# Why are brown cats uncommon?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brown-cats-uncommon/490093>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 19, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brown-cats-uncommon/490093 "2009-03-19T23:55:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brown-cats-uncommon/490093/1 "2009-03-19T23:55:16Z")

</div>

There are many brown tabbies out there. But aside from specific breeds like Burmese and Havna Browns, you don’t see a lot of solid brown cats. I personally have only ever seen one (she’s a real cutie). For that matter, I can’t think of any cats that have solid brown patches, the way that other cats have[orange](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/364968261_b3cbaf39f9.jpg) or [grey](http://www.johnspamperedpooch.com/images/grey_cat.jpg) or [black](http://www.learn-english-network.org/images/jellicle.jpg) patches. Is the brown gene just not that common, or is there some intrinsic trait that makes brown unlikely?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-brown-cats-uncommon/490093/2 "2009-03-20T01:18:41Z")

</div>

> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#):
>
> Is the brown gene just not that common, or is there some intrinsic trait that makes brown unlikely?

It’s recessive, in a three-level dominance scheme. B is the dominant form = black cat. In fact if you look closely at a black cat in bright sunlight you’ll see that are actually just very, very dark brown. Two further gene variants - one produces brown ( chocolate ), which is recessive to black, but dominant to the final version that produces lighter brown ( cinnamon ).

Further the dominant form of the orange gene also overrides the black gene above.

In addition the piebald gene ( white spotting ) will overlay any of the above ( to the point of occasionally an all white cat with a few non-white hairs - the “giant white spot” phenomenom ).

There’s more, but basically the answer is just that is a more rarely expressed recessive condition relative to other colors.