#hes actually a melanistic tabby

[sunsetzer]

It just occurred to me that my kitten has not graced tumblr with his presence yet.

Behold: Draco

[caliginousarchitect]

Vongola 10th generation squad (+Byakuran and Kyoko) based on @bonesetblues​‘s KHR/BNHA crossover curiosity kills the cat (but satisfaction brings it back)

As yet in the fic only Tsunayoshi and Byakuran have actual established cat forms, so I was like,,, WHEEEE Tsuna I did him as a cinnamon classic tabby longhair. Not actually doing him as a Norwegian Forest Cat, but I did base his facial structure on one a bit. (And it is quite funny to envision him going from being one of the smallest of his agemates to having a good kilo on them) Byakuran Longhair, high white spotting over lilac (with a carried point gene because even carried it can affect the eyes sometimes). Also wings. He came out kinda Eh sadly, I think Hayato Mediumhair blue silver spotted mackerel tabby. Something about him gave me spotted tabby vibes (and hey, kinda a shoutout to Uri), and I got to make his facial markings be a shourout to his glasses. Takeshi Shorthair black solid, very low white spotting. Homozygous for Japanese Bobtail (fun fact, Japanese Bobtail is a Partial Dominance gene- with only one JB gene, the cat has a shorter than normal kinked tail instead). I actually concluded that Bobtail was a very fun idea for Takeshi, because it’d make him a lot harder to read. You can’t really see the emotions the tail would convey if the tail is that short, after all; like how Takeshi generally gives off cheerful vibes all the time, shrouding his actual thoughts. Kyoya Black solid mediumhair, with very oriental-type build and head structure. Lambo Did him as a kitten because, well. him young. Gave him Laperm-type curled fur, since Lambo has fairly curly hair (he’d be medium or longhair, but, well, kittenfluff) and curled ears (to reference his lightning horns). Black solid with medium white spotting forming patches to reference his general cow theming. Chrome Blue solid shorthair (pale/light blue). Gave her some white hairs to indicate scars because,,, how, exactly, did she end up losing an eye and internal organs and not have scars? (even if the accident didn’t leave any somehow, surely there were medical proceedures at some point that would have?) Mukuro Blue solid mediumhair (dark blue). You know, I didn’t realise his other eye was blue until right now? (Although I’m a manga reader so) Also his Eye of Reincarnation is drawn in its third path, Path of Beasts, because I Thought It Was Funny. Ryohei Shorthair blue silver classic tabby with extreme ticking and rufousing, and a little white spotting. I actually have other incarnations of Ryohei. Still a bit iffy on how our attempt at his markings/colouration came out here. (alternate version that can’t be put here because of image limit is a red tabby with very high white spotting, with his red patches being in more unusual spots than you’d usually have, and slightly higher rufousing than Kyoko)

Kyoko Longhair red classic tabby with extreme ticking and less extreme rufousing than her brother, and low white spotting on her nose. (have an alternate version is the same but just, classic tabby instead of ticked classic tabby, but again, don’t have the image allowance to put that in this post) Other characters who we are considering doing: Xanxus- gives me real strong longhair/ medium-high rufousing / black classic tabby vibes. Probably built like a maine coon. Big beefy boy. Squalo- It’d be kinda funny to have him be a shorthair? Just because imagining how he’d flip out given the reason he has longhair is mildly amusing. Blue silver broken mackerel tabby to go for shark gill/scale vibes. Maybe some white spotting? Reborn- author of the fic thinking melanistic serval, me over here going “would a black savanna cat or a very small black cat be funnier?” Like, a savanna cat is 100% going to cause chaos, they’re leggy and they’re a hybrid breed that’s still using the rather unfortunate wild ancestors (unlike Bengals which are now a... what’s it called, a fixed breed? and no longer use their progenitor species) so the non-domestic genes are still very much there. A savanna is tall enough to open your doors easily. But on the other hand, having a tiny black thing doing all the same things despite the size IS very funny to think about. Expected vs unexpected chaos, I guess? those are the only other ones that really wandered through my mind while I was doing these, but maybe others will in time

[echo-echo31]

I shall give more animal facts 🫡

I may have mentioned this before, but cheetahs can chirp, purr, and even meow like house cats! They are incredibly anxious and passive cats, and in zoos or other wild animal centres they can find it difficult to mate, which is why most cheetahs in captivity are provided with a puppy at a young age, some of which are even rescues from kill shelters! The puppy and cub usually form a bond that can channel the cheetah’s natural anxiety and lasts for a lifetime, and with the cheetah being overall calmer and happier, it’s easier for them to mate with others in captivity, which in turn is helping to save the species! (I know I said a lot of this before but it’s so wonderful, and I wanted to say it again for anyone who missed it last time).

The term “panther” actually doesn’t refer to an actual species and instead refers to a melanistic (or black) jaguar or leopard.

There are actually many color mutations that wild cats can have, although most do not occur naturally. Melanism is only one example, and others include leucism (white, but not albino), ticked (spotless), or strawberry/golden/tabby (lighter spots or stripes).

There’s also a very small subspecies of lions called “tree lions” that spend a large amount of their lives in trees, which is unusual for lions who generally stay on the ground. Tree lions are incredibly endangered and there are only a few prides left in the world.

Tigers can actually be incredibly affectionate and loyal, as they will often form strong bonds with zookeepers and even cuddle up to their favourite handlers. Additionally, if a male tiger comes across a female he has mated with in the past, he will share a kill with her and any cubs she has at the time and let the female and cubs eat first. It’s even speculated that tigers who have mated are so loyal to each other they will kill any humans who harm or kill their previous mates, as a poacher who killed a female tiger was later mauled by a male tiger assumed to be the previous tigress’ mate.

Tigers also share 95% of their DNA with house cats and are basically house cats on steroids.

~ @sammys-magical-au

:)

[camelsandfriends]

Melanin in wild and captive bred animals Melanin is a dark pigmentation that occurs naturally in all animals. But it is much more common in our domesticated animals. This is due to selective breeding during the domestication process. For example, melanistic wolves have the mutation due to breeding with domesticated dogs. Melanin pigmentation is very dominate and once the gene is passed from one animal to the next in tighter knit groups-- such as wolf packs-- it won’t be long until a large majority of the wolves are melanistic.

A good example of this is to look at the wolves of Yellowstone. It wasn’t too long ago that a black wolf was a rare sight and today the majority of them are black. The wolf in the photo above is Lorne, a good example of a melanistic wolf who owes his black coat due to the influence at some point of domesticated dogs.

Silver Foxes that are commonly see in the wild are actually all melanistic. Just a few decades ago the population of Silver Foxes was under 10% and only found in cold climates. All Silver Foxes are just Red Foxes with a high percentage of melanin. Because dark pigmentation is so domination, Silver Foxes are now dominating both captive and wild fox populations. Sometimes they result in a ‘cross-fox’ which will display both dominate and recessive genes. The result is what you would expect: A Red Fox mixed with a Silver. The above fox is Prentiss, who is a fur-farm fox that I raised. He is Red Fox, but was intentionally bred to another melanistic fox for the purpose to be slaughtered for his coat. Melanism also occurs commonly in cats. Black house cats are melanistic, but some are darker than others. Solid appearing cats result from a recessive gene that suppresses the tabby pattern. (via camelsandfriends)