Among many cat breeds, grey and white cat breeds are common. There are always good looking gorgeous pets features in many TV shows and advertisements.
Even on the internet, the vast amount of cat images are from grey and white cats.
However, these grey and white colour patterns are not from a single cat breed. There are purely genetic to several cat breeds. There are some other cat breeds which show this grey and white patterns even they are purely based on different colours.
The colour pattern solely depends on their hidden genes, and it does change with generation to generation.
Okay, without further talks, here are the 11 most popular grey and white cat breeds.
Grey and white cat breeds – Common Types
1. British Shorthair
British shorthair is a friendly and easy cat. Happy to be with his owner; yet do not show high-end affection. It has been said that British shorthair is not a type of always willing to sit in your lap.
However, it likes to play and follow you from room to room. If your child is a charming person, then most probably, British shorthair will like him/her very much. You can raise these cat breeds with cat-friendly dogs without any problem.
British shorthair’s personality is kind of an independent type one. They thrive without much affection from the owner. However, that does not mean they didn’t like to pet them. Mostly, in day to day activities, they may not be active much.
Physical Attributes
Body:
Their body varies from medium size to large. They have a well-fit body and a broad chest.
Coat Color:
There are a variety of colours in their coat. Especially, patterned with two colours in grey and white. Sometimes, this grey colour is referred to as British blue.
Other than these two colours, lavender, Himalayan patterns or chocolate (dark brown) colours can be seen in them too.
Fun Facts:
- They come from ancient Rome cats. Long history.
- Most adored or else fancy type of cats
- British Shorthair is the famous cat type in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
2. Persian Cat
This is one of cat breed that been loved by many TV shows. Persian cats are famous for their long thick coat and their round eyes with a sweet expression.
They enjoy a relaxed life. Sitting on a chair and looking outside activities will be their daily routine. They have an independent life. But they love to show much to their owner and enjoy their affection.
They have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years. Persian cats show much friendliness to children and other pets too.
Further, if you express affections daily, they will surely repay it by showing same kind of affection toward you.
Physical Attributes
Body:
Their body varies from medium size to large with a weight range of 8 to 14 pounds.
Coat Color:
In the beginning, it says that Persian cats had only a gray colour. However, with time now there are a wide variety of colours in Persian cat breed family. Among them, there are 7 different colours which can be seen around the Persian cat family.
Grey and white, grey and gold are quite popular with cat lovers.
Fun Facts:
- Sometimes Persian cats are groomed as lions due to their long thick coat. Cat parents reduce the coat only in the body area but keeping the coat around neck and face.
- There are roughly 80 different colour combination of Persian cats.
3. Van Cat
The Van cat, or else known as Turkish Van is a lovely feline friend with the long thick tail. This unique feature makes them so adorable.
The van cat is a natural breed type with different colour markings in their head to tail. They have a good source of fitness and active body and legs.
Van cats are one of the cat breeds that actively play all day long. They love to play with their owner and quickly get along with kids and other types of pets in the house. They seek attention and show affection if you treat them nicely.
Cat water fountains are a trendy item that been famous with these cat breed. They love to watch it and play with water for hours.
Physical Attributes
Body:
Medium size yet moderately long body with a muscular build. Weight range goes around 7 to 12 Pounds.
Coat Color:
The coat is kind of semi-long with a texture of cashmere-like.
Other than the grey and white colour pattern, there are other colour patterns of light brown, reddish, diluted tortoiseshell, brown patched tabby, blue patched tabby and many more.
Fun Facts:
- An ancient breed which has a long history
- Sometimes, van cats tend to show very different eye colours
- Even this is one of the oldest cat breed; there are rare in the US.
- Their body is built for fast-moving in water
4. European Shorthair
European shorthair is the one that comes from thousands of years ago. There are considered as the first cat that has been a “house cat”. Their loyalty towards human is a famous trait.
They have a wide variety of colours and different patterns. Their very intelligent and form strong bonds with their owners.
European shorthair is one of the best cat companions that any cat lover should have. Children and other pets get along without any problem. However, they actively maintain their territorial behaviour among other cats.
When grooming a European shorthair, there aren’t much thing to do. They are low maintains type with the capability of adapting to many different climate conditions.
Physical Attributes
Body:
Medium size cat with a weight of 15 Pounds.
Coat Color:
There are a lot of colour variations. However, their coat distinctive tabby pattern is the unique feature of theirs.
Other than the grey and white tabby patterns, there are brown, black and tan colours.
Fun Facts:
- First cat type is known to human
- British Shorthair is one of the least vocal cats
5. Oriental Shorthair
Oriental shorthair is one of best cat breed with highest intelligent level. You can train her to do may tasks that you wish.
Not only that, but she loves to be pet by her parent. She shows much affection towards her parent and intelligent enough to make a strong bond.
Even her body seems long and slim; it is an active and muscular one with excellent physical conditions.
You do not need to worry about the grooming. Oriental shorthair is a self-groomed type cat with a very active daily routine.
Physical Attributes
Body:
They have strong bones and firm muscles. The body is long and svelte.
Coat Color:
Actually, there are more than 300 colour variants in oriental cat breed other than the gray and white version. Some of the most seen patterns are smoke, shaded, bicolour, tabby colour types and particolor.
Fun Facts:
- They are excellent jumpers and love heights
- There is another cat breed called oriental longhair which is similar to this breed, but longer the hair
- Even they seem small and slim; there are heavier
- Very talkative cat breed type
6. Norwegian Forest Cat
As the name suggests, the Norwegian forest cat has some wild cat behaviour. A strong and large body with moderate activeness.
They love to nap most of the day in a high place in your house. Other than that, they will wander around the surrounding more than other types of cat breeds.
Norwegian forest cat may not fond of one person. But it will fond for whole family members and love to be with them. However, they do not like to pet too much. What they adore most is sitting around his family members and watch them.
Physical Attributes
Body:
These cats have a fit body with well-balanced muscles. A well-prepared body like a wild cat. Relatively large body compared to other breed types.
Coat Color:
There are numerous colour variations of this cat breed. Most of the time, the colour pattern will be a mixed one with white colour. Brown, grey, cinnamon-like colours are the most common.
Fun Facts:
- This cat breed has a connection to the Norwegian fairy tale. It says that Norse goddess Freya’s chariot was pulled by these six giant Norwegian forest cats
- “Wegie”, is a nickname for Norwegian forest cats; by the way in Norway, they been called as “skogcatts”,
- Bottom of Form
7. Devon Rex
Devon Rex is a small cat breed which has unique features in her body. The large pointed ears, slender body and wavy coat make them so different from traditional cat breed types.
Devon rex is kind of an intelligent cat. She loves to learn new tricks and play them with her parent. She expects lots of affection from her owner and able to show her gratitude nicely.
This breed type is an energetic and playful all over the day. They do not maintain that much independency. Always loves to have a companion.
Coat fur is not fully dense all over the body. Top of the head, neck and chest do not have much fur. But other places fur density is higher.
Physical Attributes
Body:
Small body with a weight lower than 8 Pounds.
Coat Color:
Coat colour presents several varieties of colours such as white, grey, blue, black, cream, red, brown, dark brown and cinnamon. With these colours, the coat consists of different patterns such as solid, bicolour, tabby, smoke, shaded and tri colour.
Fun Facts:
- Sometimes called the pixie of the cat world
- Due to their personality, they said as a cross between a cat, dog and monkey
8. Scottish Fold
The Scottish fold originally comes from Scotland. A cat with all caring and lovely characteristics that a cat parent love to have.
Their folded ears are the unique body feature that gives them an owl-like face. A very sensitive and companion loved cat breed type.
If you keep her lonely without even another cat companion, then it will be hard for them. They seek love and interaction more than traditional cat expects.
Without any problem, you can keep the Scottish fold in your house with kids or cat-friendly dogs.
Physical Attributes
Body:
The Scottish fold has a medium-size body with a weight ranging 9 to 13 Pounds. Usually, their body from top to bottom looks like a ball, round in shape. Their eyes are quite large and round too.
Coat Color:
They have both long and short-haired coat with many colours and patterns. Solid grey is the most common. However, grey and white colour patterns are seen in many places.
Fun Facts:
- Love to play with puzzle toys. There are kind of SMART
- They were first known as “lop-eared cats”
- Their kittens are born with straight ears. The fold appearance starts to visible in between 3 to 5 weeks of age
9. Egyptian Mau
One of naturally breed and then domesticated cat type. Mau has considered as a rare cat breed due to their appearance and origin.
Egyptian Mau is a highly active and energetic species. They love to play all over the day and will hunt outdoor birds and insects.
She is devoted to her human companion and show much affection with time. If you have playful children, the Egyptian Mau will get along with them too.
Their beautifully spotted coat is the most attractive feature of their appearance.
Physical Attributes
Body:
A medium size cat with high muscular strength to climb trees or hunt small animals. Their body adapts very well to balance in high narrow places.
Coat Color:
Grey, white and bronze colour based smoke type patterns are the common (with lines and spots). But, other types of colours such as blue, black and blue silver can be seen in them too.
Fun Facts:
- There are the fastest domestic cat breed
- “Mau” is a term from Egypt
- Sometimes, it acts shy for visitors
- Their pregnancy period is longer than other cat breeds
10. Munchkin Cat
By far, this is the best cat breed for me that process grey and white colour patterns. My love is not only for their colour but to their overall look and behaviour—so cute and curious type cat.
They have adorable short legs. Even their legs are short; they can run fast and play very well with kids and family.
Their short legs are a natural genetic mutation. Munchkin is not considered as a different cat breed by some of the cat associations in the world. However, in 2003, the international cat association accepted them as a unique cat breed.
The munchkin is an intelligent and outgoing type cat. You can teach her a lot of commands, and she will train to most of them without any problem.
Physical Attributes
Body:
An excellent small body with short legs. Noticeable around the chest and firm hips. They weight around 6 to 9 Pounds. The body seems longer than traditional breeds, but maybe this observation can be due to their short leg nature.
Coat Color:
All type of cat colours and patterns can be seen within them. The pattern or colour may not solid all over the body. Most of the time, it will be a mix of white fur.
Fun Facts:
- There is no-evidence for how they got their name “Munchkin”
- The world shortest living cat is a Munchkin
11. Ragdoll Cat
A cat breed recognizes by many cat lovers for their long-haired coat and colours. The blue eyes and long fur tail makes them adorable among kids too.
On the other hand, their intelligent level and affectionate behaviour make it more suitable for a quality indoor pet.
The ragdolls are large and powerful. They have much energy. Nevertheless, not to worry, they are very calm and extremely relaxed in day to day activities.
Physical Attributes
Body:
Large and long body with a large buildup structure. Even they look fat, it’s not actual body fat. They have a muscular body. Typically Ragdoll cats weight around 10 to 15 Pounds.
Coat Color:
Ragdoll cats have three main coat patterns. These patterns consist of four colours with different combinations. Grey and white, lilac and white, sealpoint and white, and blue point and white are common.
Fun Facts:
- A calm and quiet cat
- Considered as a lap cat. Love to sit in your lap
- You can say ragdolls are “Dog-like” cats
What causes this grey and white (bi color) patterns in cat breeds?
Typically, grey and white cat breeds called bi color cats, or else piebald cats. Their fur is mixed with white and some other colour. It can be either grey, black, brown, or reddish.
The reason for this bi colour appearance is mutations of their genes. Normally, there are 10 genes that correspond to these colour variations. Depend on the way that mutated each generation; these genes will activate and deactivate within their body.
This activation and deactivation will cause these different colour patterns among different cat breeds.
