Cats have spots and stripes all over their body on their fur. Do you ever wonder how it gets there? Researchers have found a specific gene that all domestic and wild big cat species develop spots and stripes. The gene that was responsible for this is the DKK4 gene which is found to be active in thick skin as opposed to thinner skin. It was found to be known for fur with a blur of colors which is a mutation from the DKK4 gene. The all-white and all-black cats have patterns underneath their fur. However, the pigment lacks in white cats as opposed to other solid-colored cats because the pattern is overridden by instructions to produce one color. The WNTs protein is also essential because it works closely with DKK4 to form a prepattern that is 2 to 3 millimeters long. The color differences that control the coat color variation are also similar to the gene that's responsible in cheetahs and thicker, more prominent fur patterns. Other than the WNTs protein and DDK gene, there are more unknown genes that are behind why some cats have spots and why some cats have stripes.
