Maine Coon Colors And Patterns

The Maine Coon is a beautiful cat, and there are countless possible Maine Coon colors and patterns.

The Maine Coon cat comes in a total of over 75 different color and pattern combinations. It is possible for a Maine Coon to come in every possible coat color, as well as most patterns, including tortoiseshell, calico, tabby, smoke, shaded, and many others.

Many people assume that Maine Coons only come in brown or black, but this actually isn’t the case!

In fact, the Maine Coon comes in a lot more colors and patterns than many other cat breeds.

The amount of Maine Coon colors and patterns might seem overwhelming, but they can actually be categorized quite simply.

Read on to find out more about the genetics behind a Maine Coon’s patterns and coloration!

The main three colors that Maine Coons can come in are black, red, and white.

White on a cat is actually the absence of pigmentation, while red and black can be “diluted” through genetic mutation to produce other colors.

In Maine Coons, the color black can be diluted to chocolate, cinnamon, blue, lilac, and fawn. Meanwhile, the color red can also be diluted to cream.

Maine Coons can also come in “silver” and “gold,” which refers to black and red dilute colors that appear silver or gold in color due to a rare inhibitor gene .

The Maine Coon can also come in a variety of different patterns.

Here is a comprehensive list of all the possible Maine Coon patterns.

• Solid: Solid colored cats have even coloration of a single color throughout their body.
• Shell: Shell cats have a white undercoat with very light tipping of another color on the back, tail, flanks, and head, as well as possibly on the face and head.
• Shaded: Shaded cats have a white undercoat with moderate tipping of another color on the sides, face, and tail.
• Smoke: Smoke cats have a white undercoat with deep tipping of another color on the sides, face, and tail.
• Bi-Color: Bi-color refers to a combination of any two colors on a cat’s coat.
• Tortoiseshell: A tortoiseshell cat has brindled patches of red and black (or their respective dilutes). Note that this coat pattern is only possible for females.
• Red or Black and White: Another possible bi-color pattern for Maine Coons is an underlying white coat with patches of either black or red (or their respective dilutes). This is where you can get Van or Tuxedo patterns.
• Tri-Color: Tri-color refers to a combination of any three colors on a cat’s coat. Tri-color coat combinations, however, are only possible in females.
• Calico: A calico cat has a base color of white with unbrindled patches of red and black (or their respective dilutes).
• Tortoiseshell and White: A tortoiseshell cat has a base color of white with brindled solid or tabby patches of red and black (or their respective dilutes).
• Tabby: Tabby cats have banded hairs which result in stripes. There are five different kinds of tabby markings.
• Agouti: The Agouti tabby, also known as the ticked tabby or Abyssinian tabby, appears solid at first glance. However, the individual hairs on the cat’s body are banded like a tabby, and the cat will still have distinctive tabby markings on its face.
• Spotted Tabby: Spotted tabbies will still have distinctive stripes on their face, but the tabby markings on the rest of their body are spotted.
• Classic Tabby: The classic tabby, also known as the marbled tabby, has thick stripes that form swirls or a bulls-eye on the cat’s sides.
• Mackerel Tabby: Mackerel tabbies have parallel stripes running down the sides of their body, but they can be broken into spots, as well. Mackerel tabby cats most closely resemble tigers.
• Patched Tabby: Patched tabbies can come in any of the above patterns, but will have a combination of two colors throughout the coat. This pattern is only possible in females .
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Many people mistakenly believe that the distinctive “M” shape on a Maine Coon’s forehead is unique only to Maine Coons. However, this isn’t actually the case.

This “M” shape is seen on all tabby cats.

Maine Coons are known for having a different kind of distinctive marking, however.

Many Maine Coons have several dark rings around the base of their tail, which often makes them resemble raccoons.

The genetics behind a cat’s coloration and pattern is actually quite complicated.

Here is a more simplified explanation of Maine Coon color genetics :

In cats, the main three possible colors are white, red, and black.

White coloration is actually caused by a lack of pigmentation in a cat’s fur and is determined by the KIT gene. A cat can only have as much white as one of its parents. For example, an entirely white cat must have at least one parent who is also all white.

Black and its dilutes are caused by a pigmentation known as eumelanin. Black dilution is caused by a recessive version of eumelanin. A cat whose parents both had recessive eumelanin genes can result in a diluted version of black.

Red and its dilute, cream, are caused by a pigmentation known as pheomelanin. This gene is different from eumelanin because it is sex-linked on the X chromosome. This means that a cat can only receive the red gene if its parent of the same sex also has that same gene.

Another interesting thing to note about the red gene is that red cats are always tabby.

Even if a red or cream cat appears solid in color, that means it is a ticked tabby.

Furthermore, red cats are more likely to be male than female, with about 75% of red cats being male.

Calico or tortoiseshell cats are cats who have both black and red coloration. However, this is only possible in female cats.

The reason behind this is that the color is determined by a cat’s X chromosome, and since females contain two X chromosomes, they can receive one copy of each color.

Surprisingly enough, the most common color in Maine Coon cats is black.

The classic image of a brown tabby Maine Coon causes many people to assume that the most common Maine Coon color is brown, but what a lot of people actually don’t know is that brown tabbies really are black!

The reason behind this is simple: a tabby cat’s true pigment is determined by the color of its stripes.

Even though brown tabbies appear to be mostly brown, because their stripes are actually black, that means that, genetically, they are black in color.

The two rarest Maine Coon coat colors are silver and gold.

These colors are caused by a rare gene known as an inhibitor gene, which allows the top part of a cat’s fur to be pigmented, while the bottom part of a cat’s fur is non pigmented, or white.

This results in a white undercoat and a lightly tipped dilute of black or red on the top part of a cat’s fur, resulting in a color that often looks very much like silver or gold.

These colors are very difficult to produce, and while many breeders specialize in these colorations, they are very rare and highly sought after.

A blue tabby Maine Coon is a kind of tabby cat (either ticked, mackerel, classic, or spotted) that is blue in color.

The color blue is the most common dilute of black, and while it technically appears dark grey in color, the official term amongst breeders is “blue.”

A tortie (or tortoiseshell) Maine Coon is a female Maine Coon cat that is both red and black (or their respective dilutes).

The red and black colors will be brindled, meaning the colors will streak together. It is also possible for a tortoiseshell to have white markings.

Many people confuse tortoiseshells and calico cats. There are two main differences between tortoiseshells and calicos.

Calico cats are always tricolor, which means that they always have varying amounts of red, black, and white.

Tortoiseshells, meanwhile, can either be just black and red, or they can be black and red with patches of white.

Secondly, calicos are unbrindled, which means that the patches of red and black are distinct from one another, and do not bleed together.

The tortoiseshell, on the other hand, has brindled patches of black and red that bleed together.

One common myth among cat owners is known as “tortie-tude,” which suggests that tortoiseshell or calico cats are more likely to be feisty, independent, or rude.

However, a cat’s temperament is not at all determined by its coat color or pattern.

One possible explanation for “tortie-tude” is that it’s the fault of the owners.

Tortoiseshell and calico cats are seen as beautiful and highly sought after and are often the first to be adopted in shelters.

As a result, many tortoiseshell and calico cats are pampered from a young age, and develop quite an attitude as they get older!

A shaded Maine Coon will have a white undercoat with moderate tipping of either silver or gold coloration throughout the body, typically on the sides, face, and tail.

It is caused by a rare inhibitor gene that makes the very base of the hair white, while the tip is colored.

Many people mix up a cat’s coat pattern with its breed. It’s important to recognize that a cat’s coat color or pattern does not determine what kind of breed it is.

For example, there’s no such thing as a “tabby” breed of cat.

Maine Coon cats can be tabbies, but not all tabbies are Maine Coons. Furthermore, not every breed of cat can be a tabby.

For example, breeds with strict color and pattern standards, such as the Russian Blue or the Bombay, are incapable of being tabbies.