Also in the Abyssinian cats, the colors in the hair, the skin or the eyes are affected by the presence of melanin, especially in the respective hair shafts.

The variability of the melanin structure in shape, size or arrangement leads to a variability of the colors. Of the two types of melanin eumelanin  (strong light absorption, dark pigmentation) and pheomelanin  (weak light absorption, pigmentation in the red-orange and yellow areas), only colors based on eumelanin are accepted in Abyssinian cats.

 

This type of melanin is also where most color variations occur. This led to the development of four basic colors based on eumelanin in the breeding history of Abyssinian cats:

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• Wildfarben (ruddy, usual, tawny, lièvre)

• Blue (blue)

• Sorrel (cinnamon, red)

• Fawn (beige-fawn)

 

Description of the genotype of a homozygous wild colored Abyssinian cat: AABBDDTaLL

AA = agouti effect, base color and ticking (present on all  Abyssinian cats)

BB = black pigmentation
DD = intense ("dense") pigmentation
Ta = "Abyssinian tabby", dark marking pattern on agouti fur ground. Patterning reduced in this genetic form. Occurring only on the face and head, ideally not on the rest of the body. Dominant over other tabby alleles.

LL = Homozygous smooth haired

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Universally recognized colors

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In recognizing some of the black-based color variants (Chocolate, Lilac) there is varying acceptance among the umbrella organizations already mentioned. However, all associations recognize the four main colors (wild, sorrel, blue and beige-fawn) and – apart from the CFA – also their silver variants.

 

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Wildfarben (ruddy, usual, tawny, lièvre)

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• Body Color: Warm reddish brown with black ticking

• Basic color: dark apricot to orange

• Ear tips: black

• Tail tip: black

• Paw pad colour: black or dark brown

• Nose leather: brick red with black border.

 

Wildcolor is the original color of Abyssinian cats. All other colors and color variations are derived from mutations of this color.

 

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Blue (blue)

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• Body Color: warm blue-grey with dark steel blue-grey ticking

• Base color: light fawn (beige)/cream

• Ear tips: dark steel blue-grey

• Tail tip: dark steel blue-grey

• Color of the paw pads: dusky pink/blue-grey

• Nose leather: old pink with a dark steel blue-grey border

Blue is the diluted form of wild colors and is the result of a mutation in the gene responsible for dense coloration. The color designation does not mean the color blue in the narrower sense, but rather different shades of intensity in the shades of blue-grey.

 

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Sorrel (cinnamon, red)

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• Body Color: Bright warm coppery red with chocolate brown ticking

• Base color: dark apricot

• Ear tips: reddish brown

• Tail tip: reddish brown

• Color of the paw pads: pink

• Nose leather: light red with a red-brown border

 

The color sorrel should not be confused with the genetic color red. As with the color chocolate, which is not generally recognized, sorrel arose from mutations in the gene for the color black (here corresponding to wild colors), whereby it is inherited recessively in relation to black and chocolate.

 

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Fawn (beige-fawn)

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• Body Color: Dull matte beige with dark warm cream ticking

• Base color: light cream

• Ear tips: dark warm cream

• Tail tip: dark warm cream

• Color of the paw pads: pink

• Nose leather: pink with a dusky pink border

 

Fawn is the diluted form of sorrel and was created in the same way as the color blue.

silver variants

All of the colors mentioned above also exist as a silver variant. There the basic color as well as the undercoat is a pure silvery white. The ticking color as well as the color of the paw pads and the nose mirror corresponds to the colors mentioned above. The silver variant of the color wild colors is referred to as "black silver" (blacksilver), while for all other colors the designation silver  is appended to the color name (sorrel silver or sorrel silver )

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Colors not generally accepted

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The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé) has not yet recognized the colors chocolate and lilac, while the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF), der World Cat Federation (WCF) and smaller associations is already the case. The color chocolate, like sorrel, goes back to mutations in the gene for the color black, which are believed to have reduced the number of eumelanin pigments in the hair shaft and changed their shape. Lilac is the diluted form of the color Chocolate and is the result of a mutation in the gene responsible for the intense colouration.

 

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Chocolate (chestnut)

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• Body Color: Warm apricot with chocolate brown ticking

• Base color: strong apricot

• Ear Tips: Chocolate Brown

• Tail Tip: Chocolate Brown

• Paw Pad Color: Cinnamon

• Nose leather: Dusky pink with a chocolate border

 

Lilac

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• Body Color: Warm shade of beige with lavender ticking

• Base color: Warm cream tone

• Ear Tips: Brownish with blue tones

• Tail Tip: Brownish with blue tones

• Paw pad color: Dusky pink to lavender with a slight light blue tint

• Nose leather: Old pink with a light blue tint and a lavender border