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Understanding Caramels

Learn about the different pigments in cats and how they produce various coat colors, including dense, dilute, and dilute-modified colors. Explore the visual chart of colors affected by the Dilute Modifier gene.

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Understanding Caramels

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  1. Understanding Caramels & the Dilute Modifier effect Deb Armishaw

  2. Black versus Red • pigment in cats comes in two basic forms. • Eumelanin is the dark pigment • it produces black, brown (i.e. chocolate/cinnamon) colour • Phaeomelanin is the bright pigment • it produces red colour

  3. Dense Colours • Black = round shaped Eumelanin granules • Chocolate = oval shaped Eumelanin granules • Cinnamon = spindle shaped Eumelanin granules • Red = round shaped Phaeomelanin granules • dense coloured pigment granules tightly pack hair shaft

  4. Dilute Colours • Blue = clumped round shaped Eumelanin granules • Lilac (Lavender) = clumped oval shaped Eumelanin granules • Fawn = clumped spindle shaped Eumelanin granules • Cream = clumped Phaeomelanin granules • dilute colour pigment grains clump together in hair shaft

  5. Dilute Modified Colours • Blue Caramel = break away single + clumped round shaped Eumelanin granules • Lilac (Lavender) Caramel = break away single + clumped oval shaped Eumelanin granules • Fawn Caramel = break away single + clumped spindle shaped Eumelanin granules • Apricot (Cream Caramel) = break away single + clumped Phaeomelanin granules

  6. 3 Lavender Caramel Oriental Kittens with a Lavender & Blue

  7. Effect • colour granules are clumped • single grains break off • muddies the light in the hair shaft • causes the blue, lilac, fawn and cream to modify • appears to have a browning effect • Coat can have metallic sheen

  8. Caramel is the modification of a colour. • Like tabby or silver it does not and can not stand alone. • It has to have a colour to exist. • It is impossible for a caramel to appear in a litter of two blue, two lilac, two fawn or two cream parents. • The Dm gene has no apparent effect on dense coat colours (Turner, 1992; Vella et al, 1999).

  9. Dense Dilute Modifier Dilute Blue Caramel Blue Black Lavender Caramel Lilac/Lavender Chocolate Fawn Caramel Fawn Cinnamon Red Apricot Cream

  10. There are four base colours • Blue

  11. There are four base colours • Lilac or Lavender

  12. There are four base colours • Fawn

  13. There are four base colours • Cream or • Apricot

  14. Visual Chart of Dm Colours These colours are not exact and are only to show where the Dm gene fits into the colour range.

  15. Lilac Spotted Caramel Oriental

  16. Lavender Caramel Solid (s) Kitten

  17. Lavender Caramel Oriental

  18. Fawn Caramel Lynx (s)

  19. Fawn Caramel Solid Oriental (s)

  20. Blue Silver Caramel Birman

  21. Lavender Caramel Bicolour

  22. Blue Caramel Balinese

  23. References • P Turner (1992) The Birth of Caramels. Courtesy: D Turner, NSWCFA • CM Vella, LM Shelton, JJ McGonagle and TW Stranglen (1999) Colour Inheritance in Robinson’s Genetics for cat breeders and veterinarians. 4th edition, Butterworth Heinemann; Oxford, UK • D Brown (1992) Feline Colour Genetics Dearinger Enterprises; Utah, USA

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