What's the best way to tell the difference between a red tabby with the silver gene and one that's dilute? I have two red tabby girls who aren't "just" red, but they're also two different shades of red-ish. I'm pretty sure at least one of them is simply dilute red, but I wonder about the other one, and why they look different.
It's hard to get a picture of them next to each other because they don't really get along (in the second picture I think they were investigating a piece of dropped food I think)
The little old lady that's a bit less stripey is Babycakes, and the big fat one is Ginger. Ginger is a bit lighter compared to the reds my friends have.
Best way to tell the difference between a cream (dilute red) and a cameo (red silver) cat is the base of the hairs. Cameo cats will have the bases of the hairs be extremely pale and white. If you part their fur, the color of the fur at the base of their skin should be white. Cream cats do not have this, because it's a side effect of inhibitor.
That being said, Babycakes is a cream mackerel tabby, and Ginger is a cameo mackerel tabby with white.