🐾 Golden Colors in British Cats: Black, Chocolate & Cinnamon Golden + Dilutes (Blue, Lilac, Fawn Golden)

A Practical Guide for New Breeders, Advanced Breeders & Kitten Owners

IT IS ABOUT:

🌟“Understanding Fawn Golden (py): The Genetics Behind the Rarest British Cat Color”

🌟 A complete guide to fawn, lilac, chocolate and cinnamon golden genetics for breeders and kitten buyers.”

🌟 “From chocolate and cinnamon to lilac and fawn — an easy guide to golden color inheritance.”

🌟“Everything about fawn, lilac, chocolate, and cinnamon golden kittens — rarity, value, and breeding tips.”

By Vlastar Lux Cattery

Golden British cats are striking and in demand — but the genetics behind them can be confusing. This guide explains the essentials for newcomers and offers enough detail for experienced breeders planning specific color outcomes.

What you’ll learn:

What “golden” means genetically
The base colors: black, chocolate, cinnamon
Dilute colors: blue, lilac, fawn
How the genes interact (A, Wb, I, B-locus, D-locus)
Tables of parent combinations and kitten color probabilities
Which colors are rare, valuable, and why lilac/fawn golden are so difficult to produce

1) What Makes a Cat “Golden”?

Golden isn’t a base color — it’s an agouti pattern with a wide-band effect on a warm (non-silver) background.

Key genetic components:

Agouti (A locus): A/- produces tabby patterns and enables golden shading; a/a is solid (non-agouti).
Wide Band (Wb): controls how far the pigment retreats from the hair base → more warm golden ground color with dark tipping.
Inhibitor gene (I): responsible for silver. Golden cats are non-silver (ii).
Base color (B locus): black (B), chocolate (b), cinnamon (b1).
Dilution (D locus): D = full intensity; d/d = dilute (blue, lilac, fawn).

Golden phenotype = A/- (agouti) + Wb (wide band expression) + ii (no silver) + a base color (black/chocolate/cinnamon) ± dilution.

2) Color System & Codes

The base color determines the shade of tipping; dilution lightens it. Below are the practical codes used on pedigrees and show entries.

Base (full color)	Genetic base	Golden code	Dilute of base	Dilute golden code
Black	B/- D/D or D/d	ny (black golden)	Blue (B/- d/d)	ay (blue golden)
Chocolate	b/b D/D or D/d	by (chocolate golden)	Lilac (b/b d/d)	cy (lilac golden)
Cinnamon	b1/b1 D/D or D/d	oy (cinnamon golden) ✅	Fawn (b1/b1 d/d)	py (fawn golden) ✅

Reminder:

ny — black golden

ay — blue golden

by — chocolate golden

cy — lilac golden

oy — cinnamon golden

py — fawn golden

3) Dilution: How Blue, Lilac, and Fawn Appear

🧬 Dilution Gene in Cats (Maltese Dilution)

Gene name:

Melanophilin gene (MLPH)

Alleles:

D = non‑dilute (dominant)
d = dilute (recessive)

A cat must have two copies of the recessive allele (dd) to express diluted coat color.

🎨 What the dilution gene actually does

The MLPH gene affects how pigment granules (melanosomes) are transported inside the hair shaft.

In non‑dilute (D-) cats: pigment granules are evenly distributed → full, intense color.
In dilute (dd) cats: granules cluster unevenly → color appears lighter/softened.

This mechanism affects both eumelanin and pheomelanin pigments.

🐈‍⬛ Standard (non‑dilute) → Diluted colors

Full color (D-)	Diluted color (dd)	Notes
Black	Blue (grey)	Classic dilution
Chocolate	Lilac	Warm grey-pinkish tone
Cinnamon	Fawn	Soft beige‑pink tone
Red	Cream	Soft pastel
Tortie (black/red)	Blue‑cream tortie	Diluted mix

🐾 Dilution in Patterned & Special Color Groups

Shaded / Chinchilla / Golden

Dilution also affects shaded and golden varieties:

Black golden shaded (ny 11) → diluted to blue golden shaded (ay 11)
Black golden shell (ny 12) → blue golden shell (ay 12)
Cinnamon golden shaded → fawn golden shaded
etc.

Important!: The gene does not change tipping amount — only base pigment intensity.

🧪 Genotypes

Genotype	Dilution?	Meaning
DD	No	Cat is non‑dilute and cannot produce dilute kittens unless partner carries d
Dd	No	Carrier of dilution; can produce dilute offspring if paired with another carrier or dd
dd	Yes	Cat expresses diluted coat color

🐱 Practical example for breeders

If you have a cat like your Felpati Gatti Elvis (BRI py 11 03):

Base color fawn golden shaded bicolor
Fawn = diluted cinnamon, so genotype at MLPH is dd

Such a stud will always pass d to offspring.

💡 Fun fact

There is also a “dilution modifier” gene (Dm) which causes caramel and apricot colors when combined with dilution — common in Oriental breeds.

The D locus controls pigment intensity:

D/D or D/d → full color (black/chocolate/cinnamon)
d/d → dilute (blue/lilac/fawn)

Rules to remember:

Dilute appears only if a kitten inherits d from both parents → d/d.
Two carriers (D/d × D/d) produce, on average:
- 25% dilute kittens
- 50% full color carriers
- 25% full color non-carriers

🧬 How Dilution Works in Shaded / Chinchilla / Golden Colors

The dilution gene (dd) lightens the base pigment (black, chocolate, cinnamon, red), but does not change the tipping category:

11 = shaded
12 = shell (chinchilla)
25 = ticked
33 = colorpoint
03 = bicolor
etc.

💡 Dilution affects only pigment intensity, not the amount of tipping.

✔️ **What dilution does change**

the undercoat/base color
the tipping pigment (eumelanin or pheomelanin)

✖️ **What dilution does not change**

pattern codes (11, 12, 25…)
silver/golden status
distribution of tipping
white spotting amount

🎨 Transformation of ny/ay/cy Shades Under Dilution

Below is a clear mapping of what happens when the genotype becomes dd in shaded/golden cats.

1. Black‑based golden (ny) → Blue‑based golden (ay)

ny 11 (black golden shaded) → ay 11 (blue golden shaded)
ny 12 (black golden shell) → ay 12 (blue golden shell)
ny 25 (black golden ticked) → ay 25 (blue golden ticked)

Reason:
Black (B_) becomes blue (dd), tipping lightens, base retains warm golden tone.

2. Chocolate‑based golden (by) → Lilac golden (cy)

by 11 → cy 11 (lilac golden shaded)
by 12 → cy 12 (lilac golden shell/chinchilla)
by 25 → cy 25 (lilac golden ticked tabby)

Lilac gives a softer, cooler tone of golden.

3. Cinnamon‑based golden → Fawn golden

This applies to cats like your Elvis (BRI py 11 03):

py 11 (cinnamon golden shaded) → remains py 11, but genotype is dd, meaning the phenotype is fawn golden shaded
py 12 → fawn golden shell (similar)
py 25 → fawn golden ticked (similar)

Fawn gives the warmest, pink‑beige version of golden.

✨ Why tipping category stays the same

In shaded and chinchilla cats:

The silver/golden locus (Agouti + Wide Band) determines undercoat length and tipping distribution.
The dilution locus (MLPH) only changes pigment granule density.

Therefore:

An ny 12 cat becomes ay 12 under dilution, but the “12” remains unchanged, because the coat still has shell (1/8 hair shaft tipped).

🐾 Examples for quick reference

Original color	Diluted result	Notes
ny 11	ay 11	Black → blue
ny 12	ay 12	Black → blue
by 11	cy 11	Chocolate → lilac
py 11	fawn golden shaded	Cinnamon → fawn
ny 11 03	ay 11 03	Pattern + white unchanged
ny 12 33	ay 12 33	Even colorpoint tipping dilutes

📌 Key takeaway

Dilution (dd) transforms the pigment of shaded, chinchilla, and golden cats, but preserves:

pattern (11/12/25)
golden vs silver status
white spotting
long vs short tipping

Only the intensity of pigment changes.

4) Why Chocolate, Cinnamon, Lilac & Fawn Are Rare

Chocolate and cinnamon are both recessive
- Chocolate shows only as b/b
- Cinnamon shows only as b1/b1
- Many British lines are historically black-based → fewer chocolate/cinnamon individuals.
Dilution adds a second recessive requirement
- Lilac requires b/b d/d
- Fawn requires b1/b1 d/d
- Combining golden + correct base + dilution typically takes multi-generation planning.
High-quality golden expression is its own selection goal
- Warm background, clean tipping, correct pattern, eye color, and type — all at once.
- Limited global gene pool for top golden phenotype in chocolate/cinnamon lines.

Result:

Lilac golden (cy) is rare and in high demand.
Fawn golden (py) is extremely rare and typically the most expensive among these.

5) Practical Probability Tables for Breeders

Assumptions in the tables:

Parents are golden (A/-; Wb; ii) already (so offspring stay within golden).

Only B-locus (black/chocolate/cinnamon) and D-locus (dilution) are varied.

Where relevant, I’ll state “carrier” status.

A) Black Golden (B/B or B/b) × Chocolate Golden (b/b)

Parents	Outcome (B-locus)
B/B × b/b	100% black golden (ny) carrying chocolate (B/b)
B/b × b/b	50% black golden carriers (B/b); 50% chocolate golden (by)

Add dilution probabilities separately if either parent is D/d or d/d.

B) Black Golden (B/b) × Black Golden (B/b) — both carry chocolate

Genotype	Outcome
B/b × B/b	25% chocolate golden (by); 50% black golden carriers; 25% black golden non-carriers

C) Chocolate Golden (b/b) × Chocolate Golden (b/b)

Parents	Outcome
b/b × b/b	100% chocolate golden (by)

D) Cinnamon Golden (b1/b1) × Cinnamon Golden (b1/b1)

Parents	Outcome
b1/b1 × b1/b1	100% cinnamon golden (oy) ✅

E) Chocolate Golden (b/b) × Cinnamon Golden (b1/b1)

Note: Chocolate and cinnamon are different recessive alleles on the same locus. They do not blend; heterozygotes appear black-based carriers.

Parents	Outcome
b/b × b1/b1	100% B-locus heterozygotes (b/b1) → black golden (ny) carrying both chocolate and cinnamon

F) Lilac Golden (b/b d/d) × Lilac Golden (b/b d/d)

Parents	Outcome
b/b d/d × b/b d/d	100% lilac golden (cy)

G) Fawn Golden (b1/b1 d/d) × Fawn Golden (b1/b1 d/d)

Parents	Outcome
b1/b1 d/d × b1/b1 d/d	100% fawn golden (py) ✅

H) Chocolate Golden (b/b D/–) × Blue Golden (B/– d/d)

Parents	Outcome (simplified)
b/b × B/–	All kittens B/b (black-based), no chocolate visible
Dilution	If blue parent is d/d and chocolate parent is D/d → 50% dilute carriers; 50% full color (no dilute)

To get lilac, both parents must provide b and d → requires b/b and d/d in the offspring.

I) Lilac Golden (b/b d/d) × Fawn Golden (b1/b1 d/d)

Parents	Outcome
b/b d/d × b1/b1 d/d	100% d/d (dilute); B-locus offspring = b/b1 → appear blue-based (ay) with both chocolate+cinnamon carried in dilute form (no lilac/fawn phenotype because b/b or b1/b1 isn’t present)

To see lilac (cy) in the litter, kittens must be b/b d/d; to see fawn (py), they must be b1/b1 d/d. From this cross, you get b/b1 d/d (dilute heterozygotes), not cy/py phenotypes.

J) Producing Dilutes from Carriers (general rule)

D/d × D/d → 25% d/d (dilute), 50% carriers, 25% non-carriers.
Apply this proportion on top of the B-locus outcomes when planning litters.

6) Rarity & Market Value (Typical Trends)

From more common → most rare (within golden):

Black golden (ny)
Blue golden (ay)
Chocolate golden (by)
Lilac golden (cy) – difficult to get
Cinnamon golden (oy) ✅
Fawn golden (py) ✅ (rarest)

Why lilac and fawn golden are expensive (≈ €2000–€4500):

Require two recessive sets simultaneously (B-locus + D-locus)
Need strong golden expression (Wb, A/- and ii) preserved
Smaller, highly selected gene pool; quality breeders invest in imports, genetic testing, and generations of planning
Demand from breeders and pet buyers exceeds supply, especially for fawn golden (py)

Breeding rights, show quality, and outstanding type/eyes/shading can increase price further.

7) Practical Breeding Roadmaps

Goal: Lilac Golden (cy)

You must combine:

b/b (chocolate) + d/d (dilute)
A/-, Wb, ii (golden)

Typical path (2–3 generations):

Establish by lines (b/b) that carry dilute (D/d).
Pair carriers (D/d × D/d) or bring in d/d partner.
Fix b/b d/d while maintaining strong golden phenotype.

Goal: Fawn Golden (py)