Gray or blue?

I often see the color gray referred to as "blue", but I also see it referred to as "gray".

Is it interchangeable? Or is there two different shades of gray and one is called gray and the other is called blue?

I have a gray tabby with white but I don't know if shes actually blue or gray

Blue is the correct term for a grey cat - much the same as you'd call a horse that was coloured white a grey horse, or a red/brown horse with black legs is properly called a bay. Although you hear people referring to grey cats, that is not the correct name for the colour, they are blue cats.

The colour is caused by something called dilution, or maltesing - the black pigment isn't distributed evenly in the hair shaft, but in clumps, so that it appears lighter than a black cat.

The story as told to me:

Once upon a time, a whole bunch of cat fanciers around the world met up for a world cat congress...these cat fanciers were made up of various heads of registries, judges, breed council heads, you get my meaning.

One of the issues discussed was "Do we really want to call gray cats gray?" The answer was a unanimous no. So, it was determined that gray cats be called "blue" as it is a more "romantic" and "nicer" term than grey. Of course, blue cats like the Korats, Chartreux and RBs are BLUE!!!

So, the "correct" and "diplomatic" term for gray cats are Blue!

To the general public its "grey".

To those who are in the cat fancy (showing/breeding, etc.) its blue.


Some other differences:

Public: "orange"/"tan"
Fancy: "Red"/"Cream"


Since I show and am an ex-breeder, I try to use the proper term no matter who I'm speaking to - so its blue, blue tabby, etc.