Traits

Eumelanin affects the Black pigment in cats and is almost exclusive to Black base coat cats. There are two variations, Chocolate and Cinnamon. The Chocolate gene (bb) turns black into a chocolate-brown, while the rarer Cinnamon (blbl) turns black into a lighter, cinnamon-brown.

This is a recessive gene, so a cat with (Bb) would be only a carrier of the gene. Chocolate is dominant over Cinnamon, so if a cat has a single copy of both genes, it will present as Chocolate.

Examples:

• BB: No change.
  
• Bb or Bbl: No change, carries Chocolate or Cinnamon respectively.
  
• bb: Chocolate
  
• bbl: Chocolate carrying Cinnamon
• blbl: Cinnamon

These are basic color palletes for chocolate and cinnamon. You are not required to color pick these when designing your cat as these are only guidelines!

Design note: Chocolate is still darker than most Pigmented cats, while Cinnamon can be as or more light than Pigmented cats. While Pigmented Cats can have this gene, it is up to the artist if they want to have a distinct difference (Eumelanin may optionally make Pigmented cats slightly lighter) and is not required. Please note that eumelanin affects all black, including the tabby striping as well.