The colour variant gold is a modifier of the tabby pattern, and it is found in British Shorthair cats. A mutation in the CORIN gene causes enlargement of the pheomelanin bands of the hair and restricts the eumelanin to the hair tip. Affected animals are characterized by lighter tabby markings and golden coloration, which can range from a warm tone to copper-coloured phenotype with a red coat and ivory markings on the belly and upper sides of the paws. The colour variation can only occur in genetically tabby cats, which are cats with the genotype AA or Aa at the agouti locus (see Coat colour Variant Agouti (Tabby).
A test for the coat colour variant gold / copper in British shorthair is now available at Laboklin. If you have already tested a cat with us before for any coat colour, you can order the test on stored DNA without having to send in a new sample.
