The identification of color is further confused by the wording of Abyssinian standards. The CFA Standard for the ruddy calls for a coat "ticked with various shades of darker brown or black", "tail tipped with black", and that paw pads should be black or brown. The description for red calls for a coat "ticked with chocolate brown", "tail tipped with chocolate brown", and that the paw pads should be pink. Fawn calls for a coat "ticked with light cocoa brown", "tail tipped with light cocoa brown", and that the paw pads should be pink. The standard states that "off-color pads" are to be penalized and that "Any color other than the four accepted colors." should be disqualified.
The TICA standard for the ruddy calls for a coat "ticked with two or three bands of either black or dark brown", "tail to be tipped with black", and "paw pads to be black or dark brown". The description for sorrel (cinnamon) calls for a coat "ticked with cinnamon", "Tail tipped with cinnamon" and "Paw pads pink". Fawn calls for "a warm pinkish buff with powdered effect ticked with a deeper shade of pinkish buff", "tail tipped with a deeper shade of pinkish buff" and "paw pads to be pink-mauve". The standard states to penalize cats with "Wrong color or patching in pads."
Just by comparing these two standards it seems that in both CFA and TICA, a chocolate Aby could qualify as a ruddy, with the dark brown ticking. But both standards call for a black tail tip, and black or brown paw pads, which are not characteristic of chocolate. For the red color, the CFA standard more resembles a description for chocolate, actually using the word chocolate in the wording, while the TICA standard for sorrel clearly calls for a lighter color, cinnamon. Red, or sorrel, and chocolate Abys both have pink paw pads, so no real conflict there. There is even more a difference in the fawn descriptions. Ticking is "light cocoa brown" in CFA, and "pinkish buff" in TICA. CFA does have the paw pad color correct, pink, while the TICA standard states "pink-mauve", a color that better describes the paw pad color of chocolates and lilacs. CFA tries to close the loopholes in their standard by disqualifying "any color other than the four accepted colors" without clearly identifying which genetic color the cats they call "red" should be. In all other breeds, and in all breeds in all other associations, red is the term used for the sex-linked phaeomelanistic color, not the eumelanistic colors, chocolate and sorrel (cinnamon), that are recessive variations of black. We can only assume that they mean red to be the same as what other associations call sorrel or cinnamon, since CFA chose to use the term "fawn" to call their dilute red Abys, the term used by all other associations for dilute sorrel or cinnamon. (Pictured, Abychat Cara Mia, chocolate female ©Rebecca Eagland)
Looking at Abys standards from associations based outside of the United States, where chocolate is an accepted color, we can get both further clarification, and a clue to some of the confusion. In the CCCA (Cat Co-ordinating Council of Australia), the standard for ruddy (called tawny there) states that the coat should be"ticked with black/dark brown", the tail "tipped with black", and the paw pads to be "black or brown". Chocolate should be "ticked with deep chocolate brown", while sorrel (called cinnamon there) should be "ticked with bright tan brown". Lilac should be "ticked with deeper lilac", and fawn should be "ticked with light cocoa brown". Tails are to be tipped with the same color as the ticking in all cases. Chocolate paw pad are to be "chocolate-pink", sorrel paw pads are to be "pink", lilac paw pads are to be "lilac-pink" and fawn paw pads are to be "rose beige". The NZCF (New Zealand Cat Fancy) standard for ruddy is very similar to the ones mentioned earlier. Chocolate is to be "ticked with dark chocolate brown" while sorrel is to be "ticked with chocolate brown". Paw pads are to be "pinky chocolate or pink" and "pink" respectively. Lilac is to be ticked with a deeper shade of pinkish mushroom, and the pads to be "mauvish-pink". Fawn is to be ticked with a deeper shade of warm fawn, and the paw pads to be "pink or pinkish-tan". Both these standards make a clear distinction between the chocolate/lilac and sorrel/fawn colors.
The British GCCF (Governing Council of the Cat Fancy) has the most exacting standard for the ruddy (called usual there). The ticking, tail tip and paw pads are to be black. Chocolate is to "ticked with dark chocolate", tail tipped the same, and the paw pads to be chocolate. Sorrels are to be "ticked with chocolate, tails tipped the same, and paw pads to be pink. Lilacs are to be ticked with a deeper shade of "warm (pinkish) dove grey", tail tipped in a "similar colour to spine", and paw pads to be "mauvish-pink". Fawn is to be ticked with a deeper shade of "warm fawn", tail tipped in a "similar colour to spine", and paw pads to be "mauvish pink". This standard shows one of the most obvious reason why chocolates have not been identified in the United States. The paw pads on a chocolate cat can vary from chocolate to almost pink, and should not be used as the sole indication of the actual color. In my expericence looking at chocolate cats, I've seen mostly pads that could be described as pink, tending toward a mauve shade. (Pictured, Abychat Lilac Liberty, lilac female ©Rebecca Eagland)
