Maine Coon Colors and Patterns

 Breed Colors and Patterns for Maine Coon Cats

We register our Cats with TICA (The International Cat Association) 

TICA Southeast Region has done a great job of explaining colors on their site: http://www.seregiontica.org/Colors/intro.htm

We have used The Cat Fanciers Association also Below is the descriptions as they have them on their site. 

EYE COLOR: eye color can be shades of green, gold, green-gold or copper.
Blue-eyes or odd-eyes are also allowed for white or bi-color (including vans)
patterned cats.

Solid Color Class:
WHITE: pure glistening white. Nose leather and paw pads: pink.

BLACK: dense coal black, sound from roots to tip of fur. Free from any tinge
of rust on tips or smoke undercoat. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black or
brown.

BLUE: one level tone from nose to tip of tail. Sound to the roots. Nose
leather and paw pads: blue.

RED: deep, rich, clear, brilliant red; without shading, markings, or ticking.
Lips and chin the same color as coat. Nose leather and paw pads: brick red.

CREAM: one level shade of buff cream, without markings. Sound to the
roots. Nose leather and paw pads: pink.

Tabby Patterns:

CLASSIC TABBY PATTERN: markings dense, clearly defined, and broad.
Legs evenly barred with bracelets coming up to meet the body markings.
Tail evenly ringed. Several unbroken necklaces on neck and upper chest, the
more the better. Frown marks on forehead form an intricate letter "M."
Unbroken line runs back from outer corner of eye. Swirls on cheeks. Vertical
lines over back of head extend to shoulder markings which are in the shape
of a butterfly with both upper and lower wings distinctly outlined and
marked with dots inside outline. Back markings consist of a vertical line
down the spine from butterfly to tail with a vertical stripe paralleling it on
each side, the three stripes well separated by stripes of the ground color.
Large solid blotch on each side to be encircled by one or more unbroken
rings. Side markings should be the same on both sides. Double vertical rows
of buttons on chest and stomach.

MACKEREL TABBY PATTERN: markings dense, clearly defined, and all
narrow pencillings. Legs evenly barred with narrow bracelets coming up to
meet the body markings. Tail barred. Necklaces on neck and chest distinct,
like so many chains. Head barred with an "M" on the forehead. Unbroken
lines running back from the eyes. Lines running down the head to meet the
shoulders. Spine lines run together to form a narrow saddle. Narrow
pencillings run around body.

PATCHED TABBY PATTERN: a patched tabby (torbie) is an established
silver, brown, blue or blue-silver tabby with patches of red or cream.

Brown Tabby Color Class:

BROWN TABBY (classic, mackerel): ground color brilliant coppery brown.
Markings dense black. Back of leg black from paw to heel. White trim around
lip and chin allowed. Nose leather and paw pads: black or brown desirable.

Brown Patched Tabby Color Class:

BROWN PATCHED TABBY: ground color brilliant coppery brown. Markings
dense black with patches of red.

All Other Tabby Colors Class:

SILVER TABBY (classic, mackerel, patched): ground color pale, clear silver.
Markings dense black. White trim around lip and chin allowed. Nose leather:
brick red desirable. Paw pads: black desirable.

BLUE-SILVER TABBY (classic, mackerel, patched): ground color pale, clear
silver. Markings a deep blue affording a good contrast with ground color.
White trim around lip and chin allowed. Nose leather: old rose desirable. Paw
pads: rose desirable.

RED TABBY (classic, mackerel): ground color red. Markings deep, rich red.
White trim around lip and chin allowed. Nose leather and paw pads: brick
red desirable.

BLUE TABBY (classic, mackerel, patched): ground color pale bluish Ivory.
Markings a very deep blue affording a good contrast with ground color.
Warm fawn overtones or patina over the whole. White trim around lip and
chin allowed. Nose leather: old rose desirable. Paw pads: rose desirable.

CREAM TABBY (classic, mackerel): ground color very pale cream. Markings
of buff or cream sufficiently darker than the ground color to afford good
contrast but remaining within the dilute range. White trim around lip and
chin allowed. Nose leather and paw pads: pink desirable.

CREAM SILVER TABBY (classic, mackerel): ground color off-white. Markings
cream. Undercoat white. Lips and chin the same shade as the rings around
the eyes. Nose leather and paw pads: pink desirable.

CAMEO TABBY (classic, mackerel): ground color off-white. Markings red.
White trim around lip and chin allowed. Nose leather and paw pads: rose
desirable.

Brown Tabby & White Color Class (including Vans):

BROWN TABBY & WHITE (classic, mackerel): color as defined for brown
tabby with or without white on the face. Must have white on bib, belly, and
all four paws.

BROWN VAN TABBY & WHITE (classic, mackerel): white with color confined
to the extremities: head, tail, and legs. One or two small colored patches on
body allowable. Tabby pattern to be present in the colored markings.

Brown Patched Tabby & White Color Class (including Vans):

BROWN PATCHED TABBY & WHITE [including vans (classic, mackerel)]:
color as described for patched tabby (torbie) but with distribution of white
markings as described in brown tabby with white. Color as described for
patched tabby (torbie) with or without white on face. Must have white on
bib, belly, and all four paws.

All Other Tabby & White Colors Color Class (including Vans):

TABBY & WHITE (classic, mackerel): color as defined for tabby with or
without white on the face. Must have white on bib, belly, and all four paws.
Colors accepted are silver, blue, blue-silver, red, cream, cream-silver, cameo.

VAN TABBY (classic, mackerel): white with color confined to the extremities:
head, tail, and legs. One or two small colored patches on body allowable.
Tabby pattern to be present in the colored markings.

PATCHED TABBY AND WHITE (torbie with white): color as described for
patched tabby (torbie) but with distribution of white markings as described
in tabby with white and van tabby. Color as described for patched tabby
(torbie) with or without white on face. Must have white on bib, belly, and all
four paws. Colors accepted are blue, silver or blue-silver.

Tortoiseshell Color Class:

TORTOISESHELL: black with patches of red or softly intermingled areas of
red on both the body and the extremities. Presence of several shades of red
acceptable.

Tortoiseshell & White Color Class:

TORTOISESHELL WITH WHITE: color as defined for tortoiseshell with or
without white on the face. Must have white on bib, belly, and all four paws.

Black & White Color Class:

BLACK & WHITE: a combination of black and white. The black area
predominates with the white portions being located on the face, chest, belly,
legs and feet.

Other Parti-Color Color Class:

BLUE-CREAM: blue with patches of cream or softly intermingled areas of
cream on both the body and the extremities.

BLUE-CREAM WITH WHITE: color as defined for blue-cream with or without
white on the face. Must have white on bib, belly, and all four paws.

CALICO: white with unbrindled patches of black and red. White
predominant on underparts.

DILUTE CALICO: white with unbrindled patches of blue and cream. White
predominant on underparts.

BI-COLOR: a combination of a solid color with white. The colored areas
predominate with the white portions being located on the face, chest, belly,
legs, and feet. Colors accepted are red, blue, or cream.

VAN BI-COLOR: white with color confined to the extremities: head, tail, and
legs. One or two small colored patches on body allowable.

Other Maine Coon Colors Class:

CHINCHILLA SILVER: undercoat pure white. Coat on back. flanks, head,
and tail sufficiently tipped with black to give the characteristic sparkling silver
appearance. Legs may be slightly shaded with tipping. Chin, ear tufts,
stomach, and chest, pure white. Rims of eyes, lips, and nose outlined with
black. Nose leather: brick red. Paw pads: black.

SHADED SILVER: undercoat white with a mantle of black tipping shading
down from sides, face, and tail from dark on the ridge to white on the chin,
chest, stomach, and under the tail. Legs to be the same tone as the face.
The general effect to be much darker than a chinchilla. Rims of eyes, lips, and
nose outlined with black. Nose leather: brick red. Paw pads: black.

SHELL CAMEO (red chinchilla): undercoat white, the coat on the back,
flanks, head, and tail to be sufficiently tipped with red to give the
characteristic sparkling appearance. Face and legs may be very slightly
shaded with tipping. Chin, ear tufts, stomach, and chest white. Nose leather,
rims of eyes and paw pads: rose.

SHADED CAMEO (red shaded): undercoat white with a mantle of red tipping
shading down the sides, face, and tail. Face and legs may be a deeper
shading than the rest of the body. Chin, ear furnishings, stomach and chest
(ruff) to be white. The general effect to be much redder than the shell
cameo. Nose leather, rims of eyes and paw pads: rose.

BLACK SMOKE: white undercoat, deeply tipped with black. Cat in repose
appears black. In motion the white undercoat is clearly apparent. Points and
mask black with narrow band of white at base of hairs next to skin which
may be seen only when fur is parted. Light silver frill and ear tufts. Nose
leather and paw pads: black.

BLUE SMOKE: white undercoat, deeply tipped with blue. Cat in repose
appears blue. In motion the white undercoat is clearly apparent. Points and
mask blue with narrow band of white hairs next to skin which may be seen
only when fur is parted. White frill and ear tufts. Nose leather and paw pads:
blue.

CAMEO SMOKE (red smoke): white undercoat, deeply tipped with red. Cat
in repose appears red. In motion the white undercoat is clearly apparent.
Points and mask red with narrow band of white at base of hairs next to skin
which may be seen only when fur is parted. Nose leather, rims of eyes and
paw pads: rose.

BLUE-CREAM SMOKE: white undercoat, deeply tipped with blue, with clearly
defined patches of cream as in the pattern of the blue-cream. Cat in repose
appears blue-cream. In motion, the white undercoat is clearly apparent.
Face and ears blue-cream pattern with narrow band of white at the base of
the hairs next to the skin which may be seen only when the fur is parted.
White ruff and ear tufts. Blaze of cream on face is desirable.

TORTIE SMOKE: white undercoat, deeply tipped with black with patches of
red or softly intermingled areas of red on both the body and the extremities.
The presence of several shades of red is acceptable. Cat in repose appears
tortoiseshell. In motion the white undercoat is clearly apparent. Face and
ears tortoiseshell pattern with narrow band of white at the base of the hairs
next to the skin that may be seen only when fur is parted. White ruff and
ear tufts. Blaze of red or cream on face is desirable.

SMOKE & WHITE: Color as defined for smokes with or without white on the
face. Must have white on bib, belly, and all four paws.

SHELL CREAM: undercoat white, the coat on the back, flanks, head and tail
to be lightly tipped with cream. Face and legs may be very slightly shaded
with tipping. Chin, ear furnishings, stomach and chest (ruff) to be white.
Nose leather, rims of eyes and paw pads: rose.

SHADED CREAM: undercoat white with a mantle of cream shading down the
sides, face and tail, face and legs may be a deeper shading than the rest of
the body. Chin, ear furnishings, stomach and chest (ruff) to be white. Nose
leather, rims of eyes and paw pads: rose.

SHELL TORTOISESHELL: undercoat white. The coat on the back, flanks and
tail to be lightly tipped with black and shades of red. Face and legs may be
lightly shaded with tipping. Chin, ear furnishings, stomach and chest (ruff)
may be white to very lightly tipped with shading. Nose leather, rims of eyes
and paw pads: rose to black, may also be patched.

SHADED TORTOISESHELL: undercoat white. Mantle of black and red
shading down the sides, face and tail. Face and legs may be a deeper
shading than the rest of the body. Chin, ear furnishings, stomach and chest
(ruff) may be white to lightly tipped. The general effect is to be much darker
than the shell tortoiseshell. Nose leather, rims of eyes and paw pads: rose to
black, may also be patched.

SHELL BLUE-CREAM: undercoat white. The coat on the back, flanks and tail
to be lightly tipped with blue and shades of cream. Face and legs may be
lightly shaded with tipping. Chin, ear furnishings, stomach and chest (ruff)
may be white to very lightly tipped with shading. Nose leather, rims of eyes
and paw pads: rose to blue, may also be patched.

SHADED BLUE-CREAM: undercoat white. Mantle of blue and cream shading
down the sides, face and tail. Face and legs may be a deeper shading than
the rest of the body. Chin, ear furnishings, stomach and chest (ruff) may be
white to lightly tipped. The general effect is to be much darker than the shell
blue-cream. Nose leather, rims of eyes and paw pads: rose to blue, may also
be patched.

CALICO SMOKE: white with unbrindled patches of black and shades of red.
Black and red patches to have a white undercoat. White predominate on the
underpants of the cat.

DILUTE CALICO SMOKE: white with unbrindled patches of blue and shades
of cream. Blue and cream patches to have a white undercoat. White
predominate on the underpants of the cat.

CHINCHILLA SILVER & WHITE, SHADED SILVER & WHITE,
SHELL/SHADED CAMEO & WHITE, SHELL/SHADED CREAM & WHITE,
SHELL/SHADED CALICO, SHELL/SHADED DILUTE CALICO: white
undercoat. Body color to conform to the established color descriptions.
Nose leather, rims of eyes and paw pads: must conform to the accepted
color descriptions. This color description also applies to the Van patterned
cats of these chinchilla/shell/shaded colors.