Rare cats with unusual colors discovered in Finland

A unique species of cat appeared in Finland 15 years ago, which aroused wide interest among scientists and animal lovers. These cats are called “salmiak” because of their unusual coloring, reminiscent of the popular licorice beloved by the Finns. Experts from the University of Helsinki conducted a study and discovered the genetic reason for the unique coat color of these animals.

The analysis showed that cats with the Salmiak color had chromosomal rearrangements in the KIT gene, which is responsible for coding white color. This 95,000 base pair DNA deletion mutation is quite large and is not found in normally colored cats.