Midnight's fur changing colors again

[my4llma]

Back when I 1st got Midnight his fur changed color. Some of his black turned to a gray, and he got stripes. I know kittens, and older cats fur can change colors. Or If a cat has a wound the fur could grow back a different color.

Midnight just turned 1 last month. He didn't have a wound, but back in May he had a lion cut. His fur is now beginning to really grow back. Brushing him I noticed his fur on his lower stomach, inside of his legs is now light gray/silver. It was brown. The bottom side of his tail is now this gray/silver color. His tail wasn't shaved, when they did the lion cut they left his tail alone. Also some of the black on his face is now that lighter gray/silver color. His face wasn't shaved when they did the lion cut.

So is this normal?

 

[luvmyparker]

Parker, though normally solid black, has patches of fur that turn various shades of grey and back to black every year or 2. Its usually on his belly, near his front legs.
Maybe it is normal for some cats.

 

[minka]

So wait.. when you got him he was a black cat... and then he turned into a brown/gray tabby and now he's a gray/silver tabby??
O___O

 

[my4llma]

Originally Posted by LuvMyParker

Parker, though normally solid black, has patches of fur that turn various shades of grey and back to black every year or 2. Its usually on his belly, near his front legs.
Maybe it is normal for some cats.

That is kinda like what Midnight's fur is doing.

 

[my4llma]

Originally Posted by Minka

So wait.. when you got him he was a black cat... and then he turned into a brown/gray tabby and now he's a gray/silver tabby??
O___O

I got Midnight when he was 3 weeks old. He was black. Then he started getting gray in him, losing the black. By 8 weeks old he got stripes and less black. After that he didn't change again until now. He just turned 1 last month.

He had a lion cut done back in May. His fur is really beginning to grow in now. His lower belly, inside of his legs was brown and now it's a very light gray/silver. The bottom side of his tail which wasn't shaved at all was brown, now it's that same light gray/silver color. The same thing is happening on his face.

 

[Winchester]

That is very strange. I know that our Hydrox's fur would change in the summer, sometimes, depending on how much sun he got from lying in the windows. He was an all-black kitty, but sometimes we actually saw stripes on him as his black fur would lighten. And sometimes it would turn a reddish color; it all depended on how much sun he would get.

But I have no idea why a lion cut would change fur on Midnight. Could it just be that he was a kitten and as he's getting older, he's getting more of an adult fur? Or he's getting an undercoat that's a different color? And maybe as a kitty ages (like our Hydrox did), the coat loses some color? I don't know.

 

[libby74]

We've never had a cat shaved, but we used to have our RB Sheltie shaved for the summer months. When her fur started to grow back, it always seemed to be a light color. By the time it grew back completely, it was the
"right" color again. I think her undercoat was growing in first, and it was always lighter.

 

[catbehaviors]

Midnight has gone through many changes! I don't know what the cause could be... as Libby said, it could be undercoat growing in first, but then again it's on his tail and face too. Orange cats grow freckles as they age, but I've never heard of fur changing like this.

 

[feralvr]

This is very normal and can happen with many cats coming into their winter coats. Also, after shaving, yes the coat can change tones a bit. Also, Midnight just turned ONE

and isn't he a Maine Coon? Those cats can keep growing and changing up until eighteen months of age and their coats will be changing during that time as well. You have a very lovely and handsome boy and it will be exciting to see how his coat finishes up

 

[arlyn]

A lot of brown tabbies are pretty black and stripeless as little babies, with stripes appearing as their coat grows in.
And if he does have any MC or Raggie, or NFC or Siberian in him, then yes, those breeds mature slowly.
Not at all unusual for their coat to lighten or darken as they mature and grow in their adult coat.

Take my Spaz as an example, she is Norwegian Forest Cat (NFC).
As a a baby she was quite dark, as she matured, she got lighter.

Spaz at 5 weeks:


Spaz at 6 months


Spaz at 2 years


Spaz now (17)

 

[libby74]

Wow, Arlyn---Spaz is absolutely gorgeous!

 

[arlyn]

Thank you, she sure thinks so

 

[my4llma]

I'm sure it's normal and nothing to worry about. I will show the vet when he goes, just incase.

 

[my4llma]

Originally Posted by Arlyn

A lot of brown tabbies are pretty black and stripeless as little babies, with stripes appearing as their coat grows in.
And if he does have any MC or Raggie, or NFC or Siberian in him, then yes, those breeds mature slowly.
Not at all unusual for their coat to lighten or darken as they mature and grow in their adult coat.

Take my Spaz as an example, she is Norwegian Forest Cat (NFC).
As a a baby she was quite dark, as she matured, she got lighter.

Spaz at 5 weeks:


Spaz at 6 months


Spaz at 2 years


Spaz now (17)

She did get lighter when she grew up!

What a beautiful cat!