White Persians… A Ball of Fluff
By Vicki Dickerson Originally published in the 1983 CFA Yearbook
Page 3 The white coat color our Persians possess is due to a dominant, non sex-linked gene and is the only coat color in the domestic cat that is not sex-linked. All genes for coat color are found on the female sex (X) chromosome with the exception of white which is often referred to as the white masking gene, and dominant over all other coat colors. Most white Persians have a full complement of color genes in addition to their masking gene although they do not exhibit the color phenotypically. White can also mask the Himalayan and Bicolor patterns. Oftentimes a smudge or a dot of color can be found on the head of a white Persian kitten. These hairs can be any color or color combination including blue-cream or tortoiseshell on the female kittens. The blue and black hairs are very difficult to distinguish apart and the cream or red hairs are often overlooked because of the few hairs that are involved. This genetic button indicates the color the cat is masking under the white, but not exclusively. If no smudge of color is present, the cat can still be masking any of the above mentioned colors. There are some white Persians that only throw their white masking gene, therefore only white kittens are produced. These cats are referred to as homozygous whites and several are noted throughout this article.
Nearly everyone has heard of whites being called blue-white or creamy-white. You can even stand in front of an entire class of whites in the show ring and notice the variations in color. The questionnaire I sent out answered by 25 of 30 recipients elicited at least a dozen different opinions ranging from doubt of any variation to very complicated genetic reasons. The two most popular ideas of coat texture and color background can actually be tied into one concept. I tend to agree with Mrs. Geri Raicevich's (Jolee Cattery) theory that "if you see a variation in coat color, it is the texture of the coat that creates the illusion." Furthermore, the cats I perceive as having blue-white or sparkling-white also have very heavy or coarse guard hairs. Upon close examination these guard hairs have a cut glass shimmering look to them and are clear on some points of the hair shaft. This coarser coat texture comes from silky-shiny black or red backgrounds, however it is the texture that is important rather than the color. The coat texture often associated with dilutes (blue, cream and blue-cream) is generally a plushy or cottony coat with a heavy percentage of undercoat. Many breeders have pointed out that their whites that have cream in their background tend to have creamy-white coats, and perhaps this is due to their coat texture.
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