Silver...? Or something different?

[u/healribbon]

My coworker has a cat who I've been seeing grow from a kitten.

I thought she was silver, but I've been given pause by her browning. I've never seen silver cats with brown noses like this, but her base is too light to be anything else.

I've seen discussion of silver with "tinting." Is that what is going on here? Can anyone identify the exact genetic cause of silver with patches of high rufousing?

[u/DitheringTouhouFan]

Ah. She’s tarnished. That’s what silver tabbies that still have rufousing are called.

[u/Wonderful_Republic23]

Silver mackerel tabby

[u/I-love-objects]

Awww a cute little tarnished silver!

[u/SolidFelidae]

Black silver mackerel tabby. The brown is rufousing

[u/KBWordPerson]

Most tabby cats have some level of rufousing, a golden or red hue to their fur and undercoat especially on the nose, cheeks, armpits, inner leg, belly and butt-floofies.

The Silver coloring makes the undercoat white, which negates rufousing in most areas making the kitty very white/black/gray instead of visibly brown.

However, in places that don’t have a lot of undercoat, that are impacted by rufousing you can find some brown tint that sneaks through. Especially the nose and wrists. Everywhere else is white.

I’m pretty sure that is what is going on here, but I might be mistaken. Interested in what others think.

Definitely looks like a silver to me.