Albino. We'll finish out our list of rare cat colors with the rarest of them all: albino. This is when there's no coloring at all, and it impacts not just a cat's fur, but also its eyes and skin.
The Sokoke cat is said to be the rarest cat in the world. Rather than being a man-created breed, the Sosoke is a naturally occurring, tiny wildcat that can be found only in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Preserve in Kenya (Africa).
Tuxedo cats (black/white, gray/white) topped the rankings, scoring in the top percentile of all categories. Beautiful and loving, tuxedos enjoy humans, respect their surroundings, and never miss when nature calls!
Black cats seem to be the most common coat color and sadly also the least desirable at adoption time. In fact, black cats are half as likely to find a home than a cat of another color. Why is this? Superstition?
What color cat is the most popular? While not definitive, surveys reveal that the most popular cat colors in the U.S. include orange tabbies and tuxedo-colored cats (black and white).
Entirely or primarily black cats will be less likely adopted—and more likely euthanized—than cats of other colors.
Black Is the Most Common Feline Coat Color
It is not a glitch in the matrix; black is actually the most common coat color among felines. The gene for expressing eumelanin—the pigment needed to make black fur—is dominant in black cats. A cat usually gets two copies of a gene, one from mom and one from dad.
Known as "lilac" or "lavender," this beautiful pastel color isn't actually purple. Like Fawn is to Cinnamon, Lilac is an even lighter dilution of the Chocolate gene. As recessive traits, dilutions like fawn and lilac are rare even in pedigree cats.
This size makes the Maine Coon one of the largest domestic cat breeds in the world. Reputable breeders of Maine Coons can start their kitten prices at $1,000.
#1: Ragdoll
This large, longhaired cat with a plush coat is ranked No. 1 for the third year in a row. Ragdolls were first recognized as an official breed by CFA in 1998, and they come in 3 different patterns, all with piercing blue eyes and a calm disposition.
Ashera Cat | >$125,000
The Ashera cat is considered the most expensive cat breed in the world, with prices reaching up to $100,000 or more. This is due to its rarity and the fact that it is a hybrid breed, created by breeding an African serval, an Asian leopard cat, and a domestic house cat.
Blue cat breeds have an intriguing and captivating appearance. Technically, this coat color is a dilution of the black coat gene. The diluted gene produces a coat color that is various shades of bluish-gray. Four cat breeds come only in a blue hue, while six other types of cats have the possibility of a blue coat.
Impact of Perception on Cats' Lives
A study described by the University of California, Berkeley discovered that: "Overall, orange cats and bi-colored cats were characterized as friendly, while black cats, white cats, and tri-colored cats were regarded as more antisocial.
A bicolor cat, also known as a piebald cat, is a cat with a coat consisting of one primary color combined with any amount of white.
Orange tabby cats are usually male.
In fact, up to 80 percent of orange tabbies are male, making orange female cats a bit of a rarity. According to the BBC's Focus Magazine, the ginger gene in cats works a little differently compared to humans; it is on the X chromosome.
Is gray a rare color for cats? Nope. “This may break the hearts of gray cat owners, but gray cats are relatively common,” says Kristin Wuellner, DVM, a veterinarian with Hill's Pet Nutrition.
Why are ginger cats rare? Female ginger cats are very rare because of genetics. The red colour is in fact dependent on the Orange gene with a dominant 'O' and a recessive 'o' gene. Its peculiarity is that it can only be transmitted by females.
Blue and violet are the most calming colors to cats. These colors can actually help reduce stress in your cat. They are the preferred shades in veterinary offices because of how cats react to them. If the walls were painted in a stark white or bland gray, the room would seem abrasive to your feline friend.
The domestic cat is attributed a value of between 1–1.71; relative to human value, that is 7.44–7.8. The largest brains in the family Felidae are those of the tigers in Java and Bali. It is debated whether there exists a causal relationship between brain size and intelligence in vertebrates.
What colors can cats see best? When exploring what colors cats see best, it is believed that cats are able to easily detect blue hues. More specifically, blue-violet hues are easiest for our felines to detect, but the yellow-green wavelengths of light are also easy to see.
Tabbies are probably the most common type of homeless cats we see. Tabbies come in lots of colors. The most common is the brown or brown/grey tabby, which generally has brown, black and grey blended together. You can also have grey tabbies, orange tabbies, and cream or buff tabbies.