MUTATIONS, COAT VARIATIONS, ETC
Unusual coloursAlbino- A complete or nearly complete lack of pigmentation. They have white coats, pink nose and paw leather, and blue or pink eyes.
Melanistic-Black coat. All melanistic big cats can be called panthers, so be careful when you're making a realistic panther! The most common panthers are leopards and jaguars but there are occassionally reports of black cougars, servals cheetahs and more. Melanism is caused by a gene that produces melanin (a pigment that colours hair, eyes and skin, including us humans!). This gene produces more melanin than usual, making the animal darker. With spotted cats, the coat pattern can still be seen in the strong light.
Leucistic-White coat. This is not albinoism! It is known as the frost or chinchilla gene. There is less pigmentation than normal. There is still pigmentation (as you can see in the white tiger). They have blue eyes. Best known in white tigers and white lions. Can occur in other cats too!
Maltese-An unusual grey-blue colouring. No reliable evidence except in domestic cats, but claimed sightings in tigers, lynxes, bobcats and cheetahs.
Pseudo-melanism-Markings such as spots and stripes are so closely packed they make the animal look darker, such as tigers and leopards.
Tigers
Already covered: Maltese?, Leucistic, Melanistic?
Note on white tigers: All white tigers are Bengal tigers. They are not Snow tigers and they are not an endangered species. They are all descended from one Bengal tiger called Mohan. Some white tigers have no stripes.
Golden tabby-gold coat with faint striping
Cheetahs
King-commonly mistaken as a cheetah subspecies, this is where the spots are large
Isabelline-A theoretical colour in cheetahs. Pale red spots on a cream coat.
Erythristic (red)-Another theoretical colour in cheetahs. Reddish brown spots on a gold coat.
