In general, a cat that is born one color will have it that way forever, it's something that goes in the genes, like this such as their eye color, their body structure, and to some extent, their personality. However, various situations, such as age, race, illnesses or specific moments can alter the appearance or color of our feline's coat.
If you are wondering: why is my black cat turning orange? Why is my cat changing color as it grows? Why is my cat's fur getting lighter or mate? or, in other words, do cats change color when they grow?, keep reading this article on our site where we will explain all the reasons they can do that your cat's hair has changed.
Can the color of cats change?
Cat hair, although it is genetically established that it be of a certain color or colors, smooth, wavy, long, short, scarce or abundant, can suffer alterations that will slightly modify its external appearance, although internally nothing has changed.
Various reasons can make your little feline's fur look different. From environmental disturbances to organic disease.
Your cat's coat color can change by the following factors:
- Age.
- Stress.
- Sun.
- Bad nutrition.
- Intestinal disease.
- Renal disease.
- Liver disease.
- Endocrine disease.
- Infectious disease.
- Skin illness.
The change of hair from a baby to an adult cat
Although it depends on the breed, cats generally do not change color as they grow, only the tone intensifies or changes baby hair to adult hair, but maintaining the genetically inherited color.
In certain breeds, the color of cats' fur changes as they grow, for example:
- Himalayan cat.
- Siamese.
- Khao manee.
- Ural rex.
Himalayan and Siamese cats
Siamese and Himalayan breeds have a gene that produces melanin (the pigment that colors hair) based on body temperature. So that when they are born they are very light or almost white, because during gestation their whole body has presented the same body temperature as the interior of the mother.
From birth, the gene is activated and begins to color the areas that usually have less temperature than body temperature normal. These areas are the ears, tail, face and paws.
Cats that are in high summer temperatures may show a partial albinism on their body, as the temperature rises and the gen stops coloring these areas when its average body temperature increases (39 ºC).
On the contrary, when temperatures are very cold, the drop in body temperature can make the feline very dark.
Siamese twins can also develop a process called periocular leukotrichia, when the hairs around the eyes turn white, becoming depigmented. This change can occur when the feline is poorly fed, is a pregnant female, kittens that grow very fast or when they have a systemic disease.
Khao manee cats
Khao manee cats when they are born have a dark spot on their head, but after a few months, this spot disappears and all adult specimens are totally white.
Ural rex cats
Another example is Ural Rex cats, which are born greyish and after the first moult they acquire their final color. In addition, at 3-4 months they begin to grow the wavy hair that characterizes the breed, but it is not until they are 2 years old that the change is complete and they acquire the phenotype of an adult ural rex.
Elderly cats
On the other hand, when cats are getting older, with the natural aging process, the hair can acquire a slight change in tone and the appearance of gray hair. In which it is most often noticed is in black cats, which acquire a more grayish hue, and in oranges, which become more sandy or yellowish. These first gray hairs can appear from the age of 10.
Change in your cat's hair due to stress
Cats are especially sensitive to stress and any environmental or behavioral alteration of those close to them can be very stressful.
A more or less severe episode of stress in a cat can cause what is known as telogen effluvium, which consists of more Normal hair follicles pass from the anagen phase of growth to the telogen phase of fall. In addition to increased hair loss, the color of the coat may vary, to some extent they tend to become paler or gray
Change in the color of your cat's fur due to the sun
Radiation from the sun's rays affects the external appearance of our cats' hair, specifically affecting its color and structure. Cats love to sunbathe and will not hesitate to get in the sun for a bit every day if they can. This causes the cat's hair to lose color, becoming lighter So that black cats become brownish and orange ones somewhat yellowish. If they get too much sun, their hair can become brittle and dry.
In addition to altering the color of the coat, excess solar ultraviolet rays can predispose to the formation of a tumor, squamous cell carcinoma, in white or almost white cats.
Change in your cat's coat color due to poor nutrition
Cats are carnivores, they need to consume daily animal tissue that offers them the necessary amounts of protein and all the essential nutrients that they can only obtain from this source. An example is the essential amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. These amino acids are responsible for synthesizing melanin, the pigment that gives hair its dark color.
When a cat eats a diet deficient or low in animal protein, it develops nutritional deficiencies. Among them, the deficiency of phenylalanine or tyrosine and the cat's hair changes colorr. This is well observed in black cats, whose fur turns reddish due to the lack of these nutrients and the consequent reduction in melanin production.
This reddish-orange color change in black cats can be seen in other nutritional deficiencies, such as zinc and copper deficiency.
Change in your cat's hair due to illness
When a well-fed dark cat that eats plenty of animal protein begins to turn orange, it is necessary to rule out problems at the level of intestinal absorption that could explain the lack of the amino acid tyrosine or phenylalanine. These problems can be due to intestinal malabsorption, such as intestinal tumors, inflammatory bowel disease, and infectious enteritis.
Disorders in the secretion and production of bile acids from the liver or enzymes in the pancreas also make it difficult to digest and absorb nutrients. Sometimes, these processes, together with an inflammatory bowel disease, can appear together in the cat, being called feline triaditis
Other diseases that cause alterations in the color of the hair, appearance or condition of the skin of our cats are the following:
- Kidney disease: in chronic kidney failure the hair of our cats usually becomes dull, paler, dry and lifeless.
- Liver disease: the liver is key in transforming the essential amino acid phenylalanine, obtained from the diet, into tyrosine. Due to this, a liver disease such as lipidosis, hepatitis or a tumor can affect the proper functionality of this transformation and the black feline will turn orange.
- Jaundice: the yellow coloration of the skin and mucous membranes of our feline may be due to a liver problem or hemolytic anemia and in Sometimes it can be reflected in the hair, especially if the cat is light, turning yellowish to a certain extent.
- Endocrine diseases: such as hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's syndrome) or hypothyroidism, less frequent in cats than in dogs, can alter the skin and hair of our cat. In these cases the skin darkens, thins, they lose hair (alopecia) or it becomes very brittle.
- Atopic dermatitis: this allergic disease makes our cat's skin red and itchiness and excessive grooming can cause alopecia. It can also be caused by ringworm or external parasites.
- Vitiligo: consists of a sudden or progressive change in the pigmentation of the skin and hair of small felines. In this case, the hair becomes depigmented, turning completely white. It is very rare, affecting less than 2 cats per 1,000, and may be caused by the presence of anti-melanocyte antibodies, which target the melanocytes and inhibit the production of melanin and the consequent darkening of the hair. Turns your cat's fur color almost completely white.
