Silver Tabby Blotched & White Bicolor kitten
"Carlos Castaneda dei Toltechi"

If a smoke persian would be a painting, the artist would be Rembrandt, the master of contrasts.
The smoke persian is not very well known and it is impossible to imagine it's beauty until you can see it in real life. The fascinating contrast of its fur, so unique, well evident when the cat mooves...
The root of each hair (which can be of any colour) is so light as if it would have been de-coloured; in fact, on the silver coat the effect is really spectacular and maybe this has been the reason why, when I saw one of them the first time, I remained so impressed!
The silvers originate in England even though Holland played an important role in the selection of this colour.
The colour is natural one hunderd percent and since the birth of silver kittens it is easy to find out if they are smoke, silver tabby or solid. Do you want to know how???

Tortie Smoke kitten
"Caribean dei Toltechi"

Smoks have, since their birth, a pair of glasses around their eyes which become lighter, while the 'silvers tabbies' have a very evident "M" on their fronthead silver in colour and darker tabby markings on their bodies. In both cases, the perfect contrast is evident after the second change of fur.
Silver tabbies, as well as smokes have always been my favourite clours and I breed them both with great passion, proud to obtain good results for both these beautiful colour types.
I really hope that my short writing will be useful to transmit a bit of my love for the Silvers and the Smokes to you all!

Cinzia

Genetic tips...

Silver Tabby Blotched (adult) "Purrkay's Silver Bears"

The silver colour is due to a gene called "inhibitor" which is responsible for the pigmentation absence on the fur. It influences the melanine quantity in each single hair. This gene is represented by a "I". The tabby patterns (ticked, mackerel, spotted and blotched) may be present with the silver. This way a variety of fascinating colour combinations may occur. Silver tabbies are, in fact, very much appreciated; particularly those who have a blotched pattern which is particularly noticed because of the strong contrast in the background colour and the stripes. The Silver may also be combined with White. A cat with such a colour is called "bicolor".

Black Smoke (adult) "Xun Ochute dei Toltechi"

When the "non-agouti" gene (a) which determines the solid colour of the coat, is together with the "silver" (I), we have the "smoke". The hair of a smoke cat is divided into two parts: one, from the tip to about 70-80% of the length is coloured; the other one is of a luminous silvering white colour. Black Smoke kitten "Chiaroscuro dei Toltechi" A Smoke cat can't be tabby even if some got markings are noticed at its birth. These markings disappear later on as the coat gets longer. Summing up, Smokes can combine with all 'solid' colours (black, red, etc.) and obviously with torties and diluited torties too