Amazing Color-Changing Kittens: What Is Fever Coat?
Kittens are pretty magical. They can bring even the most jaded people to their knees with a single, tiny mew. They can instantly brighten any day and make the sun feel like it's shining even if it's storming. But they can't change colors, right? Funny story: It turns out they can.
While the above photo would satisfy all my Lisa Frank-fueled childhood dreams of a hot pink kitten, the "color-changing" kittens we're talking about are born with bright silver. As they age, their fur changes until they are a completely different color than the fluff they were born with, a phenomenon known as "fever coat."
Fever (or stress) coat occurs when the mother cat is ill with a high fever or stress during pregnancy and doesn't usually have any negative effects on the kitten's overall health.
A stray moggy from the UK, Georgie, gave birth to a litter of six kittens born with this unusual coloration. Maggie Roberts, head vet at Cats Protection HQ in Sussex, was contacted in regards to Georgie's strange brood. Four of the kittens only had the silver patches on their legs, but two were completely covered in the silver fur.
After a bit of research, it was determined that the kittens most likely have fever coat. As they aged, the kittens shed their silvery outer coats and showed their true colors: two black kittens, three torties, and one tabby.
More recently, a tiny, premature kitten was brought to the National Kitten Coalition, discovered hours after he was born. Co-founder Susan Spaulding worked 'round the clock to save this fantastically colored preemie, whom they named Rizzo.
The silver portion of Rizzo's fur will eventually turn black, like other cats with fever coat. "Just as with Siamese points, which are due to a temperature-sensitive gene, the coloring shows darker on his extremities because their temperature is cooler," says Spaulding, who has had a dozen or so cases of fever coat over her years working in cat rescue.
Rizzo in action (still a bit wobbly!):
Rizzo's changing coat:
Bruce the cat is another example of a rescued kitty that grew out of his silvery fever coat into a handsome black cat.
Have you ever had a color-changing kitten?
[h/t LoveMeow, The Ross Gazette]
Mialee had 6 babies the two first kitten A, B came out pure black the second pair of kittens C, D came out silver gray and the Third pair E, F came out black and gray mix they all have blue eyes! We were surprised for the colors of the second n third pair because the mom is pure siamese and that dad is pure Turkish Angora rare black cat! So the colors don’t go with the parents only the two first one because they came out pure black like the dad and sky blue eyes Like the mama!
But they Beautiful we have 3 fluffy kittens two regular short hair and one extra fluffy extra furry little girl kitten super soft.
My black cat had a litter of 4 (2 girls 2 boys) that all had fever coat. We ended up with 3 black (1 girl 2 boys) and one grey and black tabby. It was so cool seeing them “develop” each week, although I wish one or w would have stayed at the salt and pepper shade. The turned 2 one 4/28/2020.
I rescued an abused kitten at 4 weeks, from kids who were dunking him in a water puddle. He was severely under weight (8 oz) and had severe eye and upper respiratory infections, so much so, his eyes were swollen shut. He was mostly a very silvery light brown and had a tail that was so silvery it looked as though it had been dunked in white paint. He lived, blind, on my chest (24 hours a day) for the first 5 days until his medications were working enough to allow his eyes to open. He is now a little over 2 years old and is black all over with a brown highlight undercoat that you can only see in the sunlight. His tail lost all the silver over the first year. We have learned he is a good majority Turkish Angora and is my very talkative feline soul mate. He’s 13lbs now, healthy, gorgeous, very loved, and very happy! His name is Chewy aka Chew Chew aka Chew Bear aka Coo Bear aka Boo Bear aka Lord Chewington of Ipswitch… LoL
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I hand rear abandoned or feral kittens, and at the moment I have a black and white boy who has silvery grey fever coat patches on his legs, his sibling a tortoiseshell, came to me with hardly any hair on her back, which is slowly growing back now. I did have a black kitten a couple of years ago that had fever coat all over, but he did turn completey black again after a few months.
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