Study reveals how cats get their patches
The discovery could shed light on medical conditions that occur in early development.
How two-tone cats get their patches has come to light in a new study led by the University of Edinburgh.
Black and white cats have distinctive piebald patches which are formed in the womb. Previously it was thought that patches formed because pigment cells move too slowly to reach all parts of the embryo before it is fully formed.
However, new research published in Nature Communications contradicts this theory and shows that there is no complicated cell-to-cell communication to send the cells in a particular direction.
Scientists say that the discovery could shed light on medical conditions that occur in early development, such as holes in the heart, which are caused by cells not moving to the right place as an embryo develops.
"We already know cells move through the developing skin to create pigment," said Dr Richard Mort from the University of Edinburgh's Human Genetics Unit.
"We have discovered that they move and multiply at random which is not what was expected. Using a mathematical model we were then able to show that this simple process could explain piebald patterns."
Dr Christian Yates, a mathematical biologist from the University of Bath, added: "Piebald patterns can be caused by a faulty version of a gene called kit. What we have found is counter intuitive.
"Previously it was thought that the defective kit gene slowed cells down but instead we’ve shown that it actually reduces the rate at which they multiply. There are too few pigment cells to populate the whole of the skin and so the animal gets a white belly.
"In addition to kit, there are many other genes that can create piebald patterns, the mathematical model can explain piebald patterns regardless of the genes involved.’’
The research was funded by the Medical Research Council, Medical Research Scotland, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reductions of Animals in Research.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
