Lesson 9 - Popular Cat Styles, Breeds Colour and Coat Types

• Scissoring
• Cat Temperaments
• +2
• Vocational Education

Lesson Outline

Theory

• Popular Cat Styles, Breeds Colour and Coat Types

Practical

• Dry/Wet Bath + Prep Coat
• Full Groom Scissoring

Models

• Dummy Cat Fur

• Theory 1 Hour
  
• Quiz 15mins
  
• Break 15 mins
  
• Practical 2.5 hours
  

Lesson 9

Popular Cat Styles, Breeds Colour and Coat Types

Presented by:

Popular Cat Styles

Teddy Bear Cut/ Comb Cut

Popular Cat Styles

Show/Natural Cut

Popular Cat Styles

The Lion Cut/ Shave Down

Popular Cat Styles

Round Paws, Boots, Squirrel Tail, Fur Boots

Breeds

It is important to familiarise yourself with the variety of cat breeds that are common in Singapore.

Majority of the cats that come to the salon are of mixed origins

• Domestic Long Hair
  
• Domestic Short Hair
  

Pedigreed cats are most often of long-hair variety 

• Persians
  
• Himalayans
  
• Maine Coon
  
• Ragdoll
  
• Norwegian Forest Cats
  
• Exotic

The majority of cats that come through the average grooming shop are of mixed origins. The common term for such a cat is the “domestic long-hair” (DLH) or the “domestic short-hair” (DSH), depending solely upon the length of its hair. Pedigreed cats brought in for grooming are most often of the long-hair variety, mainly being Persians, Himalayans, Maine Coons, Ragdolls, and Norwegian Forest Cats. By learning about and understanding the 40 breeds currently recognized by CFA, you will be able to recognize the variety of traits in each cat you handle that are best represented by a specific breed. This will allow you to better determine how to groom the cat, as well as speak with some authority when conversing with the cat’s owner.

Coat Types

The coat consists of guard, awn and/or down hairs

• Single (e.g. Turkish Angora)
  
• Double (e.g. Ragdoll, Persian)
  
•  Triple (e.g. Siberian)
  

An example of a single coated breed is the Turkish Angora. Absence of the downy and awn hairs makes the coat smooth, fine and silky. When grooming a single-coated cat, the desired outcome would be to enhance the fine silkiness of the coat rather than add body or fluffiness. When grooming a double-coated breed such as the Ragdoll or Persian, the desired outcome would be separation of the hairs to create a smooth, flowing drape of coat free of tangles, mats and oils. Grooming results of a triple-coated breed, such as the Siberian, would be much the same for the double-coated breeds but with more fullness. 

Coat Types

Several genes play a part in creating a cat’s color. A mutation of the dense coloration gene produces a diluted form of a dominant color. The table below shows the basic colors and their diluted form.

Dominant Colour	Dilute Colour
Black	Blue
Chocolate	Lilac
Cinnamon	Fawn
Red	Cream

As a general rule, 

• dilute colors tend to be of a coat type that is more cottony and full than the dominant colors, which tend toward a finer, silkier type. 
•  As a result, dilute coats are more prone to matting and require a greater deal of care to maintain. 
• This is a broad generalization that is true more often than not. 
•  It is especially important to keep a regular and frequent grooming schedule for cats with dilute coat types in order to prevent excessive matting, hairballs, and other problems. 
  

Coat Colours

Tabby

If a cat has stripes it is a Tabby

Mackerel	has narrow stripes that run somewhat parallel down its sides
Classic	has bold, swirling patterns on its sides, sometimes resembling a bulls eye and a marked “butterfly” pattern between the shoulder blades
Spotted	has spots all over its sides. Spots can be large or small
Ticked	does not have stripes or spots on its body, but has tabby markings on its face and agouti hairs on the body. An example of this is the Abyssinian

The correct term for an “orange” or “ginger” cat is “RED.” The correct term for a “gray” cat is “BLUE.” 

Many people often confuse these terms as well as the fact that terms such as “TABBY” refer to a cat’s color pattern rather than a specific breed. By using the correct terminology when speaking with your clients, you can play a part in educating the general public about breeds and colors.

All tabbies have thin line patterns on the face, especially around the eyes, and the signature “M” pattern on the forehead. Looking closer at the individual hairs of a tabby, you will notice a striping effect of both light and dark bands. 

 This banding is referred to as “agouti.”

Coat Colours

Tabby

If a cat has stripes it is a Tabby

The correct term for an “orange” or “ginger” cat is “RED.” The correct term for a “gray” cat is “BLUE.” 

Many people often confuse these terms as well as the fact that terms such as “TABBY” refer to a cat’s color pattern rather than a specific breed. By using the correct terminology when speaking with your clients, you can play a part in educating the general public about breeds and colors.

All tabbies have thin line patterns on the face, especially around the eyes, and the signature “M” pattern on the forehead. Looking closer at the individual hairs of a tabby, you will notice a striping effect of both light and dark bands. This banding is referred to as “agouti.”

Coat Colours

Tabby

When a cat is patched with multiple colors and still shows tabby markings it is considered a Patched Tabby.

Brown Tabby	black stripes with either a brownish or grayish ground color. The black stripes may be jet black or slightly brown-black
Blue Tabby	gray stripes on a grayish or buff ground color. The gray stripes can be light or dark
Red Tabby	orange stripes on a cream ground color. The orange stripes may be light or dark
Cream Tabby	cream stripes on a pale cream ground color
Silver Tabby	black stripes on a white ground color. The roots of the hairs are white. There can also a Blue Silver tabby, which will have white hairs at the roots

Cats that are patched are the result of a sex-linked gene and require two X chromosomes to appear. This means that cats with patched colors are almost always female. On rare occasions there are exceptions to which result an abnormal male having XXY chromosomes instead of the normal XY. If this happens, the male is almost always sterile.

Coat Colours

Tabby

When a cat is patched with multiple colors and still shows tabby markings it is considered a Patched Tabby.

The correct term for an “orange” or “ginger” cat is “RED.” The correct term for a “gray” cat is “BLUE.” 

Many people often confuse these terms as well as the fact that terms such as “TABBY” refer to a cat’s color pattern rather than a specific breed. By using the correct terminology when speaking with your clients, you can play a part in educating the general public about breeds and colors.

All tabbies have thin line patterns on the face, especially around the eyes, and the signature “M” pattern on the forehead. Looking closer at the individual hairs of a tabby, you will notice a striping effect of both light and dark bands. This banding is referred to as “agouti.”

Coat Colours

Tabby

When a cat is patterned with tabby markings in addition to white patches, it is referred to as a “tabby and white” or a Bicolor(see below). 

Brown Patched Tabby	ground color is coppery brown with dense black markings and patches of red
Blue Patched Tabby	ground color pale bluish ivory with markings of deep blue and softly intermingled patches of cream

When a cat is patterned with tabby markings in addition to white patches, it is referred to as a “tabby and white” or a Bicolor(see below). This is possible with all the tabby colors listed above. 

Coat Colours

Tabby

When a cat is patterned with tabby markings in addition to white patches, it is referred to as a “tabby and white” or a Bicolor(see below). 

The correct term for an “orange” or “ginger” cat is “RED.” The correct term for a “gray” cat is “BLUE.” 

Many people often confuse these terms as well as the fact that terms such as “TABBY” refer to a cat’s color pattern rather than a specific breed. By using the correct terminology when speaking with your clients, you can play a part in educating the general public about breeds and colors.

All tabbies have thin line patterns on the face, especially around the eyes, and the signature “M” pattern on the forehead. Looking closer at the individual hairs of a tabby, you will notice a striping effect of both light and dark bands. This banding is referred to as “agouti.”

Coat Colours

Solid

If the cat is the same colour all over, it is solid. Most solid coloured cats are the result of a recessive gene that suppresses the tabby pattern.

Black	depending upon the breeding and overall health and condition of the cat, the solid black color can range from shiny jet black to a rusty or lighter brownish black.
Blue	any shade of “gray” all over. Some breeds, such as the Chartreux, Russian Blue, and Korat are always this color, but it can appear in most other breeds as well
Red	any shade of “orange” or “reddish-orange” all over. Solid red cats have slight tabby markings on the body which can create confusion. Sometimes when the coat is very long, as with the Persian, the tabby markings can get “lost” thus making the cat look like a solid red when in reality it is a tabby.
Cream	any shade of cream all over
White	solid white all over. A solid white can have blue, green, or copper eyes or it can be odd-eyed, having one blue and one copper eye.

Most solid colored cats are the result of a recessive gene that suppresses the tabby pattern. Sometimes the tabby pattern is not totally suppressed, resulting in “shadow” tabby markings in certain lights even on a solid black cat. The tabby-suppressing gene is not effective on red or cream cats, however, so you won’t see red or cream cats totally without tabby markings.

Solid white cats are the result of a different gene that suppresses color completely. It is the absence of pigmentation. If a cat has a “smudge” of color on the top of the head, this is where the color was not completely suppressed. This most often shows up on young kittens, but can also be found, from time to time, on older cats. 

Coat Colours

Smoke

If a cat is a solid black or blue, but the roots of the hairs are distinctively white, it is a “smoke”

Black Smoke	solid black with white roots/undercoat
Blue Smoke	solid blue with white roots/undercoat
Tortoise Shell Smoke	clearly defined patches of black, red, and cream with white roots/undercoat
Cream Smoke	cream with white roots/undercoat
Cameo Smoke	red with white roots/undercoat
Lilac Smoke	lilac with white roots/undercoat

Coat Colours

Particolour

A cat that is randomly patched with different colors and without tabby markings is considered a Particolor. As with the Patched Tabbies, Particolors are almost always females.

Tortoiseshell (Tortie)	randomly patched with red, black and cream
Blue Cream (Dilute Tortie)	randomly patched with blue and cream

Coat Colours

Particolour

A cat that is randomly patched with different colors and without tabby markings is considered a Particolor. As with the Patched Tabbies, Particolors are almost always females.

Coat Colours

Bicolour

White markings can appear on any color. The term “and white” is used along with the cat’s basic colour to describe it. 

e.g. a blue tabby that has white markings in addition to the blue tabby markings is called a “Blue Tabby and White.”

Calico	essentially a Tortie with white. Patches of black, red, and white
Dilute Calico	essentially a Blue Cream and White. Patches of blue, cream and white.

 This classification with cats having white are typically referred to as Bicolors. These can be anything from a Brown Patched Tabby and White to a simple Black and White.  

Coat Colours

Some other common terminology regarding cats with white:

Mitted	a cat that has white only on its paws
Locket	a white patch of hair on a cat’s chest
Van	a cat that is mostly white, allowing for colour only on the head and extremities and one or two small spots on the main body.

Coat Colours

Colour-pointed

If a cat has dark “points” of color only on its face, paws and tail that fade out to a lighter buff color on the main body, it is a “color pointed” cat.  

Cream Point	soft cream color on a body of lighter shades of buff or ivory.
Tortie Point	intermingled black and red points on a buff or ivory body
Blue Cream Point	intermingled blue and cream points on a buff or ivory body
Lynx Point	color points with tabby markings in them. This can be any color described above in the list of Tabby colors that is “pointed” and has a body color of buff or ivory. This could be a seal lynx point, flame lynx point, a blue lynx point, etc

Coat Colours

Colour-pointed

If a cat has dark “points” of color only on its face, paws and tail that fade out to a lighter buff color on the main body, it is a “color pointed” cat.  

Seal Point	very dark brown, almost black points on a body of light tan, buff or ivory, paw pads same color as points
Blue Point	blue-gray points with a body color that is light gray or buff
Flame Point	red points with a body color of buff or ivory
Chocolate Point	milk chocolate points on a body of light ivory, paw pads of cinnamon-pink color
Lilac Point	an almost lavender color on the points with a body of buff or ivory

This is the pattern of a Siamese cat, but many other breeds as well as non-purebred felines also come in this same pattern. Some other examples of colorpointed cats are the Ragdoll, Himalayan, Tonkinese, and Birman. Color pointed cats are born white and gradually darken with age. Many non-purebred cats will be colorpointed even though the body color is darker than would be allowed in a pedigreed cat. 

Coat Colours

Colour-pointed

If a cat has dark “points” of color only on its face, paws and tail that fade out to a lighter buff color on the main body, it is a “color pointed” cat.  

This is the pattern of a Siamese cat, but many other breeds as well as non-purebred felines also come in this same pattern. Some other examples of colorpointed cats are the Ragdoll, Himalayan, Tonkinese, and Birman. Color pointed cats are born white and gradually darken with age. Many non-purebred cats will be colorpointed even though the body color is darker than would be allowed in a pedigreed cat. 

Coat Colours

Shaded Colours

Typically you will find this class exemplified within the Persian breed and sometimes referred to as the “Chinchilla.” However, the Shaded colors can also be seen in a variety of domestic cats that closely resemble a Persian but are a result of poor breeding practices.

Shaded Silver	the most common of the two, it has a white undercoat with black tipping shading down from the sides, face, and tail. This gives the coat a silvery appearance
Shaded Golden	a pale honey-colored undercoat with black tipping shading down the sides, face, head, and tail

However, the Shaded colors can also be seen in a variety of domestic cats that closely resemble a Persian but are a result of poor breeding practices.

Coat Colours

Shaded Colours

Typically you will find this class exemplified within the Persian breed and sometimes referred to as the “Chinchilla.” However, the Shaded colors can also be seen in a variety of domestic cats that closely resemble a Persian but are a result of poor breeding practices.

However, the Shaded colors can also be seen in a variety of domestic cats that closely resemble a Persian but are a result of poor breeding practices.

Coat Colours

Shell 

Any shell colour requires that the back, flanks, head, and tail be lightly tipped with the main colour and have a white undercoat. 

The face and legs may be slightly shaded with tipping as well, but the stomach and chest are white. 

Comes in any colour

For example, Exotics are allowed to be a Shell Blue-Cream, Shell Black, Shell Cameo, Shell Lilac and so forth. To the average person, Shells closely resemble Smokes but have a white stomach and chest

Eye Colour

Coat colour is genetically related to eye colour. 

	Eye Colour
Pointed	Blue Eyes
White or mostly white	Blue Green Copper Odd-eyed (Blue + Green/Copper)
Others	Green Copper

Coat color is genetically related to eye color. Pointed cats always have blue eyes. White cats or mostly white cats can have blue, green, or copper eye color. They can also be odd-eyed, meaning one eye is blue and one green or copper.

Other cats can have only green or copper eyes. Sometimes the copper is light enough that it appears to be more of a golden shade. 

Most Common Breeds in Singapore

Short Coated Cats

• Short Hair Domestic
• American Short Hair
• Bengal
• Savannah
• Abyssinian
• Bombay

Most Common Breeds in Singapore

Medium Coated Cats

• Medium Hair Domestic
• British Shorthair 
• Exotic Shorthair
• Scottish Fold
• Munchkin

Most Common Breeds in Singapore

Long Coated Cats

• Maine Coon
• Ragdoll
• Ragamuffin
• Persian
• Exotic Long Hair
• Siberian
• Norwegian Forest Cat
• Long Hair Domestic

Practical

• 1 Student to 1 Meowdel
• Practice your scissoring on your dummy for 30-45 minutes
• Once you are ready, try trimming the paws of your cat (30 minutes)


• Next, trim the hind legs straight (30 minutes)
• Next, trim the underside straight (30 minutes)
• Next, trim the body (30 minutes)
• Lastly, trim the face of your round (30 minutes)
• Take pictures of before and after the groom