Source checked 12 November 2026. PawLine editorial team. Not professionally reviewed.
Vocabulary and description only, not breed identification, genetic testing or veterinary advice. No photo analysis, health inference or personality label. Contact your veterinary team for concerns about a real animal; do not delay care for a note or an app reply.
Phenotype
The observable expression discussed in UC Davis coat-color material. A visual description is not a complete genotype or a genetic report. Registries may name similar appearances differently, so keep the naming context alongside the term.
UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory Cat Fanciers Association
Color and pattern
Color describes the visible hue or the specialist word used for it. Pattern describes its arrangement. The Cat Fanciers Association lists solid, tabby, bi-color and pointed among useful descriptors. None of these words independently identifies a breed.
UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory Cat Fanciers Association
Dilution and point
UC Davis describes dilution as a change in pigment distribution in the fur shaft and colorpoint restriction as affecting pigment production. General definitions cannot establish which variants an individual cat carries. This glossary is not a test interpretation service.
UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory Cat Fanciers Association
Unknown and provisional
Unknown means the detail is not established. Provisional means a label is being considered, not confirmed. These are communication choices in this guide, not genetic categories or confidence scores. Keep them where the evidence remains incomplete.
UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory Cat Fanciers Association