Coat Color
Russet (Discovered in the Burmese)
The Russet variant results in a gradual color change from brown tabby to red as the cat ages.
More Info
Did you know?
A kitten expressing the Russet variant will initially show a tabby pattern, independent of whether they carry the agouti (banded hair) or non-agouti (solid color) gene!
How it works
Two copies of the Russet variant are needed to produce russet coloration. Russet kittens initially resemble tabby kittens except for the pale tail tip, genital area and paw pads. The nose is entirely pink. The coloration starts to change at the head which usually turns entirely red. Mature russet cats are superficially reddish throughout their coat. Russet can be hidden by other trait variants.
Technical Details
| Gene | MC1R |
|---|---|
| Variant | Deletion |
| Chromosome | E2 |
| Coordinate Start | 63,830,121 |
| Coordinate End | 63,830,123 |
All coordinates reference FelCat9.0
References & Credit
Credit to our scientific colleagues:
Gustafson, N. A., Gandolfi, B., & Lyons, L. A. (2017). Not another type of potato: MC1R and the russet coloration of Burmese cats. Animal Genetics, 48(1), 116–120. View the article