page_title: Bicolor cat
section_title: Grades and frequency in breeds
hierarchical_section_title: Bicolor cat / Grades and frequency in breeds
caption_attribution_description: English: A cow cat
context_page_description: A bicolor cat or piebald cat is a cat with white fur combined with fur of some other color, for example black or tabby. There are various patterns of bicolor cat. These range from Turkish Van pattern through to solid color with a throat locket.
  Where there is low-to-medium grade white spotting limited to the face, paws, throat and chest of an otherwise black cat, they are known in the United States as a tuxedo cat. High-grade bicolor results in Van-pattern cats. There are many patterns between, such as "cap-and-saddle", "mask-and-mantle" and "magpie". Bicolors are found in many cat breeds, as well as being common in domestic longhair and domestic shorthair cats.
  Mostly-solid-color bicolor cats occur because there is a white spotting gene present along with a recessive allele of the agouti gene, which evens out the usual striped pattern of the colors of the coat. In contrast, tabby cats have an agouti gene that produces striping of the coat. The Abyssinian has agouti fur, giving the appearance of even color with color-banded hairs.
  White spotting can also occur with any of the tabby patterns, resulting in tabby-and-white bicolors.
context_section_description: Bicoloration in cats is graded from one to ten with one being completely black and ten being completely white. There are also several patterns with their own names. The cat labelled "bicolor" is the preferred pattern in show-quality bicolor purebred cats. The Cat Registry Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) states that for a "standard" bicolor coat to compete in shows: “the color patches must be clearly separated from each other, even in color and harmoniously distributed. At least ½ should be colored, but not more than ¾; the rest is white.” In comparison, The Cat Fancier Organization (CFA) says that “cats with no more than a locket and/or button [patch on chest] do not qualify for this color class.”
  Another type of black-and-white bicolor cat is referred to as a "cow cat" or "moo cat" and includes the magpie, cap-and-saddle and mask-and-mantle patterns. A cow cat does not have the solid black "jacket" of the tuxedo cat. Instead, it has large black patches over a mostly white body, often with a black mask over the head. "Black-mask cats" are so called because they look like they are wearing a black mask over their head.
  
   
  The Turkish Van (white and red) is one good example of a bicolor breed. Van pattern is known to animal geneticists as the Seychelles (Seychellois) pattern and is classified into three variants:
  Seychellois Neuvieme is white with colored tail and head splashes (classic Turkish Van pattern)
  Seychellois Huitieme is white with colored tail and head splashes plus additional splashes of color on the legs
  Seychellois Septieme is white with splashes of color on the legs and body in addition to those on the head and the colored tail
  These are high grade white spotting of types nine, eight and seven.
  This coloration is not restricted to a specific breed of cat, as it can be found in many different types of pure-breed as well as mixed-breed domestic cats. However, some breeds are especially noted for having bicolor coats in their breed standards. These include the Turkish Van, American Shorthair, Manx, British Shorthair, and Turkish Angora.
  In contrast, other common breeds of cat have specific coat patterns specified in their breed standards. These cats are therefore never seen in the bicolor pattern. Cats with such specific coat patterns include the Russian Blue, which has a coat of one solid color.
caption: A cow cat
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