and Lambkin

These curly-coated breeds are available in a wide variety of stunning shades:

Bicolor versions: such as red & white, blue & white, cream & white, and more

Tortie (tortoiseshell) – black and red mix

Blue, red, black ticked, silver