glitter in my meezer?

tiffanyjbt

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Glitter is mostly a bengal thing because most breeders select for it. I have never seen it in person, but from the descriptions I've heard I think my siamese kitten has some glitter in his coat. Its hard to get a good pic of it, but heres a few.







So whaddaya think? Glitter?

I'll try to get some pics of the 'glitter' on his points because they look more golden (but are even harder to photograph 'cause Duke doesn't like me touching his paws
)

K, I got a bottle of Moet & Chandon with my name on it!
 

goldenkitty45

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I don't think its glitter. I've had red/cream cats in the past and its just how the light hits the color.

Maybe the bengal breeders in here can explain or show us the difference
 
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tiffanyjbt

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Maybe not GK. Just curious. Duke isn't red or cream though. He's a seal point.

Here's a closeup of His Meezerness:


Have I mentioned lately how much I love this cat?
 

pami

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Awwwwwwwww look at that face!!!! He has such a sweety pie face
 

goldenkitty45

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Its that beigy cream coat then. But siamese do NOT have glitter coats
Its just the sunlight shining on the coat.
 
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tiffanyjbt

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It may just be the lighting over the bar. Its on a dimmer. Its strange because sometimes his fur looks matte, and then other times it looks very shiny and sparkly. I've seen shiny coated white cats, and this isn't the same. His coat looks exactly like that pic, but a little more shimmery in person. Especially on his chin, his paws and the backs of his hind legs... Of course, those are all difficult parts to photograph.

I think I'll also ask some veterans at Dukes first cat show in a few weeks what their opinion is of this.

Duke doesn't "wake up" until 4pm, so pics of his paws will have to wait.
At least he's puctual though.
 

yosemite

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He sure is a handsome devil, with or without glitter.
As to how much you love him - how can anyone not love a meezer? (I could be a bit biased here though.)
 

bengalbabe

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A new mutant gene, satin (sa), is descnbed in the guinea pig. The gene is inherited as autosomal recessive to normal coat. Macroscopically, the gene produces a satin sheen to the coat. The effect is more apparent on light-colored phenotypes (white, red, and cream) than on dark phenotypes (black and chocolate) and on the light areas of certain dark phenotypes, such as the light stomach fur of the agouti and the white patches of piebald spotted. Microscopically, satin hairs are thinner than normal and have reduced medullation. Satin mutants in mammalian species are reviewed briefly.

I also had a hamster with satin fur. The fur was just breathtaking. Does anyone know of cats with this satin gene? Maybe that's what your kitty has.
 

goldenkitty45

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Read about the satin gene in mice long time ago - the pictures are very breathtaking. At the time it was not found in dogs/cats.

Perhaps the "glitter" gene is similar?
 

bengalbabe

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Read about the satin gene in mice long time ago - the pictures are very breathtaking. At the time it was not found in dogs/cats.

Perhaps the "glitter" gene is similar?
Actually there are two types of "glitter" , there is the gene that creates a hollow hair shaft. When the light passes through somehow it reflects the light like a prism and creates the glitter effect. The second type of glitter is hair that actually has the mineral 'mica' encased in it! To me this sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. It is amazing that a gene could cause a mineral to be embedded into a hair shaft.
 

bengalbabe

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Originally Posted by bengalbabe

Actually there are two types of "glitter" , there is the gene that creates a hollow hair shaft. When the light passes through somehow it reflects the light like a prism and creates the glitter effect. The second type of glitter is hair that actually has the mineral 'mica' encased in it! To me this sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. It is amazing that a gene could cause a mineral to be embedded into a hair shaft.
Oh and interestingly I noticed on my own cats that the gliiter seems to really stand out most on the dark colored cats (mohogany brown and charcoal brown). In the description of satin, this is not the case.

Another interesting thing is in bengals there are two different colors of glitter. A silver glitter on charcoal browns, silvers and snows, and the golden color on the warmer colors.
 
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tiffanyjbt

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I may have asked you this before Terra, but is it possible to have both types of glitter in the same cat? Which type came from Toby/Tory of Delhi? Is one seen more frequently in bengals than the other? Is the hollow shaft type seen in other cat breeds and the 'mineral deposits' type seen only in bengals? Have I asked enough questions yet???
 

bengalbabe

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Originally Posted by tiffanyjbt

I may have asked you this before Terra, but is it possible to have both types of glitter in the same cat? Which type came from Toby/Tory of Delhi? Is one seen more frequently in bengals than the other? Is the hollow shaft type seen in other cat breeds and the 'mineral deposits' type seen only in bengals? Have I asked enough questions yet???
Good questions. I have not seen any cats personally with both colors of glitter at once (silver and gold). Im not sure if the different colors of glitter are the same gene or different genes. It could be that they are the same gene but the different hair color affects the way the glitter looks. It looks so dramatically different that I don't know how that could be possible though. Now IF they are two seperate genes, theoretically it could be possible to inherit both genes at once I would assume. I personally believe that cats can have both types of glitter though (the mica and the hollow shafts).

I do not know which type of gene came from the original glitter carrier. I believe that the mineral type of glitter is pretty much only in the bengal breed but I *think* I have heard of some persians having the hollow hair shaft type of gillter. I could be wrong though.
 
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