KNOWLEDGE · FOR CAT BREEDERS
Cat colour codes: EMS (FIFe / WCF) and CFA names
Pedigrees from FIFe- and WCF-affiliated clubs write a cat's colour as a code such as RAG a 04 21, while CFA writes a name such as "Blue Lynx Point Mitted". This page decodes both, and shows which gene sits behind each colour.
Type an EMS code and read it in words
Try BRI a, RAG n 04 21, MCO fs 22 or SIA b 33
What an EMS code is made of
FIFe's Easy Mind System, followed by WCF and most clubs in Europe and Asia, always runs in this order. Parts that do not apply are simply left out.
RAG three-letter breed code
a colour letter (lower case), with s = silver / smoke, y = golden, t = amber added after it
01–09 amount of white
11–12 shaded / shell (tipped)
21–25 tabby pattern
31–33 points: Burmese / mink / Siamese
61–69 eye colour (used where the breed allows several)
Example: RAG a 04 21 = Ragdoll · blue · mitted · tabby (lynx). Every Ragdoll is pointed, so 33 is not written.
CFA uses names, not codes
The Cat Fanciers' Association (USA) writes colours as full names from each breed standard, and some breeds use their own words.
| CFA | EMS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Tortoiseshell | f | black tortie (black + red), female |
| Blue-Cream | g | blue tortie (blue + cream) |
| Calico / Dilute Calico | f 03 / g 03 | tortie with a lot of white |
| Brown Tabby | n 22 / n 23 | black-based tabby (Europe says black tabby) |
| Silver Tabby · Smoke · Shaded Silver · Chinchilla | ns 22 · ns · ns 11 · ns 12 | inhibitor gene (I) + amount of pattern |
| Seal / Blue / Chocolate / Lilac Point | n 33 · a 33 · b 33 · c 33 | pointed (cs/cs) black, blue, chocolate, lilac |
| Flame Point · Lynx Point · Tortie Point | d 33 · 21 33 · f 33 | red point · tabby point · tortie point |
| Sable · Champagne · Platinum · Blue (Burmese) | BUR n 31 · b 31 · c 31 · a 31 | sepia (cb/cb) black, chocolate, lilac, blue |
| Natural · Champagne · Platinum · Blue Mink (Tonkinese) | TON n 32 · b 32 · c 32 · a 32 | mink (cs/cb) |
| Mitted · Bicolor · Van (Ragdoll) | 04 · 03 · 01 | Ragdoll white patterns |
| Ruddy · Sorrel (Abyssinian) | ABY n · ABY o | black-based ticked tabby · cinnamon |
Base colours and the genes behind them
| Code | Colour | Genes |
|---|---|---|
| n | black / seal (pointed) / ruddy (Abyssinian) | B/-, D/- |
| a | blue | B/-, d/d |
| b | chocolate | b/b or b/bl, D/- |
| c | lilac | b/b, d/d |
| o | cinnamon / sorrel | bl/bl, D/- |
| p | fawn | bl/bl, d/d |
| d | red | O (males O/Y · females O/O), D/- |
| e | cream | O, d/d |
| f g h j q r | torties of n a b c o p (tortoiseshell, blue-cream, chocolate tortie, lilac tortie, cinnamon tortie, fawn tortie) | O/o, female |
| w | white (solid white) | W/- (masks every colour) |
| s | silver (tabby) / smoke (solid), added after the colour, e.g. ns, as | I/- (no DNA test) |
| y | golden, e.g. ny 11 (the traditional, phenotype-based code) | tabby (A) + wideband · no silver |
| u | corin (wideband by DNA test), e.g. BSH nu 11, SIB nsu 22 · sunshine · copper / golden | CORIN wb/wb, wbs/wbs, wbe/wbe — testable (12-Shade Golden/Shaded panel · Sunshine panel); FIFe uses u for DNA-tested cats, a solid cat registers as nu (n) |
| t | amber (Norwegian Forest), nt / at | e/e |
Pattern, white, points and eyes
| Code | Meaning | Genes |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | van — nearly all white, colour on head and tail | ws/ws |
| 02 | harlequin — mostly white with patches | ws/ws |
| 03 | bicolour — about half white | ws/w |
| 04 | mitted (Ragdoll) — gloves, chin, chest | recessive gloving allele |
| 09 | white, amount unspecified | ws |
| 11 / 12 | shaded (tipped 1/3) / shell-chinchilla (tipped 1/8) | I + wideband |
| 21 | tabby, pattern unspecified (on a pointed cat = lynx) | A/- |
| 22 | classic / blotched | A/-, mc/mc |
| 23 | mackerel (striped) | A/-, Mc/- |
| 24 | spotted | A/- + modifiers |
| 25 | ticked (Abyssinian) | A/-, TiA/- |
| 31 | sepia / Burmese point | cb/cb |
| 32 | mink / Tonkinese | cs/cb |
| 33 | point / Siamese-Himalayan | cs/cs |
| 61 62 63 64 | blue · orange/copper · odd · green eyes | — |
| 65 66 67 | Burmese · Tonkinese (aqua) · Siamese (blue) eyes | follows the C locus |
| 68 69 | dominant blue eyes (DBE) · dominant odd eyes | PAX3 etc. |
Breeds common in Thailand
FIFe/WCF codes. Thai breeds (Khao Manee, Suphalak) have no FIFe code; WCF and TICA use their own, so follow the pedigree of the registering club.
Sources: FIFe EMS System (fifeweb.org) · WCF EMS codes · CFA breed standards (cfa.org) · UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (feline coat colour). Educational information; each registry decides which colours it recognises.