Ticked Pattern Oriental Tabby & Shaded Cats

by John S Harrison

Over the years I’ve written numerous articles on the Oriental in general, and the agouti varieties in particular. Your Chairman has asked me if I will once again write an article for the OCA Yearbook, concentrating on the differences between Oriental Ticked Tabbies and Oriental Shaded of ticked pattern. Thanks Carol, you’ve certainly set me a difficult task!

To those who are not interested in the complexities of genetics mammalian colour inheritance must see rather daunting. My understanding of the inheritance of coat colour in cats has taken some thirty years to achieve! The area I intend to deal with in this article is possibly the most complex within our existing range of colours and I accept that many Breeders, who are not really interested in the theory, may experience some difficulty ‘getting their head around it’. A large part of the article may appear to be rather technical and does assume a basic understanding of the fundamentals of colour inheritance, to balance this I hope to convey not only my enthusiasm for the Oriental, but also some background to the Breed.

I have had a passion for ‘Foreign Cats of Siamese Type’ since the late 1960’s when the only recognised variety was the Chestnut Brown Foreign, subsequently renamed the Havana. At the time my Mother, Mrs. Betty Harrison, ‘Harislau’, bred CBF’s and was working closely with Mrs Angela Sayer of the famous ‘Solitaire’ prefix to develop the Foreign Lavender, our present day Oriental Lilac. The inspiration was possibly CH SCINTILLA COPPER BEECH bred by Miss Pat Turner. who in the hands of Mrs Pam Wilding produced that unforgettable trio of Havanas CH DANDYCAT ZULU WARRIOR, CH DANDYCAT HULA DANCER and CH DANDYCAT WHISTLING RUFUS. ‘Zulu’ and ‘Hula’ provided the backbone of the Solitaire line. As a teenager (contrary to the belief of Mrs Pam Wilding I was not wearing short trousers!) I regularly went to shows and was obsessed by the CBF, though to be truthful never thought overmuch of the Lavender! I was far more interested in the ‘byblows’ which occurred in their breeding – tabbies and reds, creams and torties, and all with that slender elegant type.

My Mother had a delightful black tortie queen, SOLITAIRE PAGAN (26), who; to my eternal shame; in 1969 I let go in Granby Halls in Leicester where she roamed free for three weeks before she was eventually caught by a guard dog! For all this Pagan suffered no ills and produced a succession of wonderful litters. One of her kittens was a most unusual brindled Chocolate Tortie, HARISLAU GINGANUT,(26), who in turn produced more brindled kittens. Eventually her daughter HARISLAU GINNYMINI,(26), mated to CH HARISLAU LITTLE OTTER (29) produced my first queen HARISLAU CHOCOLATE MINOTTA,(26). She was a ‘proper’ Chocolate Tortie and the brindled line was discontinued. Well yes, I know it seems absurd now, but we did discontinue a line of TICKED CATS!

In 1973 I met Miss Patricia Turner, famed the world over for her exquisite ‘Scintilla’ cats, and was introduced to the phantasmagoria of the ‘Pastel’ – a name I still feel to be more appropriate than ‘Shaded’. I will never forget my first visit encounter with SCINTILLA SERENE SUNSET (26), a black tortie silver shaded of such very unusual colouring at that time. I was soon hooked on both Silver and Shaded! Whenever I visited Pat & John, be it in Eastbourne, Uckfield or Milton Keynes I always seemed to return with yet another ‘birthday’ or ‘Christmas present’ in a basket! ‘Tis said that reminiscing on happy times is a sign of advancing years!

Before we can take a close look at the Tabby and Shaded of Ticked pattern it is necessary to consider, and have some understanding of the basics of both the Tabby cat and the Shaded cat, and the effect of the Silver gene. In essence ‘What is a Tabby?’; ‘What is a Shaded?’; and ‘What is Silver?’

What is a Tabby?
The Tabby cat is produced by the action of two separate genes, the Agouti gene combined with the allele for pattern. The Agouti gene (A) produces banding or ticking on the hairs. In the Self or non-agouti (aa) animal the hair is the same colour from skin to tip, but in the agouti cat (Aa or AA) the hair shows distinct bands of two colours. As a consequence of the presence of the pattern gene the agouti gene does not affect all parts of the coat equally, but gives an uneven, though regular, pattern of solid areas of coat devoid of ticking or banding. It is important that the solid areas of colour forming the pattern must show no sign of agouti hairs, or agouti invasion. The area between the pattern consists of agouti hairs, and is usually referred to as ‘ground colour’.

The three distinct, recognisable, Tabby patterns in the Oriental Shorthair are Ticked (T^a), Spotted (T), & Classic (t^b). Whether the Mackerel Tabby exists in the Oriental; or any other breed for that matter; as a distinct form, or merely a variation of Spotted is certainly open to conjecture. It must be remembered that all cats, self and non-self, have patterns, but these only become clearly visible in the agouti cats. The ‘ghost markings’ of self cats, especially the lighter colours, clearly indicate their pattern.

What then is a Shaded?
A Shaded, either Silver or Standard, is in essence a modified Tabby where the colour is restricted to the upper portion of the hair, anything from half the hair to just a tiny tip. The gene responsible for this is known as ‘Wide-band’ (W^b). The effect of the gene is that it greatly increases the width of the bands of ticking on the hairs; it distorts and effectively breaks down the tabby pattern so that it becomes indistinct, and at best invisible.

The Wide-band gene was, along with Silver (I), introduced into the forerunners of our modern day Orientals through SCINTASILVA SUE and her daughter SCINTILLA SERENE SUNSET. Scintasilva Sue was the shorthaired daughter of a mating between MARISARNI DANDINO (24b) and MARISARNI RETARA (10). Indeed it is fair to say that this chance mating was the beginning of our tribe of Oriental Shorthairs, and there can be few if any modern Orientals which cannot trace their origins back to Scintasilva Sue and her Chinchilla dam. My first Silver Shaded female, SCINTILLA KAFFY OLE, was a daughter of Serene Sunset and her half brother NASYLA MINK MOONLIGHT.

Originally it was thought that the Wide-band gene was a dominant, however from breeding results it is clear that it is incompletely dominant. The effect of the allele appears to be somewhat variable, but this may well be the result of associated polygenes, and perhaps selection for these ‘enhancers’ is of greater importance in the breeding of the Shaded cat than in any other variety. Because the gene is incompletely dominant the heterozygote will not look like the homozygote, and is visually intermediate between the Tabby and the Shaded, and may well be mistaken for a Tabby, though in reality it is a Shaded.

The Wide-band gene greatly affects the balance between dark and light banding, producing a far higher proportion of light banding. In the Standard, or non-silver, Shaded this results in a very warm coloured base coat. Ironically this is also a very good indication of whether a Tabby is in fact a Tabby or a Shaded. When I see a richly coloured Tabby I always suspect it may be Shaded, closer examination of the coat invariably confirms my suspicion.

The genotype/phenotype of the three basic combinations of the agouti and wide-band genes are :

A Shaded may be based on any of the Tabby Patterns. It is interesting to note that Chinchillas are of Classic pattern, and in this variety selection has now been taken so far that the delightful shimmer of tipping has disappeared and the Chinchilla is virtually a white cat. There are six possible basic genotypes in Shaded breeding:

The GCCF Standard of Points for the Oriental Shaded allows for a wide range in the degree of coloured tipping / shading, and gives Breeders, and Judges for that matter, wide latitude dictated I suppose by personal preference. My personal aim as a Breeder is to breed Shaded cats, which are homozygous for A, T^a, and W^b – in simple terms pure for Agouti, Ticked pattern and the Shaded factor. These cats will by definition have no tabby barring or stripes on body, legs, chest, or tail, and mated together will breed true. To date I do not believe that ANY CATS of this genotype (AAT^aT^aW^bW^b) have been bred within the UK. I have always had my sights firmly set on breeding the very lightest coloured Shaded with the minimum of tipping and total freedom from any vestigial tabby barring. Other Breeders may prefer a cat with far more visible colour. As a Judge however I always go for evenness of tipping and freedom from markings, irrespective of the degree of colour. From a judging perspective lightest is not always best, just as silver is not always best!

Over the years serious breeders of the Variety have discussed, with no real consensus, the ideal pattern for the development of the clearest form of Shaded. The Chinchilla is Classic based, and by selective breeding all visible pattern and regrettably, too much colour has been bred out. In Persians, possibly due to the length of coat, Classic pattern appears to be very solid, and lacks the clarity of definition found in Shorthairs. The best example of this must surely be the fabulously coloured Red Self Persian which in reality is a non-agouti of Classic pattern.

Unfortunately in the Oriental we do not have this density of pattern in Classics. Possibly the finest example of an Oriental Shaded of Classic base was Jane North’s MOJIQUE POUSETTE, where the pattern was barely discernible. The Spotted pattern due to the lesser degree of ‘clumping’ results in less pattern definition in the Shaded form and is the usual base pattern of the Shaded in this Country. Carol Ward’s ‘Amenra’ line and Jane North’s ‘Mojique’ line are predominantly of Spotted pattern. Undoubtedly one of the finest Shaded coats I have seen was Jane North’s GRAND PREMIER KAJENKA JUNIPER. ‘Squeak’ was a grand old lady and also, I have to say, a bit of a lush! She was heavily into human nose licking, mine not least. It was an embarrassment to judge her, people might have gained the impression that I actually like cats! "Squeak’s" excellent coat has passed down to her great great grand-daughter GD CH MOJIQUE MINNETTA 43s, where once again the pattern on the body is, to all intents and purposes, invisible.

It was because of my desire for freedom from any markings that I decided to follow the route of Ticked Tabby pattern based Shaded. I will always be grateful to Sally & Steve Franklin for their gift of SALSTE QUASI QUASAR 45n. At the time several other breeders expressed the view that this was possibly not the right route. The concerns and confusions over Ticked Tabbies and ticked-base Shaded cats do, I have to admit, lie firmly at my door – I accept guilt!!

After very many hours of discussion and poring over cats’ fur with Mrs Barbara Fellows it became clear that we had the same goal. Other than Barbara and myself no other breeder followed this ‘crazy’ route. I personally will always be indebted to Barbara not only for her support and friendship, but also for taking the Shaded to new heights. There can be no doubt that the ‘Chelanca’ line has produced some outstanding examples of the Shaded the majority of which have been Ticked base, both homozygous and heterozygous. There can be few exhibitors and Judges who have not admired GRAND CHAMPION CHELANCA PENTLANDITE a queen that not only epitomises correct Oriental type but also has a wonderful shaded coat. This superb queen became the First Champion, and the First Grand Champion in the Variety. She has enjoyed a fantastic show career including BIS at the 1995 OCA Championship Show; Best Oriental at the 1996 TPS & PBCS Championship Show; Best Oriental at the 1997 Siamese Cat Society of Scotland Championship Show; BIS at the 1997 Wyvern Cat Club Championship Show; Best of Variety Oriental Adult at the 1997 GCCF Supreme Show; Best Oriental at the 1999 Wyvern Cat Club Championship Show; and BIS at the 1999 TPS & PBCS Championship Show

She was bred from GD CH MEGRIM ASTRAL SPECTRE a heterozygous Ticked Tabby with total freedom from Wide-band, and MEGRIM MISTY TINTSOFAUTUMN a Shaded of heterozygous Ticked pattern. ‘Misty’ wasn’t planned! Her mother refused point blank to have anything to do with my choice of stud cat. In annoyance I dumped her back in the house where she decided to initiate a 7½ month old Ticked Tabby kitten MEGRIM LUNAR FAUN into the joys of life! ‘Tommy’ was neutered at 8 months and re-registered as Shaded! I idolised ‘Misty’ and her sister MEGRIM SILVER FILLIGREE. ‘Misty’ and I had a very simple love / hate relationship – I loved her and she hated me! After 15 months of anguish and frustration Barbara relieved me of the problem, the results are now a bit of Cat history.

What is Silver?
Silver colouring is caused by the action of a dominant gene known as the Melanin Inhibitor (I) whose presence prevents the full development of pigmentation in the hair. It affects both the non-agouti and the agouti cat, its presence in the former turns a Self Cat into a Smoke. In the agouti cat the result is the Silver Tabby or Silver Shaded. The action of the Melanin Inhibitor in agouti cats is far more noticeable in the agouti hairs than in the patterned areas. The gene has a widely variable effect, in some animals there is a very deep white base, whilst in others the animal is so dark that it appears visually self-coloured. In addition the actual colour of pattern in the silvers lacks the warmth of colour which is found in their non-silver, or ‘standard’ counterparts.

THE TICKED TABBY
Having considered the above basics we must now turn our attention to the Ticked Tabby and consider it in some detail. The pattern gene (T^a) is the gene responsible for the pattern in the Abyssinian cat, indeed the gene was introduced from that breed. The ancestry all lines of quality Ticked Tabbies in the United Kingdom can be traced back through the Oriental Cinnamon to the Abyssinian, and in particular to TRANBY RED TUTANKHAMEN (23a).

The entire body coat consists of ticked or agouti hairs though tabby barring may be apparent on the face, chest, legs and tail. The body fur is true agouti, consisting solely of evenly banded hairs. In the ideal cat each hair would have two or three bands of each colour, but in reality in the very short hair of the Oriental evenness of ticking is deemed to be of greater importance than number of bands. The Ticked Tabby gene (T^a) is the highest in order of dominance in the tabby allelic series, and the heterozygote can therefore carry either Spotted (T) or Classic (t^b) pattern. Neither the Spotted Tabby nor the Classic Tabby can carry the Ticked pattern. The Ticked allele T^a is incompletely dominant, and accordingly the Ticked Tabby has a peculiarity in that it has two distinctly different forms dependant on the genotype.

The homozygous form (T^aT^a) has an absence of barring on the legs, and the only vestigial tabby markings are a solid dark tip to the tail, dark fur to the back of the feet, and ‘eye liner’. In some homozygotes a slight partial necklace and slight residual markings on the inside of the front upper leg may be detectable. The heterozygous form (either T^aT or T^at^b) is very different and has distinct markings to the legs, chest, face, and tail.

The current GCCF Standard of Points for the Oriental Ticked Tabby makes no allowance for the homozygote, and indeed goes further and specifically excludes the ‘pure’ or homozygous form. The standard reflects the heterozygote alone, and demands definite stripes to the legs; one or more distinct necklace, either joined or broken; and distinct barring to the tail. Unlike all other Tabby standards it does not ask for a ‘ringed tail’, recognising the fact that in this variety a fully ringed tail would be an unachievable requirement.

I have long believed that the GCCF Standard of Points for Breed 45, Oriental Ticked Tabby, is wrong. There are two forms of Ticked Tabby, the striped-legged heterozygote and the barless homozygote. I personally believe that both forms should be accepted and the Standard re-written to allow for both. Simply put, I believe that the standard should demand EITHER clearly defined leg, chest, facial and tail bars OR a total absence of barring. IN OTHER WORDS both the cat with distinct leg, tail & facial markings, AND the cat with a complete absence of markings SHOULD BE ACCEPTED AND BE RECOGNISED B Y THE BREED STANDARD. The current situation is to say the least ludicrous. As Judges we are well accustomed to judging different colours in an Open, so why should a minor pattern difference cause a problem? I am aware that this is not necessarily a popular view – your President and I for example have discussed the matter (in a ‘hammer and tongues’ manner no less!) on numerous occasions. We more or less agree to differ!

From a position of logic it seems totally absurd to me that two Grand Champion Ticked Tabbies mated together will produce kittens which will not conform to the Breed Standard and, no matter how superb they may be, should not win. Of course there is a view, though I’m not quite sure why, that if homozygous (barless) Ticked Tabbies were accepted it would be very difficult for Judges, Breeders and Exhibitors to differentiate between them and Shaded cats of Ticked base pattern, especially in the standard or non-silver colours. This concern I suppose is at the heart of the matter.

I too share some concerns in this respect, but MY concerns have a FAR WIDER base. I fully accept that many Judges, Breeders and Exhibitors are confused, especially as many seem unable to distinguish between a Spotted Tabby, or even a Classic Tabby and their Shaded counterparts. Unfortunately far too many Judges, Breeders and Exhibitors have scant understanding of, and even less interest in, tabby patterns and agouti cats. I have voiced this contentious opinion on numerous occasions and I fear that voicing it again will do little to further enhance my popularity! When I see CC’s and Grands awarded to Tabbies with excessive agouti invasion of the pattern, and to others, which are blatantly in possession of the Wide-band gene, I do feel very frustrated. Even better are the show reports that eulogise over the pattern of these self-same cats; and others that criticise a Shaded for having insufficient markings or a Tabby for having ticking between the pattern! In this situation is it really possible that accepting both Barred & Barless Ticked Tabbies is going to cause any more confusion? I don’t really think so!

THE TABBY & SHADED OF TICKED PATTERN
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?
The simple answer to this question is a resounding Yes, there is most certainly a difference, BUT I have to admit it may seem very subtle to those not initiated into the subtleties of the Shaded. As a comparison there are people who have difficulty differentiating between Blue, Lilac, Fawn, Blue based Caramel, Lilac based Caramel and Fawn based Caramel; and also the Creams based on Blue, Lilac and Fawn and Apricot based Blue, Lilac and Fawn. Indeed there are still sceptics who dispute the existence of Caramel and Apricot, and we won’t even consider ‘Indigo’!!

First we must back track! There are two forms of Ticked Tabby, and accordingly four forms of Shaded of Ticked base:

Just as the Wide-band gene affects the pattern of the Classic and Spotted Tabby, so it affects the Ticked Tabby BUT the visual effect is less obvious. There is a definite degradation in the quality of ticking as one goes from a Ticked Tabby to a Shaded.

If one examines cats of the genotypes of homozygous Ticked pattern, T^aT^a, from the above table listed 1, 3 & 4 it is clear that cats of genotype 1 have crisp, well defined banding. This should show as a dark tip with a light band followed by a second dark band and then light to the root. For perfection I would like a third dark band, but this is a rarity! Cats of genotype 3 will have less definition to the banding, and some hairs will only have a coloured tip. Cats of genotype 4 will have little if any visible banding, and will have only a dark tip to some of the hairs. The depth of the dark tip will vary considerably, and some hairs will be devoid of any dark tipping.

By virtue of being homozygous for Ticked Pattern, these cats will have an absence of tabby barring to legs, chest, face and tail. Cats of genotype 1 are unlikely to have anything more than very feint barring to the inside of the fore legs, whilst those of genotype 4 will be totally devoid of any visible barring, and are likely to be rather lightly coloured. To me this is the ideal genotype for the Shaded.

Cats of genotypes 2, 5 & 6 are heterozygous for Ticked Pattern and accordingly have some markings to legs, chest, face and tail. The cat of genotype 2 is the Ticked Tabby in accordance with the current GCCF Standard of Points. The variation in the quality of banding is identical to those of the barless forms 1, 3 & 4 detailed above, a gradual degradation of clarity through the heterozygote for Wide-band to the homozygote.

There is however a further and distinctly noticeable variation between cats of genotype 2, 5 & 6, this difference is in respect of the clarity and quality of tabby barring. The heterozygote Ticked Tabby (2) will have definite barring to the legs, one or more broken or joined necklaces, facial markings, and barring to the tail. It is highly unlikely that the tail will be barred along it’s entire length, and even more unlikely that the tail ‘rings’ will be complete.

We have already seen that the Wide-band gene affects tabby pattern. Clearly therefore it affects the quality of barring on a Shaded of Ticked pattern. The cat of genotype 5 will have an inferior quality of barring, which will be particularly noticeable on the tail. As the kitten develops the tail barring will begin to break down until probably only the last third or so of the tail will be barred. The breakdown of leg markings is not so obvious. In the cat of genotype 6, that is the homozygote for wide-band, there is a definite breakdown of all barring, the tail will exhibit only a solid tip, and leg markings will be very ghostly at best, or is it worst? The cat of this genotype will closely resemble those cats of barless form (T^aT^a). However the difference is that whilst the barless form will not show tabby barring even as a youngster, the cat of genotype 6 does have barring at an early age and these will fade out as the youngster grows.

There we have it then, the differences between the complex mixtures of Ticked Pattern and Wide-band. It all seems very complicated and technical, and yes sometimes you do have to look at individual hairs against both a light and dark background, but at the end of the day they are very pretty moggies! If you are confused, don’t lose sleep over it! Just enjoy the cats for themselves.

EXISTING TICK-BASED SHADEDS.
I hope the foregoing will not frighten people away from these cats! The Ticked based Shaded certainly seems to be gaining popularity and is consistently winning at the shows, notable amongst these are Barbara Fellows’ GD CH CHELANCA PENTLANDITE 43ps, and her ‘little carbon-copy’ daughter CH CHELANCA SERRA ANGEL 43ps owned by Mark & Mary Parkinson. CH SMAUG TORTELEENIE 43p owned and bred by Mark & Mary, sired by CH CHELANCA SMAUG HIMAGGERY 45fns. Janet Singleton’s GD CH CHELANCA SNOW DRAGON 43ds.Fiona English’s CH CHELANCA FORTUNE COOKIE 43p. And last but by no means least Brian and Chris Wooller’s GD CH & GD PR CHELANCA LORD GYLLENE 43bs.

As for me, having ‘played’ with the Shaded since 1974, I had decided once again to give up breeding, but for reasons totally unknown, even to me, I’ve decided to dabble a little longer! HARISLAU DAYDREAMIN PASTEL 43hs, a Chocolate Tortie Silver queen; owned & bred jointly with my Mother; who I believe to be of genotype A_T^a_W^bW^bIi, will be mated to CHELANCA AUTUMN FROST 43ds. This mating may well produce a kitten of genotype AAT^a T^a W^bW^b II, that is pure for agouti, Ticked pattern, shaded factor and Silver! Should I be so lucky! CHELANCA DAPPLED DAWNDREAM, 43p, a cat of most unusual colouring showing an exceptional expression of the Wide-band gene; a characteristic of the line going back to my first Silver Shaded queen SCINTILLA KAFFY OLE, 26 (now 43ns); has been mated to CHELANCA AUTUMN FROST 43ds. This queen is without doubt the daftest, most soppy cat going especially where men are concerned! If her kittens inherit her nature then I fear I’ll have to keep them all!!

So that then is a synopsis of the background, genetics and description of what I believe to be the most attractive of all Oriental cats – the Ticked base Shaded, possibly the most complicated of all Orientals to breed.

To return to my starting point I have to say to your Chairman, ‘Sorry Carol, I’ve probably confused the hell out of everyone!’ IF anyone cares to discuss this complex subject further please speak to me at one of the few shows at which I officiate or alternately give me a phone call.

© John S Harrison,

18-12-1999

TICKED BASED SHADEDS

( plus cats instrumental in their breeding)

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NB - Chelanca Cinnabar was registered as 45d, but was in fact 43d