Grey and White Cat Breeds

My research indicates to me that some people who are interested in cats search for “grey and white cat breeds”. Although there are many cat breeds which are allowed to have grey and white coats under their respective breed standards, there are no cat breeds which must have a coat that is grey and white. Therefore there are no grey and white cat breeds.

The picture above shows the grey and white coat. The cat is a random bred cat in Japan. The photo was taken by tanakawho and published in Flickr.

A grey and white coat is a solid-and-white coat, meaning that the grey parts of the coat is solid, and the remainder is white which is without pigmentation. The colour grey in the world of cats is a dilute black which looks blue/grey. The white parts are caused by the piebald or white spotting gene.

There are 4 cat breeds which must be grey under breed standards: Nebelung, Korat, Chartreux and Russian Blue. However, there is no white in the coats of these cat breeds.

I will end there because there is nothing more to say, although I wish there was!

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The Russian Blue is actually a colour variety of the Russian Shorthair, in the same way that the Blue Persian is a colour variety of Persian. The other varieties currently recognised are Russian White and Russian Black. A similar blue breed, Canon Girdlestone’s Breed, failed to thrive.

The Korat is also an interesting one because it naturally occurs in Lilac an Pointed varieties. These latter are known as Thai Lilac and Thai Pointed, but are Korats in all respects except for colour (the names Lilac Korat and Blue-Point Korat were rejected by Korat breeders).

Another blue breed is the Madura. Blue-grey cats indigenous to Madura and Ra’as islands in Indonesia. It has a triangular face, green eyes, erect ears, medium length tail with visible bend or kink at the end, relatively thick fur. They have a resemblance to the Korat. A true Madura cat on Ra’as island is solid blue-grey though interbreeding with with cats on Madura island has produced blue bicolours, brown sepia, mink and colourpoint patterns and bobtailed cats. Also called Buso or Kucing Buso. These are not allowed to be exported off of the island; those few that have been taken from the island reported did not survive (though this may be part of superstition).

The Cuban Blue is a breed under development. At the turn of the 21st century, a Cuban doctor noticed an attractive blue-grey shorthair cat distinct from normal street cats. He located other cats with the same colour and conformation and these became the Cuban Blue (Azul Cubano). It was recognised by the Associación Cubana de Aficionados a los Gatos (Acag) in November 2010 in both shorthair and semilonghair varieties. By 2011, there were 21 adults and 24 kittens. Breeders believe the variety orginated from uncontrolled mating between the traditional/older-style Siamese and black street cats. The Cuban Blue weighs 2.7 – 4.5 kg and is described as active and playful. It resembles, and may be mistaken for, the Russian Blue, but no Russian Blues had been officially imported into Cuba while the head and body conformation differ. However, there are reports of unoffical imports of Russian Blue cats from Russian ships.

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Comments

Grey and White Cat Breeds — 3 Comments

Donna Taylor on December 30, 2020 at 8:45 pm said:
I have a grey and white cat. What could the breed be?
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Autumn on December 27, 2018 at 1:05 pm said:
My cat looks JUST like the cat in the picture above!! The ONLY difference (from what I can see, obviously) is my cat has a dark gray spot on the left side of his nose, and the other side is white. He’s a little “half stash.” Whatever that cat is, is most likely what my little guy is. Looks like their just the feline “mutt.” (:
(Mr. Smokey is A LOT bigger now since the picture has been taken!) 😛
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Sarah on August 7, 2014 at 6:40 am said:
The Russian Blue is actually a colour variety of the Russian Shorthair, in the same way that the Blue Persian is a colour variety of Persian. The other varieties currently recognised are Russian White and Russian Black. A similar blue breed, Canon Girdlestone’s Breed, failed to thrive.
The Korat is also an interesting one because it naturally occurs in Lilac an Pointed varieties. These latter are known as Thai Lilac and Thai Pointed, but are Korats in all respects except for colour (the names Lilac Korat and Blue-Point Korat were rejected by Korat breeders).
Another blue breed is the Madura. Blue-grey cats indigenous to Madura and Ra’as islands in Indonesia. It has a triangular face, green eyes, erect ears, medium length tail with visible bend or kink at the end, relatively thick fur. They have a resemblance to the Korat. A true Madura cat on Ra’as island is solid blue-grey though interbreeding with with cats on Madura island has produced blue bicolours, brown sepia, mink and colourpoint patterns and bobtailed cats. Also called Buso or Kucing Buso. These are not allowed to be exported off of the island; those few that have been taken from the island reported did not survive (though this may be part of superstition).
The Cuban Blue is a breed under development. At the turn of the 21st century, a Cuban doctor noticed an attractive blue-grey shorthair cat distinct from normal street cats. He located other cats with the same colour and conformation and these became the Cuban Blue (Azul Cubano). It was recognised by the Associación Cubana de Aficionados a los Gatos (Acag) in November 2010 in both shorthair and semilonghair varieties. By 2011, there were 21 adults and 24 kittens. Breeders believe the variety orginated from uncontrolled mating between the traditional/older-style Siamese and black street cats. The Cuban Blue weighs 2.7 – 4.5 kg and is described as active and playful. It resembles, and may be mistaken for, the Russian Blue, but no Russian Blues had been officially imported into Cuba while the head and body conformation differ. However, there are reports of unoffical imports of Russian Blue cats from Russian ships.
Reply ↓