Points, smoke and shaded · Colour

Smoke cat

Also called: Smoke, Black smoke, Smoke cat, Black cat with white roots.

Sitting still, it looks like a black (or blue, or red) cat. When it moves or its fur parts, the surprise appears: the roots are silvery white. It is one of the loveliest coat effects, especially in long-haired cats.

Smoke cat: Long-haired smoke cat: black on the outside and silver at the roots and ruff
Long-haired smoke cat: black on the outside and silver at the roots and ruffPhoto: Dick Smit from Netherlands · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What it looks like

The hair tips are a solid colour and the lower half is white or silver. In long-haired cats, the ruff, the britches and the inside of the ears look silver. Smoke kittens can look like tabbies or ordinary blacks and do not fully show the silver until adulthood.

The genetics, made simple

It combines two genes: the “non-agouti” that gives solids (black, blue…) and the inhibitor that gives silver, which is dominant and leaves the base of the hair unpigmented. With agouti, the same inhibitor gives silver tabby or shaded. The specific inhibitor gene has not yet been confirmed.

Smoke cat: Head of a short-haired black smoke cat
Head of a short-haired black smoke catPhoto: Jojo snapshots · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Myths and what science says

“It is a black cat going grey”

It is not age or grey hairs: a smoke cat is born with white roots. Telling them apart is easy: blow into the fur on its back and look at the base.

Fun facts

  • Smoke is most striking in long hair: Persians, Maine Coons, Norwegian Forest Cats and Siberians.
  • There is smoke in almost every colour: black, blue, red (cameo smoke), cream, tortoiseshell…
  • In kittens, smoke sometimes only shows as a slightly paler shade on the neck.

Does it affect its health?

The colour does not cause disease.

Breeds where it appears or is typical

This coat turns up in plenty of moggies. These are breeds where it is common, characteristic or accepted; under each one, the colours the breed comes in.

Persian Persian Persian · Iran / United Kingdom Almost all: white, black, blue, cream, chinchilla, golden, bicolour, tortoiseshell… Maine Coon Maine Coon Forest · United States Almost all; the classic is brown tabby. No colourpoint in most registries Norwegian Forest Cat Norwegian Forest Cat Forest · Norway Almost all except colourpoint, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon and fawn; lots of white and tabby Siberian Siberian Forest · Russia All; the Neva Masquerade is its colourpoint variety Oriental Shorthair Oriental Shorthair Oriental · United Kingdom Over 300 combinations: solids, tabby, smoke, silver, bicolours… Egyptian Mau Egyptian Mau Wild-looking · Egypt / Italy Silver, bronze and smoke, always spotted; gooseberry green eyes Savannah Savannah Wild-looking · United States Brown spotted tabby, silver spotted, black and black smoke British Shorthair British Shorthair Shorthair · United Kingdom Blue (the classic), black, white, cream, lilac, chocolate, silver, golden, bicolours, colourpoint…

Frequently asked questions

What is a smoke cat?

A solid-coloured cat whose hair roots are silvery white. It looks black, blue or red until it moves.

How can I tell if my black cat is a smoke?

Part the fur on its back by blowing or with your fingers: if the base is white or silver, it is a smoke; if it is black right to the root, it is black.

Is smoke a pedigree colour?

It appears mostly in pedigree breeds, but it can turn up in domestic cats if there is some silver in the family.

Keep exploring
All cat coat colours and patterns → Cat breeds A to Z →

Educational content from Michipedia. The genetics of coat colour are simplified so they are easy to follow; colour tells you nothing about the personality of a particular cat.