Color chart
The Maine Coon is a popular cat breed, known for being the largest domesticated cat in the world. They come in a variety of beautiful colors and patterns, offering many color options. To help you understand the EMS Standard Maine Coon colors better, refer to the chart below for explanations of letters and numbers.
| MCO= Maine Coon, classified as semi-longhair (SLH) |
| The color is identified with small letters |
| n= black |
| a= blue |
| d= red |
| e= cream |
| f= black tortie |
| g= blue tortie |
| s= silver |
| w= white |
| y= golden |
| Numbers describing the Maine coon’s pattern |
| 01= Van |
| 02= Harlequin |
| 03= Bicolor |
| 09= Unspecified amount of white |
| 11= Shaded $$$ |
| 12= Shell$$$ |
| 21= Agouti (unspecified tabby pattern) |
| 22= Blotched tabby (classic or marble tabby) |
| 23= Mackerel tabby |
| 24= Spotted tabby |
| 25= Ticked tabby |
There are only 2 basic colors for Maine Coons:
- Colors based on black (indicated by letter n)
- Colors based on red (indicated by letter d)
A group of uniformly colored cats with no pattern is called solid. There is no number in front of solid colors. For instance, completely black cat will have the code n- black solid.
Solid black n
Red MCO d
It turns out that white is not a color, but its absence. White encoding is w.
In white cats, eye color is also taken into account. With the development of a kitten, the gene responsible for the formation of a white color also disrupts the work of the gene responsible for the color of the eyes, so blue-eyed cats appear (w 61). In addition to blue eyes, white cats can have green (w 64), orange (w 62) eyes, and also have two differently colored eyes, beautiful and rare odd eyes (w 63).
Odd eyes w63
In cats, the red color is gender-linked, so cats can be either black or red, but cats can be both black and red at the same time. This is called tortoiseshell (tortie) and is denoted by the letter f. Tortoiseshell cats are very bright and merry and it is believed that those cats bring good luck to your home.
Black tortie f
There are genes that are responsible for the distribution of pigment granules in the hair. One of these genes groups the pigment granules, discharging the space between the groups of colored granules, and the color appears to be lightened and diluted. This is how blue (color code a) and cream (color code e) appear. For tortoiseshell cats, such a clarified version is called blue cream (denoted by g).
Blue MCO a
Cream MCO e
Let’s add another gene that is responsible for the distribution of pigment granules in the hair. This gene knocks the granules into large groups, so the pattern appears on the cat. Classic for Maine Coons is the marble color – magestic large swirls on the sides. Marble color is indicated by the number 22.
Tabby n22
Another version of the pattern is “Tiger” looking Mackerel. Those tabbies have dense and clearly defined parallel stripes running down their sides, similar to the distinctively patterned Mackerel fish. They also have rings around the paws and tail (number 23).
Finally, the third version of the picture is amazing ticked color (number 25). In this case, you will not see a pronounced pattern on the cat, but on each of its hairs there will be an alternation of light and dark areas.
Silver ticked ns25
In the group of patterned colors there is also a spotted color (number 24) – round or oval spots all over the body when tiger stripes are torn under the influence of some multigenes.
Let’s make it more complicated and add a gene that is responsible for suppressing the formation of color in the hair. The root zone remained unpainted. And here we have a group of silver and smoky colors. Now it is one of the most popular colors for Maine Coons. So letter s is added to the color code for Silver.
Silver tabby ns22
If such a gene falls on a solid color – we get smoky cats. For example, Black smoke (ns), red smoke (ds), tortoiseshell smoke (fs), etc. If such a gene appears in cats with patterns, the color is called silver: black marble silver (ns 22), red mackerel silver (ds 23), etc. The more part of the hair at the root remains uncolored, the lighter the silver color will look.
Black smoke ns
Smoky tortoiseshell fs
Imagine there was not enough ink in the cat printer and pigment in some areas remained completely absent. We remember that the absence of pigment is white. And now our cat gets unpainted spots on the coat, which means that white spots appear on the cat.
Depending on the amount of white, the colors are called:
van – the cat has only a tail painted and there is one colored spot (indicated by the number 01)
harlequin – only the tail is colored in the cat and there are 2-3 colored spots. (indicated by the number 02)
bicolor – the cat has a white triangle on the muzzle, a white solid belly, there may be white spots on the body (indicated by the number 03)
non-specific white spotting – several white spots are possible, usually in the groin or armpits, a white medallion on the chest, white stockings or gloves on the paws (indicated by the number 09).
Smoky tortie with white fs03
Black and white bicolor 03
When a cat has a lot of white, and only one color spot, it can be difficult to determine what type of pattern it has. In this case, simply tabby is indicated, i.e. a cat with some kind of pattern, but we do not know which one exactly. This color is indicated by the number 21 and applies only to the van and harlequin colors.
Well done! You learned all possible Maine Coon color variations.
Would you like to learn about tricky shaded and smoky colors? Why so beautiful, rare and expensive and what is the difference?
Understanding the differences between Smoke, Shaded, and Shell Maine Coon cat colors can initially seem complex. These three variations are all linked to the “inhibitor gene,” also known as the “silver gene,” which influences the amount of color present in the cat’s coat.
Smoke
Smoke Maine Coon cats have a solid color coat with dark-tipped hairs, usually black, and a white undercoat as a result of inhibitor gene suppressing color in the hair shaft. Smoke Maine Coon appears darkest on the back, head, and feet and some shows beautiful light mane contrast. The silvery white undercoat, next to the skin, is clearly visible when the cat moves or when the fur is gently parted. Clear tabby markings are undesirable, but faint markings may be acceptable in Red Series Smoke colors and kittens. Maine coon is Smoke if half of hair end is colored.
Black smoke ns
Shaded
Moving on to the Shaded Maine Coon, this variety is rare and highly valued. Shaded cats boast a silky, iridescent appearance with a dimensional shine, particularly noticeable in sunlight. The shading effect arises from the interaction of genes associated with the tabby pattern. Our breeders employ selective breeding to produce these unique felines.
Shaded Color Maine Coon Cats have around 1/4 of the hair ends colored, making it the second-lightest degree of “tipping” within the Maine Coon Breed. Shaded Maine coons sometimes mistakenly called “Chinchilla,”. They are displaying a lesser degree of wide bands compared to a “shell” yet more than a “smoke”. Shaded EMS color is 11.
Shaded black ns11
Shell
Now, let’s explore the Shell Maine Coon variety, which is the rarest and most expensive. These cats have approximately 1/8 of the hair ends colored. A Shell Maine Coon should have tipping that is evenly distributed, ideally with no rings on the legs or spots on the chest and belly. The face and legs may exhibit slight shading with very light tipping. Preferably, eyes and nose leather should be outlined with the color of the tipping.
Generally, a shell appears much lighter than a shaded Maine Coon, and there are some specific traits that a true shell should not have, such as uneven tipping, solid-colored hairs, and possibly some shown pattern. To breed the perfect Shell Maine Coon, there is ongoing work in selective breeding to achieve the desired characteristics. EMS color for shell is 12.
Shell red ds12
Typical shades of Shaded and Shell Maine Coons
| Shaded | ns 11, as 11, ds 11, es 11, fs, 11, gs 11 |
| Shell | ns 12, as 12, fs 12 and gs 12 and ds 12 and es 12 |
| Undertone | Shaded EMS | Shell EMS | Nose, paws, skin | Price |
| Black | ns 11 | ns 12 | black | $$$ |
| Blue | as 11 | as 12 | blue | $$$ |
| Red | ds 11 | ds 12 | pink/red | $$ |
| Cream | es 11 | es 12 | pink | $$ |
| Tortie | fs 11 | fs 12 | black/pink | $$ |
| Blue tortie | gs 11 | gs 12 | blue/pink | $$ |
Difference between Silver based Maine Coons- smoke, shaded, shell hair structure
Useful sources:
The Maine Coon Breed Standard created by the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA), contains full detailed descriptions of all Maine Coon colors and patterns.
https://cfa.org/maine-coon-cat/maine-coon-cat-breed-standard/
MAINE COON (MCO) Scale of Points
https://www.gccfcats.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/MaineCoon.SOP_.Template.pdf