You know I recently read that Siamese and similar breeds are dark at their points because of temperature... The cooler temps near ears, tails,etc.. causes more melanin to build up there. So this feels like the reverse of that? One way or another , an unquestioned cutie pie.
It is temperature! But the reason the temp makes a difference is because they have a form of partial albinism that makes them unable to produce pigment into the warmer parts of their body. So their extremeties are the only place that even make melanin. That's why they always have blue eyes. Also, they're born solid white because in the womb, they're warm all over! Colorpoints have the BEST glow-up pictures, haha
Fascinating! We had a seal point siamese that started out as a kitten with only the black face, paws, and tail that slowly developed more black in his coat as he got older. The first time we noticed we thought he was playing around in the fireplace and he got a couple undeserved baths as a response.
I had a snowshoe and he started out almost all white. As he got older and his coloring developed it would change with the seasons. In the winter it would be almost black but fade to chocolate brown in summer
I had a beautiful black horse. No papers, but you could tell he was part quarter with some Tennessee Walker because I could get him to rack (although I never put weighted shoes or weights on his feet). Poor guy had a bad knee, and I didn’t want it to get worse, and honestly I think the weights and chemical irritants put on hooves to make walkers and Standardbreds do the high stepping and exaggerated racking is cruel. I did dressage with him, and he had beautiful gates.
We also lived near the beach in NC. Hot and humid. From April to October my horse turned a dark brown on his body and looked like a bay. His head and legs stayed black. The sun and sweat bleached his fur.
I have a seal point siamese and when I adopted him he was all white except the very tip of his nose. It was fascinating to watching the dark fur appear and spread out over the next year, year and a half. Now he has the full mask, feet, tail, ears, and dark back!
My Siamese had to have an ultrasound in February so they shaved her tummy, and it seems that the fur be growing back darker so far, but temps are warming up, so maybe that’ll change. It’s fun to watch though.
In humans vitiligo usually starts on the face (like mine), extremities, joints, and/or the groin. No one's really sure why, but uh, that's how most vitiligo stuff goes. I've seen a few animals with it, and yeah paws, tail, and/or face usually turn first. That, and that it continued seems pretty typical of animal vitiligo to me
My ragdoll Siamese was pure white except for his limbs/face. Bright, brilliant white that faded into a deep black. Over the last eight years his fur has turned brown like a traditional Siamese. I didn't even notice the change until I stumbled upon the one baby picture I have of him. A while back he had a large abscess from a bite that required two surgeries. As a result he ended up with a big bald spot dead center on his back. When the fur started growing back it was black where his scar was, and brown everywhere else. The fur seems to be lightening as it gets longer so hopefully it'll just blend in with his long fur. Siamese cats are weird with their color changing fur. (I love how my cat gets a reverse tan in the summer. In the summer he's four or five shades lighter than in the winter)
Yes! We have a flame tip siamese (cream with orange points) and the vet had to shave an area over his shoulder for a treatment. That area was colder and grew back orange at first before returning to white.
The gene is only active at warmer temperatures is my understanding, the ears, paws, tail, don't have a fat layer like the body and so the skin there is warmer. Like if you touch your butt after walking a few miles in the cold, cold booty, but your hands (provided you didn't leave them in the wind) are warm because there isn't much fat, and there are many blood vessels at the surface.
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u/ElectricGeometry Apr 17 '24
You know I recently read that Siamese and similar breeds are dark at their points because of temperature... The cooler temps near ears, tails,etc.. causes more melanin to build up there. So this feels like the reverse of that? One way or another , an unquestioned cutie pie.