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Expert: - 1/13/2012


Question
Jax
Jax  
I have a solid blue cat that has had a few litters of kittens...she usually has at least one Siamese and mostly solid blue like her, but awhile back she had what appeared to be a solid black cat.  As the kitten got to be about 6 weeks old we could see that it had black stripes when it was in day light.  We also noticed that the kittens undercoat was white!  We kept this kitten since it was so unique.  I noticed in a previous question that you got about this type of colored cat that you stated that as the cat got older it would likely loose this coloring and the fur grow in solid black.  Well, our cat is now 2 years old and the fur has not changed....he still has white roots! Do you know what kind of breed this cat might be?  I have attached a photo.

Answer
Hi Darlene,

Jax is amazing! Outside of planned purebred lines, he is indeed very rare. Although it is not his breed, his color is called a black smoke tabby. "Black smoke" refers to a black coat with very white roots. And Jax is not a solid smoke but has a tabby markings.

As for his breed, since his parental status is probably mixed, and he has short hair, he would be referred to as a domestic short hair. So his complete description would be domestic short hair black smoke tabby.

Best wishes!
Jessica

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Jessica

Expertise

The areas in which I have gained the most experience are cat health and feral cat management/rescue. I provide supportive care to chronically ill cats, hospice care to terminally ill cats and also am involved in trap-neuter-return efforts. My specialities lie in taming feral cats and in the allopathic treatment of cats with illnesses or special needs. I also have owned Siamese, Himalayans, Abyssinians, Russian Blues, Savannahs, Bengals, Peterbalds, Don Sphynx and Oriental Shorthairs and am well-versed in cat breeds as well as cat behavior and nutrition.

Experience

I have 15 years of extensive experience with cats ranging from breeding to medical care. My daily routine consists of caring for cats with diabetes, thyroid disease, kidney failure, feline leukemia, feline AIDS as well as feral cats. I have experience with liver patients, heart patients, feline infectious peritonitis, cancer, recovery from amputation and trauma, congenital deformities and most every disease in between. I have assisted cats giving birth and hand-nursed kittens who were neglected by their mother from 2 days old through weaning.

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15 years' hands-on experience

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