Vitiligo vs Fever Coat vs Smoke Color
Some may confuse these three things because of their similar appearances.
This is vitiligo βββ
They are not born with this condition (if they are, it may be a case of chimerism), it shows up as they age. The white/unpigmented spots will grow and develop all over. Don't worry, it isn't harmful. It's just like human vitiligo!
This is fever coat βββ
It's a rare condition in which the mama cat undergoes severe stress or an illness that causes a spike in body temperature during pregnancy. Prior to birth, the pigmentation of a kitten's coat is very sensitive to heat. When the kittens are born, you will notice white/frosted tips of fur along the body. Fortunately, this has no negative effect on them. Their original coat color is still written in their DNA and may take from 4 months up to a year to present itself.
This is a smoke pattern βββ
These cats have black fur with white roots. They are also born this way and keep this marvelous color. For longhair smokes, their mane and any other section where the fur is longer will look white.
