Featuring The Chocolates & Lilacs

This issue, we’re celebrating Chocolate & Lilac family of colors!

Although all colors of Persians compete equally in the show ring, there are those colors that are recognized as being more difficult, and usually have only a small number of breeders willing to work with them.

Sometimes, the challenge of working with a particular color is simply due to a physical characteristic – for instance, the smokes, who are only in their “proper” smoke coloration for a few months of a year.

Sometimes, the challenge is due to the recessive nature of a particular color, and you will find very few breeders willing to take on such a commitment – which makes it even harder to see improvement in those colors.

The “chocolate family” of colors (chocolate, lilac, and their variations) are a good example of this. The chocolate gene is recessive to black – which means you must have 2 copies of this gene to have a visible chocolate. Lilac is even more difficult, as in addition to the recessive chocolate gene, you also need two the recessive dilute genes.

The chocolates & lilacs have been accepted in CFA at different times the various color patterns – from the first chocolate points & lilac points in 1957, through the latest addition of the smoke colors in 2013.

PandEcats has researched and consolidates lots of information and history regarding these colors, and consolidated them for easy reference.

Check out our index of “Articles by Breed” for the Chocolates & Lilacs.