Bicolor cat

A bicolor cat (also bi-colour cat, or a more specific term such as black-and-white cat, or a Tuxedo Cat) is a cat with white fur combined with fur of some other colour, for example solid black, tabby, or colourpointed.^[1] There are various patterns of a bicolour cat. These range from the Van-patterned (colour on the crown of the head and the tail only) to a solid colour with a throat locket or medallion. Bicolour coats are found in many cat breeds, as well as being common in domestic longhair and domestic shorthair cats.

Where there is a low-to-medium grade white spotting limited to the face, paws, throat and chest of an otherwise black cat, they are known in the United States as a tuxedo cat. High-grade bicolour results in Van-patterned cats, which is typical for the Turkish Van breed. There are many patterns, such as "cap-and-saddle", "mask-and-mantle" and "harlequin" (also known as "magpie").^[2]

Mostly-solid-colour bicolour cats occur because there is a white spotting gene present along with a recessive allele of the agouti gene, which evens out the common striped pattern of the colours of the coat. In contrast, tabby cats have an agouti gene that produces striping of the coat. The Abyssinian has agouti (ticked tabby) fur, giving the appearance of even colour with colour-banded hairs.