white tips on cats tails, it that usual?

Hi All, i'm a past cat keeper, or should i say I'm in between cats :-) anyhoo...

I've been noticing quite a few cats with white tips to their tail locally,  both self and tabby, from lightly spotted(white spotting) with just the paws and a blaze to van pattern ... I thought cats didn't have white tail tips like Dogs/foxes do except maybe as a one off....... i'll try to get a pic if any one's Interested...

I've noticed it's very common on red domestics, not that much on other colours. Then again I'm very likely in a completely different part of the world than you, and the moggies over here may vary a bit.

thank you Northernglow, i know that very pale tail tips on orange cats are quite usual in domestics, this being selected against in show cats, but these cats are seemingly the local landrace, they do not look like mixes and are black and white or a wide range of natural brown tabby variations and white... I've not seen white tail tips on cats before and there are no pedigree breeds with it in their standard!

I'm not sure how genes influence white markings (where they are, etc), but I see enough cats with white tail tips that I don't think it's especially unusual. Maybe you just started noticing!

A cat having a white tail tip is not the most common thing but I don't think it is super rare. I have heard it nicknamed a "tail light" .
I guess it's just a chance of how the pigment ends up during embryonic development.

Here is a Persian with a tiny little tail light peeking out from all the black fur http://www.simplefocusphoto.com/Por...44595_rm57Lf#!i=1933037646&k=wTr8DxZ&lb=1&s=A

here is a Domestic Longhair http://www.coveredincathair.com/sites/coveredincathair.com/files/Demented boy.jpg

I have seen a Domestic Shorthairs that was all black except for a white tip on the tail!

Thank you maewkaew they look like the tail tip on the second link although i suppose cats with a smaller tail light(i love that term) i wouldn't notice so much... it's probably just locally common around here :-)

willow ...the first one was i saw belonged to my niece so i presume it's a bit like getting a new car.. you start seeing them everywhere lol :-)

Sounds like you are describing a Rag Doll cat.

Tippi as an almost white tail tip with just a hint of orange , everybody comments about her tail when they see her

A close up picture of Tippi's whitish tail tip , I like the term " Tail Light " I think Tippi definitely  as one ?

Just found this picture among my collection and it shows her tail light very clear . Is this tail light more common in Tortoiseshell cats that have torbie markings ?

Hi Colin
We have a cat which was a stray that has a white-tipped tail. We live in Southampton.
Did you get any other replies?
Carolyn

Carolyn Barnes said:

Hi Colin
We have a cat which was a stray that has a white-tipped tail. We live in Southampton.
Did you get any other replies?
Carolyn

Click to expand...

This is an old thread, but lets call on Colin,   @colin1963

So we shall perhaps get an update and see.    

Ritz was an abandoned cat, trapped roughly 5 months old. Black and white, markings symetrical. DSH.
As she grew into her tail, she developed a lovely white tip on her tail--like she'd dipped her tail into a can of paint.