Maine Coon Kitten Color Calculator
Select parent traits to predict possible kitten coat colors and patterns
If you know the pedigree, specifying carrier status gives more accurate results.
If you know the pedigree, specifying carrier status gives more accurate results.
Possible Kitten Colors
Male Kittens
Female Kittens
Predictions based on standard Mendelian feline color genetics. Actual outcomes depend on each parent’s full genotype, including recessive genes that may be hidden. For greater accuracy, specify carrier status or consult DNA testing.
How To Use The Maine Coon Color Calculator
Select the base color, pattern, and silver/smoke status for both parents. If you know carrier information from DNA testing or pedigree research, expand the carrier section for each parent to refine results.
The calculator shows each possible kitten color with its approximate probability and EMS code. When red or cream is involved in the pairing, male and female results are shown separately because orange pigment is carried on the X chromosome, which means sons and daughters inherit it differently.
If a parent is white, white masks the actual underlying color. Select the color you know (or suspect) is hidden under the white, based on the cat’s parents or any colored kittens it has produced. If you don’t know the masked color, the calculator can’t predict accurately since white can hide anything.
Maine Coon Color Reference
Maine Coons come in over 80 recognized color and pattern combinations. These are built from a relatively small set of genetic building blocks: two pigment types (black-based and red-based), a dilution gene, the agouti/tabby gene, the silver inhibitor gene, and white spotting.
Black-Based Colors
Blue-Based Colors (dilute of black)
Red-Based Colors
Cream-Based Colors (dilute of red)
Tortoiseshell Colors (females only)
How Coat Color Inheritance Works in Maine Coons
Every Maine Coon’s coat color is determined by a handful of genes working together. Once you understand what each gene does, predicting kitten colors becomes straightforward.
| Gene | What It Controls | Inheritance | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange (O) | Pigment type | Sex-linked (X chromosome) | Switches pigment from eumelanin (black) to pheomelanin (red) |
| Dilute (d) | Color intensity | Autosomal recessive | Black → Blue, Red → Cream |
| Agouti (A) | Pattern expression | Autosomal dominant | A- = tabby pattern visible, aa = solid color |
| Inhibitor (I) | Silver / Smoke | Autosomal dominant | Suppresses pigment at hair root, creating silver or smoke |
| White Spotting (S) | White patches | Semi-dominant, variable | Adds white areas, from small spots (09) to nearly all white (01) |
Why Male and Female Kittens Get Different Colors
The orange gene (O) sits on the X chromosome, which is what makes color inheritance different for males and females. Males are XY, so they get one X from their mother and that single X determines whether they produce black or red pigment. There’s no second copy to override it.
Females are XX, meaning they get one X from each parent. If one X carries orange and the other doesn’t, both pigments are expressed in patches across the coat. This is tortoiseshell. A female can only be tortoiseshell if she inherits orange from one parent and non-orange from the other.
This is why the calculator splits results by sex when red or cream is involved in a pairing. It’s also why tortoiseshell and blue tortie are almost exclusively female. Male torties do exist but are extremely rare (roughly 1 in 3,000) and are usually the result of chromosomal abnormalities like XXY.
Male kittens always get their color from the dam. A red sire cannot produce red sons – his red X goes only to daughters. If you want red males, the dam must be red, cream, tortie, or blue tortie.
The Dilution Gene and Carrier Status
Dilution is recessive, meaning a cat needs two copies of the dilute gene (dd) for it to show in the coat. Black becomes blue, and red becomes cream. A cat with one copy (Dd) looks fully dense but carries dilute and can pass it on.
This is where the calculator’s carrier status options matter. If you know from DNA testing or pedigree records that a black cat carries dilute (Dd), you can indicate that. If both parents carry dilute, approximately 25% of kittens will be dilute-colored.
Dense color. Cannot produce dilute offspring regardless of mate.
Dense color, carries dilute. Passes d allele to 50% of offspring.
Dilute color visible. Always passes d allele to all offspring.
When you select “Unknown” for carrier status, the calculator uses a population estimate. Dilute carriers are common in the Maine Coon breed, so the default assumption is that a dense-colored parent with unknown status has roughly a 1 in 3 chance of carrying dilute. You can tighten the predictions by specifying carrier status based on your own records.
Tabby vs. Solid: The Agouti Gene
The agouti gene determines whether tabby markings are visible. Tabby (A-) is dominant over solid (aa). Every cat genetically has a tabby pattern, but in solid cats, the non-agouti gene (aa) prevents it from showing by flooding each hair shaft with uniform pigment.
A tabby cat can carry solid (Aa) without showing it. If two tabby carriers are paired, about 25% of their kittens will be solid. If only one parent is tabby and the other is solid, the tabby parent must carry solid (Aa) for any solid kittens to appear – if the tabby parent is AA, all kittens will be tabby.
One exception: red and cream cats almost always show ghost tabby markings regardless of their agouti genotype. This makes it hard to tell a red tabby from a red solid by appearance alone. Pedigree research or genetic testing is the only reliable way to know if a red cat is Aa or AA.
Silver and Smoke
The silver inhibitor gene (I) suppresses pigment at the base of each hair. In tabby cats, this creates a bright silver ground color under the tabby markings – called silver tabby. In solid cats, the same gene produces smoke, where the visible topcoat has color but the undercoat is white.
Silver is dominant, so only one parent needs the gene to produce silver or smoke kittens. The calculator assumes heterozygous silver (Ii) for silver parents, which gives a 50/50 chance of passing it to each kitten. If both parents are silver, approximately 75% of kittens will be silver.
When the inhibitor gene affects red-based coats, the resulting silver colors are sometimes called by different names. Red smoke is known as cameo, and red silver tabby is called cameo tabby. These are the same gene at work – the naming convention just differs for historical reasons.
EMS Code Quick Reference
EMS (Easy Mind System) is the standard coding used by cat registries worldwide to describe coat colors. You’ll find these codes on pedigree papers, registration documents, and cattery listings. The calculator displays EMS codes on each result card so you can cross-reference with your own records.
| Code | Color | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| n | Black | 22 | Classic (blotched) tabby |
| a | Blue | 23 | Mackerel tabby |
| d | Red | 25 | Ticked tabby |
| e | Cream | 01 | Van |
| f | Tortoiseshell | 02 | Harlequin |
| g | Blue Tortie | 03 | Bicolor |
| s | Silver (suffix) | 09 | Unspecified white |
| w | White |
Codes are read in order: color letter + silver suffix (if applicable) + white code + pattern code. For example, ns 09 22 reads as: n (black) + s (silver) + 09 (with white) + 22 (classic tabby) = Black Silver Classic Tabby with White.
White Spotting Levels
White spotting in Maine Coons is controlled by the S gene and varies in expression from small white patches to nearly all-white coats. The EMS system classifies the amount of white into several levels:
Unspecified amount of white. Covers lockets, mittens, and bibs.
Roughly 40-60% white. Typically on chest, belly, legs, and face.
Mostly white with large colored patches. Color concentrated on head and back.
Almost entirely white. Color only on head and tail.
White spotting inheritance is more complex than most coat genes. Research using the PawPeds Siberian Cat database has shown that the actual distribution of white in offspring often doesn’t match simple dominant/recessive predictions. Other modifier genes appear to influence how much white is expressed, which is why two bicolor parents can occasionally produce kittens with very little white or, conversely, van-patterned kittens.
Common Pairing Outcomes
These are some frequently asked questions about specific pairings and what they can or can’t produce.
Yes, if both carry the dilute gene (Dd × Dd). Approximately 25% of kittens would be blue. If neither parent carries dilute, all kittens will be dense-colored.
Only if both carry non-agouti (Aa × Aa). About 25% of kittens would then be solid. If either parent is AA, all kittens will be tabby.
A female needs orange on both X chromosomes. The sire must be red or cream, and the dam must be red, cream, tortie, or blue tortie. If the dam is black and the sire is red, female kittens will be tortoiseshell, not red.
No. Silver (inhibitor gene I) is dominant. At least one parent must be silver or smoke for any kittens to have it. Two non-silver parents cannot produce silver offspring.
Solid white (W gene) is dominant and masks all other color genes. The white cat could be genetically any color underneath. Check its parents’ colors or look for a birth cap (colored spot on kittens’ heads that fades). Without knowing the masked color, predicting kitten colors isn’t reliable.
What This Calculator Doesn’t Cover
This calculator handles the main coat color genes relevant to Maine Coons. There are a few things it doesn’t address:
Chocolate, cinnamon, lilac, and fawn are not recognized colors in the Maine Coon breed under major registries (TICA, CFA, FIFe). They’re excluded from the calculator because they shouldn’t appear in properly registered Maine Coon lines.
Color point (Siamese pattern) is similarly not a recognized Maine Coon trait and is not included.
Shaded and shell patterns (codes 11 and 12) involve wide-band modifier genes that are not fully understood genetically. The calculator covers silver tabby and smoke, but doesn’t differentiate between shaded and full silver tabby.
Golden is a related phenotype to silver, involving wide-band without the inhibitor gene. It’s increasingly seen in Maine Coons but the genetics behind it involve polygenic factors that aren’t straightforward to predict.
For maximum accuracy, combine calculator results with DNA color panel testing. Labs like UC Davis VGL and Optimal Selection offer comprehensive coat color genotyping that can confirm carrier status for dilute, agouti, and other genes.