Cameo and Smoke
(Persian and Exotic-Shorthair)

Raising Cameos and Smokes began in the fifties in the USA. Due to their fascinating play of colors these cats slowly bacame known and loved in Germany, too (since the middle of the seventies). Their type and color of their eyes were not yet as desired, but the quality of their fur and color were excellent.

The number of people who liked these colors increased steadily, and more and more breeders concentrated on raising Cameos and Smokes. Thus more animals were imported from the USA and the range of colors widened. All shades could be found: Red, cream, black, blue, chocolate and lilac as well as tortoiseshell and blue-cream-smoke. Yet today the Shell-Cameos can hardly be seen anymore, and also the Shaded-Cameo decrease in their number.

The secon variant is the Shaded-Cameo: The underfur is of pure white, too, with a tipping that runs from the back to the flanks and ends at the legs. Rings are not completely closed are allowed to show at the legs, although they are not welcome. Face and tail show a tipping, too. The chin, chest, belly, the inside of the legs and the bottom of the tail are of pure white. The general outer appearance of a Shaded-Cameo is slightly darker than that of a Shell-Cameo. The share of color in a Shaded-Cameo amounts to 1/3 of the length of its hair.

The last variant is the Smoke: The fur is tipped in the respective color, i.e. about 2/3

with a thin silver-white hairline, which actually doesn't become visible unless you part the hair. The Smokes almost looks like a unicolored cat, but as soon as it moves the silver-white underfur becomes clearly visible. A Smoke without shadowy pattern is preferred.