Maine Coon Colors and Patterns

Maine coon is a large, muscular cat breed originated in the U.S. state of Maine. These large felines exist in several colors and patterns. Maine coon colors can be red, blue, white, cream, and many more. The Maine coons striking appearance is largely due to their fur colors. Not only are they popular for their size and appearance, but their colors and patterns make them one of the most desirable cat breeds. With their vast range of colors, you can find one in almost any shade you want.

It’s easy to recognize a Maine coon cat because of its large size and magnetic appearance. However, it’s often difficult for a normal person to identify a Maine coon by its coat color as this breed has around 80 colors. If you want to learn more about the colors and patterns of the Maine coon, make sure to have a look at the following details.

The development of Maine Coon colors is often determined by its genetic color. Cats come in different colors but only two pigments give color to the kitten. The first one is eumelanin which produces brown and black and the other is pheomelanin which produces red color. Additionally, the agouti and dilute genes will determine the Maine coon colors whether it’s solid, tabby, cream, or blue.

Female kittens inherit color genes from both of their parents, making it easy to predict their colors, as they will have a combination of their parents’ colors. Male kittens inherit color genes only from their mother, so they will have the color of their mother or a diluted form of it. Female Maine coon with black or red color will always produce black or red male kittens.

Maine coon cats have a wide variety of colors and patterns. They have around eighty recognized colors and patterns as stated by the International Cat Association (TICA) and Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA). Every color and pattern of the Maine coon breed is unique and astonishing on its own.

These majestic cats come in solid colors without any markings or with different shades and color combinations with markings and stripes. Common colors of Maine coon cats are black, cream, white, brown tabby, and blue color. The rarest and hard-to-find colors of Maine coon are gold and silver.

The patterns of Maine coon are different from their coat colors. Maine coon colors refer to the shade of the coat, while patterns refer to the coat’s design. The accepted Maine coon colors and patterns are the following. 

• Solid pattern 
• Tabby pattern
• Bi-color pattern
• Tri-color/Calico pattern
• Tortoiseshell pattern

Solid Maine Coon Colors

Maine coon cats look incredible and unique in a solid pattern. Maine coon cats have only one color on their overall body, without any stripes or markings in a solid coat. The solid pattern’s colors are red, black, white, blue, gray, and cream.

• Red Maine coon  – Solid Red color in Maine coon is one of the brightest colors. Red Maine coons are completely red from head to tail and they don’t have any stripes or markings on their body. However, this color is often referred to as orange or ginger color because it looks more orange or ginger than red in the Maine coon breed.
• Black Maine Coon – Solid Black is a common color in Maine coon cats. Black Maine coons have a black coat, and they are often referred to as “mini black panthers” due to their looks. These black felines have black or dark brown paw pads and black-nose leather.
• White Maine Coon – The white Maine coon cat comes in a pure white coat with pink paw pads and nose. The solid white color in Maine coon is also the rarest color which looks beautiful on the Maine coon breed. As we know maine coon are large cats but in solid white they look even bigger.
• Blue Maine Coon – A blue Maine coon is often referred to as a gray Maine coon cat. They have a gray coat with an elegant blue tinge. When Blue Maine coon are kittens, they have tabby markings, but these markings disappear as they mature into adult cats.
• Cream Maine Coon – The cream color is a diluted version of red. Cream color in Maine coon can dazzle your eyes with beauty. Cream Maine coon has a cream-colored coat with a pink nose and paws, without any additional markings or stripes on their coat.

Tabby Maine Coon Colors 

The tabby Maine coon colors are commonly seen in these big cats. The colors of tabby patterns are similar to the solid patterns. However, Maine coon cats with tabby pattern has stripes or tabby markings. Tabby cats also have a white chin and white around their eyes. The tabby Maine coon colors are classified into four groups and each group can have different colors like red, black, white, blue, gray, and cream. Here are the Tabby pattern groups that can be seen in Maine Coons:

Bi-color Maine Coon Pattern  

The bi-color Maine coon cats are easy to identify due to their dual-colored appearance. In a bi-color pattern, Maine coons have any one solid color mixed with white. Bi-color Maine coons have white color mostly on their chest, stomach, paws, and facial side. Bi-colored Maine coon can be black and white, red and white, blue and white, and cream and white.

• Black and White – Black and white Maine Coon colors are often referred to as tuxedo Maine coon cats. The black color is more than the white in black and white Maine coon. They have black-colored coats with white on their chest like a white locket. You will also see white on their bibs, belly, paws, and face.
• Red and White – The combination of red and white in these majestic cats looks amazing. The coat fur of Red and white Maine coons is red. They have white on their face, bibs, belly, and all four paws.
• Blue and White – The blue and white Maine coon colors in an individual cat are always rare to see. It is often referred to as grey and white Maine coons. Blue and white Maine coons must have white on their four paws along with their belly and facial side.
• Cream and White – The cream and white maine coons come with a cream-colored coat. Their paws, undersides, and bibs are always white. You might see white on their facial side as well.

Tri-color/ Calico Maine Coon Colors

The tri-color or calico pattern in Maine coon cats stands out as one of the unique and eye-catching patterns. However, this pattern can also be found in other cat breeds, but it’s a spectacle in the Maine coon breed. In a tri-color or calico pattern, maine coon cats have three colors on their overall body. 

They often have white-based coats along with black and red or orange patches. The calico pattern is exhibited more frequently in female Maine coon kittens than males due to their genes. Moreover, the calico pattern has eight variations: dense, dilute, dense shell, dilute shell, dense shaded, dilute shaded, dense smoke, and dilute smoke.

Tortoiseshell Pattern 

Tortoiseshell Maine coons are also known as torties. The tortoiseshell pattern is a combination of two solid colors. Maine coon cats often have red and black coat fur in the tortoiseshell pattern. The black part of their fur can be tabby, chocolate, or gray and their fur could be gold, orange, yellow, or cream instead of red.

The tortoiseshell is another Maine coon color pattern commonly found in female cats, and rare in male cats. Additionally, the tortoiseshell pattern has several color combinations including shaded tortie and white, shell tortie and white, and tortie and white. This coat pattern can also come in thickened tabby, classic, or mackerel patterns.

It is possible for a Maine coon cat to change their fur color with its growth. They look different after every year due to changes in their fur color. It’s also important to know that the coat pattern of your Maine coon cat will not change, there might be a little bit of change in their fur shades as they age. But they will remain in the same fur pattern.

A Maine coon cat changes its colors throughout life but you can’t expect a Maine coon to turn white from black. The fur color of Maine coon cats doesn’t change completely but their fur shade gets lighter as they age. However, we often see a black Maine coon cat turns to a dark grey color as she age.

Each color and pattern of the Maine coon is unique and amazing, making these majestic cats more adorable than other cat breeds. The color of kittens mostly depends on their gene, male kittens get color genes only from their mother while female kittens obtain color genes from both parents. You will commonly find these majestic cats in black, cream, white, brown tabby, and blue colors. It will be hard to get them in golden and silver colors.