What is a smoke cat? The hidden white undercoat, explained

What is a smoke cat? It is a cat whose hairs are white at the root and deeply tipped with color, so it looks like one solid color until it moves. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) puts smoke in a family of coats with shaded and chinchilla, and its breed standards describe a smoke cat that appears solid when still and shows its white undercoat in motion. This guide sets out what makes a smoke, how it differs from its relatives, which colors and breeds it comes in, and how to spot one.

Smoke, shaded and chinchilla: white at the root, with more or less color at the tip. Source: the CFA.

What is a smoke cat? The short answer

On its Coat and Color Descriptions page, the CFA describes cats with "shaded and tipped colors". The hair on these cats is white, or silver, at the roots. At the end of each hair is the cat's main color: black, blue, red, cream, chocolate, lilac, tortoiseshell, blue-cream and so on.

The amount of color at the tip decides the name. The CFA says cats with the heaviest amount are called smokes, and those with the least are called chinchillas. A shaded silver falls between the two.

So a smoke is not a breed. It is a kind of coat, and the CFA says the shaded and smoke effects can be thought of as a pattern, like tabby or bi-color.

Still, then moving: what a smoke looks like

The CFA's Persian breed standard gives the clearest picture. For a black smoke it says:

• The undercoat is white, deeply tipped with black.
• In repose, the cat appears black.
• In motion, the white undercoat is clearly apparent.
• The face, legs and tail are black, with a narrow band of white at the base of the hairs next to the skin, which may be seen only when the fur is parted.

The British Shorthair standard says the same in general terms: a white or pale silver undercoat, deeply tipped with color, so the cat in repose appears to be that color, while in motion the undercoat is clearly apparent.

That is the whole trick of a smoke. A sleeping smoke can pass for a solid black or blue cat. Watch it walk, and the white flashes through.

Smoke, shaded and chinchilla compared

All three share white roots and colored tips. The difference is how far the color reaches:

• Smoke: the heaviest tipping. The cat looks solid when still.
• Shaded: in between. The CFA names shaded silver as falling between smoke and chinchilla.
• Chinchilla: the least color at the tips.

The CFA's Basic Feline Genetics page adds a rule for the lighter two: a shaded or chinchilla kitten must have at least one parent with a white undercoat and one parent that is tabby, and it counts chinchilla and shaded as tabby coloration. The Persian standard notes that shaded and smoke cats should not show tabby traits such as barring, and the British Shorthair standard says faint "shadow" tabby markings in smoke kittens are not a fault.

Smoke colors

The British Shorthair standard lists its smoke colors: black, blue, red, cream, tortoiseshell, blue-cream, chocolate, chocolate tortoiseshell, chocolate calico, lilac, lilac-cream and lilac calico smoke. It also lists the same colors as "smoke and white".

Other standards add their own names and details:

• Cameo smoke. The American Shorthair and Maine Coon standards call a red smoke a cameo smoke: a white undercoat deeply tipped with red, appearing red in repose.
• Tortoiseshell smoke. The American Shorthair standard describes a white undercoat deeply tipped with black, with patches of red and cream tipped hairs in the tortoiseshell pattern. See our guide to calico cats for how those patched coats work.
• Chocolate and lilac smoke. The Exotic standard describes both, each appearing chocolate or lilac in repose.

The Persian standard also warns about one quirk: during seasonal coat changes, a smoke's hair may look white a short way up the shaft and then turn back to the main color, which it calls a normal change.

Breeds that come in smoke

Smoke appears in the CFA standards of several breeds, including:

• The Persian, in its Shaded and Smoke Division.
• The Exotic, in its Smoke and Shaded Division.
• The British Shorthair, under smoke pattern colors.
• The American Shorthair, with black, blue, cameo, tortoiseshell and blue cream smoke.
• The Maine Coon, in its Shaded and Smoke Color Class.

Because smoke is a coat and not a breed, a smoky cat you meet outside may be any of these, or none. Our guide to telling whether a cat is a mixed breed covers that question.

How to spot a smoke cat on a walk

The CFA suggests naming a cat by color first, then pattern, then coat length, with the breed last. Here is a worked example, with Cat Go open in your browser.

1. See a solid cat. A cat sits still on a wall. It looks plain black.
2. Watch it move. It stands and walks along the wall, and pale fur shows through the black as the coat moves. That matches the CFA's description of a smoke in motion.
3. Do not part the fur. The standards check the white band next to the skin by parting the fur. That is for an owner or a judge, not for a cat you meet. What you saw in motion is enough to say "a black smoke, by the look of it".
4. Take the photo from where you stand. In Cat Go, tap the camera on the map. The screen says "Fit the whole cat in the frame."
5. Pick the breed yourself. The game asks "Which breed is it?" and reminds you that "Most cats you meet are mixed breed" and "Mixed breed is always a safe pick."

Every catch keeps its breed and where you found it. For a dark cat, our guide to photographing a black cat may help you keep the detail.

Frequently asked questions

Is a smoke cat a breed?

No. The CFA describes smoke as a coat with white roots and deeply tipped color, found in several breeds, including the Persian, British Shorthair and Maine Coon.

What is the difference between smoke and chinchilla?

Both have white roots and colored tips. The CFA says smokes have the heaviest amount of color at the tips and chinchillas the least, with shaded in between.

How can you tell a smoke from a solid black cat?

Watch it move. The CFA's standards say a black smoke appears black in repose, but in motion the white undercoat is clearly apparent.

What is a cameo smoke?

A red smoke. The American Shorthair and Maine Coon standards describe a white undercoat deeply tipped with red, appearing red when the cat is still.

Get started

Cat Go turns the cats you meet on a walk into a collection, smoky or not. It plays in your web browser and needs the camera and location allowed. You photograph a real cat, pick its breed, and keep it in your Catdex with the place you found it.

Play Cat Go: walk anywhere, photograph a real cat, lure it with food and catch it.