For a minute I thought he just had fur that changed color/pattern right on his hindquarters. Buh, I have no brain.
Poor baby, I hope he gets well soon!
‘no brain’, NO WAY.
Comments like yours are legit some of my favorite because I get to talk about COOL COAT PATTERNS IN CATS. There are cases where shaving a cat has resulted in a drastic coat pattern change.
SAY HELLO TO QUATTRO
Before he was shaved, his fur was pretty typical siamese: all creamy with just his legs, face, and tail dark. But now his whole flank is dark.
Why?
Because Siamese points are actually a result of temperature-dependent albinism! :D Also known as
acromelanism, this is a neat little mutation in which a specific enzyme (tyrosinase, which is responsible for melanin production) stops functioning at a normal body temperature, but will function when it gets cooler. So in cool zones on a cat’s body (face, ears, tail, feets), melanin production is normal. The warm zones develop in a lovely cream.
Since his butt is cold, it has normal melanin production. Once it gets all fuzzy and starts a typical shed pattern, it’ll come in cream eventually. Until then, he’ll have weird pants.
