Picture of a cat with a triple heart pattern when sitting

The title says it all. A heart pattern on a domestic cat is not very unusual. But when there are three heart patterns, one on the face, a second on the chest and a third formed by the forelegs, it has to be said to be highly unusual. It certainly caught my eye which is why I decided to republish it on this website. I don't know who took the photograph but I am confident that it is in the public domain because it must've circulated around the Internet and in doing so any copyright would have been lost in my humble opinion.

Picture of a cat with a triple heart pattern when sitting. Photograph in the public domain.

I don't believe that this cat is purebred but she/he might be a bicolor (2 colours) British Shorthair. I think that is the only cat breed which is possible. The cat is more likely to be a rare random bred cat. They do occur.

Bicolor British Shorthairs

I may have mentioned that bicolors are white plus one color. Funny in a way because white is an amalgam of three primary colors: red, green and blue.

It is the piebald gene (white spotting gene) that produces the white areas. Here is a famous British Shorthair bicolor photographed by Helmi Flick. His name is IW/SGC HMS Prescott of Chaucer "Scottie" for short. He was TICA's 2008 Alter of the Year (British Shorthair).

The photograph was published in Scientific American. Well done Helmi.

Bicolor British Shorhair cat - Photo copyright Helmi Flick

The colored parts of the coat appear to be grey, a dilute black. But there is little hint of blue in the grey. Perhaps a breeder can help me out with that. He lives with Jeane Camarena and daughter.

The photo on this page are protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).

Bicolor British Shorthair

The bicolor British Shorthair should be one third to one half white. The remainder of the coat should be colored. The colored areas are on top and the white fur is underneath. The picture below by the celebrated Helmi Flick shows two blue British Shorthairs on the outside and two blue bicolor kittens in the middle:

Blue and Bicolor British Shorthair Cats
Photo copyright Helmi Flick

The photo on this page is protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).

Symmetry in the coat is an ideal. The classic inverted "V" in white on the face is an example of this symmetry. This can be seen in the kittens in the photo.

The colored areas can be solid color (called "self" in cat fancy language) or tabby patterned. The colored areas can also be in more than one color. These cats are called "patched" coats. These are called "calico" cats in the USA (tortoiseshell and white). The patches of color are on the top of the cat.