Gryff decided to try out the basket, for size

[wnylib]

9. In this pic, his coat looks like

a rich dark brown instead of black. In cat genetics, brown and black are from the same gene. Brown develops from another gene that dilutes the black. The amount of dilution depends on the dilute gene expression and, if I remember right, how it coordinates with some other color regulating genes.

I have a cat book that explains how the color and coat patterns in cats work. It's pretty complex. Breeders have to really know their stuff to get the colors and patterns that they want.