Grey Mama Maine Coon Has a Litter of Every Color Kitten-and No One Can Figure Out How
When you see two cats, you probably expect that their babies will look like them. Why would two grey cats have an orange kitten? That just seems crazy to me.
However, for one Maine Coon, that's exactly what happened. She was paired with another grey Maine Coon, although a little lighter, and their kittens ended up being every color of the rainbow. It's like the genes just couldn't decide what to do:
@evermoremaines Moms printer had zero plan #mainecoon#mainecoonsoftiktok#mainecoonkitten#mainecooncat#mainecoonlovers
stompin demons - Eluzai
Evermore Maine Coons combines two of my personal favorite things: Maine Coons and Taylor Swift. That might not have been intentional on their part, but I'm going to pretend it was. Anyway, at Evermore Maine Coons, they're very intentional about who they breed together.
In putting these two together, they were probably hoping for some medium-grey kittens. Mom is super light, while Dad is all dark and moody! However, what they got was also some white ones, a few patchy grey kittens, and... an orange one?
Related: Maine Coon Cat Gives Birth to a Litter of Tiny Storm Clouds
They were definitely not expecting that. The cattery doesn't have answers, either, and that's just how it is sometimes. The one with the split-colored little nose is my favorite, and they actually posted a close-up video of her:
@evermoremaines Este is definitely a lover girl #mainecoon#mainecoonsoftiktok#mainecoonkitten#mainecooncat#mainecoonlovers
original sound - arya
With a caption like "Este is a lover girl," I'm officially choosing to believe the Taylor Swift references are intentional, and I love that almost as much as I love the surprise kittens. Everything about this is so perfect!
What Causes Color Variation In Kittens?
The singular orange kitten really trips me up with this litter, because he really comes out of nowhere. The rest of them make some sense: they're varying shades of grey/white/black. But orange?!
In some instances, coat variation happens when a cat mates with multiple males. Kittens in the same litter can have different fathers! However, in a controlled breeding environment like this one, that isn't the case. So, coat variation comes down to:
- Their parents' coats.
- The random assignment of those genes.
- Unexpected genes.
Typically, catteries do genetic testing on every cat before they breed them. The two parent cats in this situation must have both been carriers of the orange gene, which led to their singular orange kitten. Whatever the case may be, we're in love!
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This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 6:00 AM.