Amazing Color-Changing Kittens: What Is Fever Coat?
Kittens are pretty magical. They can bring even the most jaded people to their knees with a single, tiny mew. They can instantly brighten any day and make the sun feel like it's shining even if it's storming. But they can't change colors, right? Funny story: It turns out they can.
While the above photo would satisfy all my Lisa Frank-fueled childhood dreams of a hot pink kitten, the "color-changing" kittens we're talking about are born with bright silver. As they age, their fur changes until they are a completely different color than the fluff they were born with, a phenomenon known as "fever coat."
Fever (or stress) coat occurs when the mother cat is ill with a high fever or stress during pregnancy and doesn't usually have any negative effects on the kitten's overall health.
A stray moggy from the UK, Georgie, gave birth to a litter of six kittens born with this unusual coloration. Maggie Roberts, head vet at Cats Protection HQ in Sussex, was contacted in regards to Georgie's strange brood. Four of the kittens only had the silver patches on their legs, but two were completely covered in the silver fur.
After a bit of research, it was determined that the kittens most likely have fever coat. As they aged, the kittens shed their silvery outer coats and showed their true colors: two black kittens, three torties, and one tabby.
More recently, a tiny, premature kitten was brought to the National Kitten Coalition, discovered hours after he was born. Co-founder Susan Spaulding worked 'round the clock to save this fantastically colored preemie, whom they named Rizzo.
The silver portion of Rizzo's fur will eventually turn black, like other cats with fever coat. "Just as with Siamese points, which are due to a temperature-sensitive gene, the coloring shows darker on his extremities because their temperature is cooler," says Spaulding, who has had a dozen or so cases of fever coat over her years working in cat rescue.
Rizzo in action (still a bit wobbly!):
Rizzo's changing coat:
Bruce the cat is another example of a rescued kitty that grew out of his silvery fever coat into a handsome black cat.
Have you ever had a color-changing kitten?
[h/t LoveMeow, The Ross Gazette]
We recently (4 mo. ago) got two 10wk old kittens from our SPCA. One had a gray/silver mange just like a lion would have. Within weeks being with us, it has all gone black, which is her natural color. Both kittens were from the same mother but one short hair, one long hair. Both have white fur bellies and white chest markings. Both are doing just fine and have come to be our new family. We recently became catless after 27yrs and my wife said it was time to bring more to our home. Gotta’ love these furry feline friends.
Our kitty was born with black face,tummy and legs and tail with silver grey back it seems the grey is turning black
My tabby cat gave birth to an all white kitten. The kitten the started to get pink spots, the dots and strips of grey. She now looks dirty with a few random weird colors around her ears.
My cat just gave birth to six kittens that have this silver coat. So if they lose this fur my Lille black faced silver sheep looking kitten will most likely end up being solid black. I was hoping it would stay that way.
I had a long hair black cat with beautiful green eyes. Her name was Madison, but we called her Maddi. We got a male black kitten and named him Lestat. Lestat got cozy with Maddi. Maddi gave birth to three, all a beautiful silver grey. We adopted out the two boys and kept the only girl. By the time Lucy was six months old, she had lost her grey coat, for a solid black, like her mother.
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