Bicolor cat

A bicolor cat (also bicolour cat, or a more specific term such as black-and-white cat) is a cat with white fur combined with fur of some other color, for example solid black, tabby, or colorpointed. There are various patterns of bicolor cat. These range from the Van-patterned (color on the crown of the head and the tail only) through to solid color with a throat locket or medallion. Bicolor coats are found in many cat breeds, as well as being common in domestic longhair and domestic shorthair cats.

Where there is low-to-medium grade white spotting limited to the face, paws, throat and chest of an otherwise black cat, they are known in the United States as a tuxedo cat. High-grade bicolor results in Van-patterned cats, which is typical for the Turkish Van breed. There are many patterns between, such as "cap-and-saddle", "mask-and-mantle" and "harlequin" (also known as "magpie").

Mostly-solid-color bicolor cats occur because there is a white spotting gene present along with a recessive allele of the agouti gene, which evens out the usual striped pattern of the colors of the coat. In contrast, tabby cats have an agouti gene that produces striping of the coat. The Abyssinian has agouti (ticked tabby) fur, giving the appearance of even color with color-banded hairs.