Question about kittens color / coat

[Lanny]

Hello all. New here!

We acquired a kitten 3 weeks ago and his color is pretty cool. I haven't seen a cat with this color before and tried to research but I think he is a smoke? Or maybe a smoke tabby? I believe he is a regular domestic long hair. Snapped a few pics before work to see if someone might know more!

Thanks in advance

 

[Kieka]

At first glance, I think that's a fever coat. It's usually an indication that mom was ill during pregnancy and the kittens pigment didn't fully develop in utero. It usually grows out during the first few months when the coat transitions from kitten to adult coat.

 

[Lanny]

Wow I never heard of that. Looked through some pictures and you may be correct! Thanks!

 

[thefiresidecat]

it could be a fever coat.. but (and I don't have any experience with fever coats so grain of salt here) he's actually showing patterns with that coloring? I thought fever coats were more complete? how old is he? it looks like maybe he has a little maine coon in there to me. very pretty kitten either way!!

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Is his fur dark at the skin and white at the tips that is usually indicative of fever coat.. in the picture of his belly it looks like some is white at the skin and darker at the ends?? in the pictures it seems like this coloring is just his coat.. but that is just the pictures that I'm looking at.

 

[StefanZ]

I agree smoke. What Im unsure about, is if he is solid with strong ghost markings, or if he is a real black smoke classic tabby.

 

[Lanny]

Thanks for all the responses.

how old is he?

We're not sure. We are guessing he was born early may.

Is his fur dark at the skin and white at the tips that is usually indicative of fever coat.. in the picture of his belly it looks like some is white at the skin and darker at the ends??

His coat on his belly where he is light grey has an ever so slightly darker grey at the base near his skin. I'll try to post some better picture soon! His face, feet, tail and his back are dark black, even though some of these picture look more grey. It's hard to capture decent pictures while he is zooming around haha!

Here are some pictures we have of when he younger.

 

[Lanny]

Here's a few more !

I tried to get more pictures of his under coat.

I do understand he's a kitten and his coat will change as he grows.

 

[Kieka]

If he was darker when younger, then I retract fever coat.

 

[thefiresidecat]

where did you get him? shelter? did you find him? with that coat and his looks.. I think he might have some recent maine coon ancestry. google black smoke maine coon kittens. there are certain things like the huge tufts between the toes i'm seeing coming in on your baby and the shape of his face to the proportion of his ears. is he big for his age? the vet should be able to tell pretty closely how old he is by kitten hallmarks.

that's a gorgeous kitten!! and he's going to be a seriously gorgeous adult.

 

[Lanny]

where did you get him? shelter? did you find him?

A lady my girlfriend works with fosters kittens for a shelter. He was one of a small litter that were supposedly found in a barn. They were about ready for the rescue and my girlfriend mentioned we were looking so we got to pick from the litter she had. We noticed he had some grey mixed in with his coat and thought wow that's unusual so we picked him!

He has already been neutered and had a few rounds of shots from the vet. I feel like when we first saw some pictures she mentioned the litter was around 8 weeks old and that was in late June.

 

[thefiresidecat]

A lady my girlfriend works with fosters kittens for a shelter. He was one of a small litter that were supposedly found in a barn. They were about ready for the rescue and my girlfriend mentioned we were looking so we got to pick from the litter she had. We noticed he had some grey mixed in with his coat and thought wow that's unusual so we picked him!

He has already been neutered and had a few rounds of shots from the vet. I feel like when we first saw some pictures she mentioned the litter was around 8 weeks old and that was in late June.

eh I was wondering if maybe he was a breeders oopsie litter. backyard breeders can be bad that way. if you're on the eastern seaboard that's where maine coons naturally are from. where i'd expect it to be high in the general moggie genetic make up. lol I hope you keep us updated with baby pics. love to watch his progression.

 

[Lanny]

He's getting bigger! He's about 16 pounds and we think about 7 months old

 

[thefiresidecat]

wow. has to have some recent purebred for that coat and size and floof. what a stunner. how floof is his tail?

 

[Kris107]

What a great update! His coat is so unique!

 

[Lanny]

His tail is incredibly floofy thefiresidecat

I'll try to get a shot when he is sitting duck style ( you know where they tuck thier front paws under and look like a duck )

 

[Devia Morgenstern]

He definitely appears to be a black smoke, probably with some pedigree ancestry I'd wager.