Fever Coat Kittens are being sold as a Black Smoke, Buyer Beware
I am frequently seeing Fever Coat being mistaken for a Black Smoke by breeders or they are scamming clients who don't know how to tell the difference. Why scam, because Black Smokes are in demand all over the world. They can be hard to find and expensive to buy. I am seeing quite a few Facebook posts by breeders and online websites that are selling kittens with a Fever Coat as Black Smokes. I think some have no idea how to ID kitten coats and others are doing it on purpose because of the demand. FYI: once that Fever Coat grows out, the cat will be solid Black. Fever Coat can affect any color though.
I also belong to a Maine Coon group for color identification and a lot of breeders don’t study color genetics and they don’t ID kitten coat colors correctly. I unfollowed the group because it was upsetting to see so many breeders have no idea what they are talking about and when you explain the science to them, they won’t listen. This includes trying to explain it to people who just bought a solid Black kitten with fever coat, and they think they bought a Black Smoke.
Thankfully a fever coat is not harmful to the kitten. It just means mom may have been stressed, or had an URI, or a medication caused the coat pigment to be altered at birth or after birth for the kitten. It does grow out in time. Fever Coat can be mild to basically extreme making the entire kitten look frosted.
Smoke aka Silver starts at the ROOTS. So, the roots of the coat will be Silver. Fever coat looks like a frosted coat but if you look at the roots, they are darker. When I see this mistake made by breeders or when they call a lighter Black Smoke like Phoenix a Blue Smoke, I point out their error and provide why the color ID is wrong. Most won’t listen though.
A reputable breeder researches and works hard to understand their color IDs, what their particular parents can produce together, and they always seek to learn more. The size of the Cattery has nothing to do with it either, they have either made an effort to understand color genetics or not and more. A breeder should always know this information, but many don't. Properly identifying a kitten's color classification is a basic understanding of breeding. Amazes me how many dog and cat breeders have no idea about color genetics, and they confidently miscolor classify their kittens/pups, and are not interested in learning. They also get offended when someone points out that they are wrong. After raising companion pets for 12 years, I have learned many breeders simply don't care to grow and learn. Someone can be breeding for a decade but still never have learned beyond what they knew when they started. Other breeders will have a wealth of knowledge but been breeding a few years. The length of time breeding or the size of their program is irrelevant if they are not always learning and growing as a breeder along the way. I take so much pride in learning everything I can, and I am open to learning more along my journey through the years. If you have a true passion for something, you can't seem to learn enough to fulfill your passion.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FEVER COAT https://www.brucethecat.co.nz/blog/fever-coat-what-is-it
I also belong to a Maine Coon group for color identification and a lot of breeders don’t study color genetics and they don’t ID kitten coat colors correctly. I unfollowed the group because it was upsetting to see so many breeders have no idea what they are talking about and when you explain the science to them, they won’t listen. This includes trying to explain it to people who just bought a solid Black kitten with fever coat, and they think they bought a Black Smoke.
Thankfully a fever coat is not harmful to the kitten. It just means mom may have been stressed, or had an URI, or a medication caused the coat pigment to be altered at birth or after birth for the kitten. It does grow out in time. Fever Coat can be mild to basically extreme making the entire kitten look frosted.
Smoke aka Silver starts at the ROOTS. So, the roots of the coat will be Silver. Fever coat looks like a frosted coat but if you look at the roots, they are darker. When I see this mistake made by breeders or when they call a lighter Black Smoke like Phoenix a Blue Smoke, I point out their error and provide why the color ID is wrong. Most won’t listen though.
A reputable breeder researches and works hard to understand their color IDs, what their particular parents can produce together, and they always seek to learn more. The size of the Cattery has nothing to do with it either, they have either made an effort to understand color genetics or not and more. A breeder should always know this information, but many don't. Properly identifying a kitten's color classification is a basic understanding of breeding. Amazes me how many dog and cat breeders have no idea about color genetics, and they confidently miscolor classify their kittens/pups, and are not interested in learning. They also get offended when someone points out that they are wrong. After raising companion pets for 12 years, I have learned many breeders simply don't care to grow and learn. Someone can be breeding for a decade but still never have learned beyond what they knew when they started. Other breeders will have a wealth of knowledge but been breeding a few years. The length of time breeding or the size of their program is irrelevant if they are not always learning and growing as a breeder along the way. I take so much pride in learning everything I can, and I am open to learning more along my journey through the years. If you have a true passion for something, you can't seem to learn enough to fulfill your passion.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FEVER COAT https://www.brucethecat.co.nz/blog/fever-coat-what-is-it