Question about coat coloration

Hi, I have a question about the coat color of my latest addition, Hypnos. His coat is still growing in, so I am not sure what the final look will be, but...
His mother is a blue-cream tortie and his dad is a sepia seal point
Hypnos has black? or sepia? seal? coloring, particulary on his face, back of ears, paws and tail, along with some blue, but now their is obvious white coming through as well. To me, he looks kind of like rexes that are considered black smokes, but in reality I am not sure this is the case. Any opinions?
Thanks!
http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/a...h_100_0531.jpg
http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/a...h_100_0530.jpg

Pics are small, but I think he looks like a black smoke.

Didn't the breeder tell you the colour?

Does look like a nice black smoke in the pictures - but one parent would have to be a smoke in order to get a smoke - its not recessive. Is there any possibility one of the parents is a smoke and not marked properly?

Well, I know that there is black smoke in Nombre and Azzurri's lineages, but....well, here are pics of his parents:
Nombre
http://www.devonrex.com/album/galler...28DF1A785D.jpg
Azzurri
http://www.devonrex.com/album/galler...A74CAE06F7.jpg
Oh, and here is one of the pics of Hypnos supersized

I don't know if the black smoke is genetically possible? Could he be a sepia or seal mink point?

Originally Posted by missymotus

Pics are small, but I think he looks like a black smoke.

Didn't the breeder tell you the colour?

Click to expand...

Well, he wasn't sure what he would be. He thought maybe a seal blue point, but judging is coat color and the addition of white, I would guess it's not the case. He classified my other cat Ares as a cream point, but IMO (due to Ares's red lynx markings and white undercoat) he is really a cameo.

What color are his eyes? Mink or sepia point would have aqua or blue eyes, I think.

Aah - Hypnos's eyes a dark gold, so that would not fit, would it? Wow - cat trait inheritance is definitely complex!

Does look like a smoke to me - one of the parents must have genetically been a smoke but with the undercoat band on the hair next to the skin too narrow for the white to show - the width of that band is controlled by other genes, so it is technically possible for a genetic smoke not to have enough white visible to look like a smoke - if that makes sense!

He's definately not blue or sepia. Not a chance. He's either black or black smoke. Since we're talking about a Devon Rex there's a possibility he's black, pure and simple. Just not properly pigmented yet (might not ever be). Many Devon Rexes with "poor pigmentation" (Devon Rexes don't get points by the color) are mistaken for being silver/smoke.

If I would register a kitten with that color I'd register it as black. Of becoming a clear case of black smoke as an adult I'd say it's quite likely the mother is smoke. Silver/smoke in blue pigmented cats isn't always visible.

Thanks for all the info! I am glad I asked about this

Rexes (devons and cornish) have a hard time with "smoke" as they are undercoat and if you read the decription of a smoke its "black with white undercoat" - so literally a devon/cornish with only undercoat would be "white". I can't tell for certain but mom looks like she "may" be a blue or blue/cream smoke.

One parent HAS to be smoke - you don't carry that gene - it either shows or it doesn't.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Rexes (devons and cornish) have a hard time with "smoke" as they are undercoat and if you read the decription of a smoke its "black with white undercoat" - so literally a devon/cornish with only undercoat would be "white". I can't tell for certain but mom looks like she "may" be a blue or blue/cream smoke.

One parent HAS to be smoke - you don't carry that gene - it either shows or it doesn't.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much, I love getting getting your sage advice! I wish I had a better pic of Azzurri - yeah, I am just not sure what the story is with Hypnos's coat.

Maybe he's just a rebel who don't let no genetics tell HIM what to do!

Heh. Anyway, I have no idea. He's so cute, though! Huge ears... and I bet his fur's really soft, isn't it?

Yeah, his fur is super soft, kind of like suede. I can't wait until his coat comes in more. His older brother Ares has rippled fur that is SO soft

He is a cutie no matter what coat color he is.

I'm not an expert in coat color but I do have a black smoke.

Lil' Jag as a 3.5 month old kitten. (possibly at 4 months).


Now at 3. 5 years old.

Looks like a smoke, but the true way of telling is to part the hair on the back or head and look at the ROOTS of the hair next to the skin. A smoke will have white at the base - not greyish and black at the tips.

On some cats its hard to tell at times.