| It is probably not a good idea to introduce solids into | | | | Silvers have variations in the amount of tipping and a |
| a golden program to improve type and bone. This | | | | white undercoat with black tipping - one shade of |
| can cause the same problems that it does in a silver | | | | white and one shade of black. |
| program and more problems. Problems are:o It | | | | The golden standard is:o Undercoat is to be cream |
| muddies the coat coloro Spoils the eye coloro Causes | | | | and the tipping black |
| more tabby markings in a color that has not yet | | | | A cream cat with black tipping and green eyes is not |
| eliminated these markings | | | | a true golden. The overcoat of guard hair is ticked. |
| Silvers were being bred before 1900. The goldens | | | | Each hair shaft is banded with yellow, rust and dark |
| were not seriously bred until the 1960s. | | | | brown or black. Goldens and chinchillas are also |
| Color is most important in the shaded or tipped cats. | | | | characteristic of having:o Tabby M's on their |
| The pale blue color of years ago has almost | | | | foreheads, dark spines and dark tail tipso It is rare to |
| disappeared from the blue Persian. A smoke is not a | | | | have two goldens of the same shade in the same |
| smoke without the dramatic color-on-top and | | | | littero The coat color can change until the Persian cat |
| white-underneath coat. Silvers and goldens must have | | | | is five years of age or even oldero Some goldens |
| the proper tipping as well as black mascara and | | | | are born with rich coloro Some take two to three |
| margins with the appropriate and distinctive nose and | | | | years to develop a rich coloro The color of the |
| eye color. | | | | undercoat can change with the seasons of the year |
| A significant difference between chinchilla silvers and | | | | to gray, muddy color at certain times of the year |
| shaded silvers existed at one time. Today, some of | | | | There are very few goldens shown, as it is so |
| the silvers are referred to as "neither/nors." They are | | | | difficult to get all things correct to the standard. Also, |
| neither chinchilla silvers nor shaded silvers. There are | | | | many goldens have been incorrectly registered and |
| many more silvers registered as shaded than as | | | | shown in the wrong color class. For example: An |
| chinchilla. There is seldom true shaded silver with | | | | apricot golden has been shown as a chinchilla golden |
| sufficient tipping to give its lovely dark mantle. Often | | | | just because of its light color, not because of the |
| now if silver is not snow white, or if it has a little too | | | | appropriate amount of tipping. A darker golden color |
| much shading on the body, the Persian is registered | | | | was more likely to be shown as a shaded golden just |
| as a shaded silver, even though it does not have | | | | because it was dark and less attention given to the |
| enough tipping to be truly shaded. Until recently, you | | | | amount of tipping. Color class has been defined by |
| could tell the difference between chinchilla silver and | | | | the amount of tipping and not the color of the |
| shaded silver from across the room. This is not the | | | | undercoat in goldens and silvers. |
| case today. | | | | Many beautiful and competitive silvers were produced |
| The eye color in silvers and goldens has always been | | | | in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. The late 1970s brought |
| important. The standard in eye color for silvers and | | | | blacks with a different look and shorter nose than |
| goldens is specific. The standard is:o Green or | | | | some other colors. The silvers were as good as or |
| blue-green (disqualify for incorrect eye color, which is | | | | better than the whites shown at this time. The silver |
| copper, yellow, gold, amber or any color other than | | | | breeders of the '70s were breeding selectively to |
| green or blue-green | | | | improve and set type. It is unfortunate that this |
| This eye color standard is often difficult for golden | | | | selective breeding further limited an already small |
| and silver breeders to obtain. A silver or golden with | | | | gene pool. |
| incorrect eye color can still be valuable in a breeding | | | | Source: The Cat Fancier Association Online |
| program, but not in the shows ring. | | | | This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. |