How cat colors work

A short tour of the four genes this site actually calculates. Flip the switches to preview a simplified phenotype image.

Preview controls

Agouti (A)

Dilute (D)

Orange (O) — simplified as full orange vs not

This demo is illustrative only (black series fixed as black). Use the calculator for litter probabilities with carriers.

Example coat color

Brown Tabby

A- D- non-orange · black series

The four primary genes

B series: Controls black-type pigment. B (black) dominates b (chocolate) and bl (cinnamon).

Agouti (A): A- allows tabby banding; aa is solid. Ghost striping on solids is common in kittens.

Orange (O): On the X chromosome. Males need one O to be red; females with Oo are tortoiseshell. Red usually looks tabby.

Dilute (d): Recessive. Black→blue, chocolate→lilac, cinnamon→fawn, red→cream. Both parents must pass d for a dilute kitten.

Not covered here: white spotting (calico/bicolor), silver/smoke (I), colorpoint (cs/cb), amber (e), or tabby pattern subtype. Those need extra loci or DNA tests.

Open the calculator