# Why are there no brown cats? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 12, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674 "2010-02-12T06:46:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/1 "2010-02-12T06:46:50Z")
Why is it that there are cats in just about every colour and pattern there is, except for brown? I don’t think I’ve _ever_ seen a cat that was brown all over. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/2 "2010-02-12T06:54:05Z")
[Havana Brown cat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_Brown) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/3 "2010-02-12T06:58:18Z")
Is it possible to breed the rounder, stouter kind of cat with that same kind of coat? ---
**Author:** ![StrangeBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@StrangeBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangeBird)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/4 "2010-02-12T06:58:53Z")
I own a brown cat! She’s not the same shade of brown all over, though. She is lighter on her body and darker on her face and tail (like a siamese). Basically like this: > **[Royalty Free Stock Photos, Illustrations, Vector Art, and Video Clips - Getty...](https://www.gettyimages.com/)** > > Find the perfect royalty-free image for your next project from the world’s best photo library of creative stock photos, vector art illustrations, and stock photography. Except a much stockier body type. But you’re right solid brown is pretty rare - tabbys are more common than solid colours anyway, and I think brown may be recessive (cat colour genetics are complicated). Edited: In response to the above, my cat is stockier (despite her siamese patterning) because she’s a cross (Birman and Burmese). You could probably breed a stockier cat with the right colouration, but breeding a specific phenotype is involved (particularly if you want a stable trait across generations). ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/5 "2010-02-12T07:09:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > [Havana Brown cat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_Brown) > [@](#): > > Wikipedia wrote: > “The Havana Brown, also known as the Swiss Mountain cat.” > “Origin: Britain” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![chicken\_wire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@chicken\_wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicken_wire)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/6 "2010-02-12T07:09:18Z")
We used to have an ostensibly black cat, some kind of tabby. On close inspection, in the right light, he was actually very dark brown, with some variation in hue over his various parts. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/7 "2010-02-12T07:27:35Z")
I had a tuxedo cat and when she’s sit in a sunbeam you can see her black hair was VERY dark brown, not black. Maybe this has something to do with it ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/8 "2010-02-12T07:32:06Z")
[Burmese cats are generally brown.](http://images.google.nl/images?rlz=1C1CHMG_nlNL291NL305&sourceid=chrome&q=burmese+cat&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=0AN1S7CONsH-4AauvrmzCg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQsAQwAA) ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/9 "2010-02-12T07:43:34Z")
A friend of mine had a brown cat, who recently died. Uniformly dark brown all over, definitely not black. ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/10 "2010-02-12T07:45:36Z")
My friend has two [Abyssinian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssinian_(cat)) cats that are brown. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/11 "2010-02-12T07:54:36Z")
There’s a brown cat that lives next door to me. Not a very attractive colouration, I must admit, at least not on… him. Or her. Or whatever it is. ---
**Author:** ![StrangeBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@StrangeBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangeBird)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/12 "2010-02-12T07:57:25Z")
I suppose what we’re finding is that most brown cats tend to be a specific breed (not your general 'domestic short-hair). What I gathered from this: [Cat coat genetics - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_coat_genetics) Is that: - a solid colour requires the absence of the dominant tabby gene - the dominant form of the browning gene is the one that results in a black (or extremely dark brown) coat Both of these are going to make solid brown cats more unusual. ---
**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:** [February 12, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/13 "2010-02-12T13:36:10Z")
> [@StrangeBird](#): > > - the dominant form of the browning gene is the one that results in a black ( **or extremely dark brown** ) coat This is the key. I believe ALL black cats would look brownish in a sunbeam. Quoting: _Technically, the black is an almost-black, super-dark brown that is virtually black; true black is theoretically impossible, but often reached in the practical sense (so much for theory)._ “Black” is dominant to dark brown which is dominant to light brown. A further potential browning agent is the dilution gene, which could modify the above. One thing I love about cat coat genetics is there are often multiple ways to get to the same endpoint. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/14 "2010-02-12T14:40:18Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > This is the key. I believe ALL black cats would look brownish in a sunbeam. Quoting: _Technically, the black is an almost-black, super-dark brown that is virtually black; true black is theoretically impossible, but often reached in the practical sense (so much for theory)._ Interesting theory indeed. When you’re looking at a brown [this dark](http://s849.photobucket.com/albums/ab55/SCSimmons/Smudge/), I don’t feel bad calling it black, personally. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/15 "2010-02-12T14:55:48Z")
Brown tabbies are common. Tabby cats are more common than solid-colored cats in general. > [@Argent Towers](#): > > Is it possible to breed the rounder, stouter kind of cat with that same kind of coat? Yes. [Solid chocolate brown is one of the coat colors of Persian cats (PDF).](http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/standards/persian.pdf) Persians are an extreme example of the rounder, stockier body type, usually called cobby in cat breed standards. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/16 "2010-02-12T14:59:13Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > Interesting theory indeed. When you’re looking at a brown [this dark](http://s849.photobucket.com/albums/ab55/SCSimmons/Smudge/), I don’t feel bad calling it black, personally. Exactly - [this](http://www.flickr.com/photos/62555962@N00/3834054210/) is Stokie, and in that particular light you can see that he’s indeed very dark brown. Normally he just looks black. (Well, with his sockpaws and his dapper little shirt and… open fly, I guess. You can’t see his tuxedo pattern in that picture, is what I mean.) ---
**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:** [February 12, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/17 "2010-02-12T15:04:02Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > When you’re looking at a brown [this dark](http://s849.photobucket.com/albums/ab55/SCSimmons/Smudge/), I don’t feel bad calling it black, personally. Neither [do I](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/cats/DSCF4463.jpg) :). But you can definitely see it in the [right](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/cats/DSCF6514.jpg) [light](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/cats/IMG_5939.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/18 "2010-02-12T15:15:07Z")
I’ve got a longhair brown tabby. She must not be the only one, because we had someone stop at our house one day insisting it was her cat. I also once saw one squashed on the road that I thought was ours for a minute. (They used to be indoor/outdoor cats.) I don’t have any pix tho, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/19 "2010-02-12T16:11:04Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Wikipedia wrote: > > “The Havana Brown, also known as the Swiss Mountain cat.” > “Origin: Britain” > > 😕 Unlike the “Swiss” nomenclature, the “Havana” name is certainly not a [reference to geographical origin](http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/articles/havana91.html): > [@](#): > > It is well documented that self-brown cats were known and shown in Europe in the 1890’s. One of the recorded names given these brown cats was “Swiss Mountain Cat.” Unfortunately, they disappeared from the organized cat fancy and, as far as records show, from all cat lovers’ lives until the Post World War II period when they resurfaced. […] > > In the early 1950’s, a group of English fanciers who previously had worked independently, began to band together to systematically isolate the genetic design of a self brown cat. […] > > There are several theories on how the breed got its name — some historians insist it was named after the rabbit breed of the same color; however, the one most Havana Brown devotees choose to believe is that it got its name “because it was the color of rich Havana tobacco.” So you’ve got a brown cat breed recently originating in Britain and named “Havana” for its tobacco-brown color (either directly, or in imitation of an existing rabbit breed with the same tobacco-brown color), but also known by the name of an earlier brown cat breed associated with Switzerland. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674/20 "2010-02-12T19:42:49Z")
My cat is brown, black and white. ETA: Ohhh, brown all over, nvm. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-brown-cats/528674.md?page=2)