Cats
Swirled Patterns
More unusual is the "skunk marking" - a white dorsal stripe. Because pigment producing
cells migrate away from the neural crest, the dorsal area itself usually remains coloured in
low to medium grade spotting. The appearance of a white dorsal stripe is unusual and appears
to be hereditary.
Photos courtesy of Magnificent Munchkins
BRINDLED BICOLOURS AND "TWEED" MUTATION
Pandora (owned by Bill B, Granby, MA, USA) is a brindled cat with what appears to be an
unusual mutation. She has the brindled pattern normally seen on tortoiseshell cats, but the
patches which should be red are white! The brindling and facial pattern is typical of
tortoiseshell cats, but it seems that 15 year old Pandora has a mutation that prevents her
producing red pigment. An alternative explanation is that Pandora is chimera formed when a
black embryo and a white embryo fused in the womb; however chimeras tend to have a
annaabi.ee 
