In the event you can inform your tabbies out of your tortoiseshells, ask your self this: have you ever ever petted a ‘salty liquorice’?
For Finnish researchers have found a uncommon number of cat, recognisable by its dappled black-and-white markings.
Salty liquorice cats have distinctive salt and pepper fur, with many particular person hairs colored solely on the base close to the pores and skin.
Dubbed ‘salmiak’ in Finnish after a well-liked salty liquorice snack, the bizarre colouring was first seen on three cats in 2007. Researchers on the College of Helsinki sought cats with the same sample and took samples of their DNA.
They then contacted Dr Heidi Anderson, a feline scientist at Mars Petcare Science & Diagnostics, to see if there was something uncommon within the cats’ genetic make-up.
Finnish researchers have found a uncommon number of cat, recognisable by its dappled black-and-white markings (File picture)
Salty liquorice cats have distinctive salt and pepper fur, with many particular person hairs colored solely on the base close to the pores and skin (File picture)
Dr Anderson’s testing discovered the cats had a ‘huge chunk of DNA lacking’ – resulting in the bizarre color impact. She added: ‘These coats have aroused a variety of admiration for years. It is actually thrilling that we now have some genetic clarification for it.’
Publishing their findings within the journal Animal Genetics, researchers wrote: ‘This salmiak patterning of white hairs is most noticeable in stable black cats, however it may happen with totally different color backgrounds, together with, for instance, brown tabby, tortoiseshell and dilution (blue) and in each female and male cats.’
The researchers added that it had been thought salmiak-coloured cats have been infertile due to their rarity. Nonetheless the authors stated their observations had debunked this.
