Nyx's Notes, Volume I Chapter 7: the Stars in the Fur

How can it be?  Not even three months old, and our kitten is getting premature white hairs??

Amongst the deep black hairs, single white hairs have appeared on the forelegs and body.  Not in patches, but single hairs like shooting stars in the night sky.

What's more, what started as a few has become a few dozen.  Even a long whisker over her left eye has turned white, a comet descending over her face.

Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
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Is Nyx the kitten living up to the name Nyx the goddess?  In Greek mythology, Nyx is a primordial goddess of the night before the birth of the Titans and the Olympian gods.  She is a sister to Gaea the Earth.  Artists have depicted Nyx as a woman clothed in the dark of night speckled with stars.

Credit: Allef Vinicius, Unsplash
Credit: Allef Vinicius, Unsplash
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What may be happening.

There is a medical condition called depigmentation that may be a sign of something more serious.  Depigmentation occurs with scar tissue or a tumor.  But this symptom would appear in patterns like lightning or webbing.

A little more research brought me to a Reddit posting with a more plausible explanation.  According to the account t-brave, it's called a fever coat, caused by the mother cat being ill or on medications during pregnancy.  The effect causes no harm to the kitten and is temporary.

This may explain why Nyx was found alone along my cousin's fence.  She may have wandered off and Mom was too ill to retrieve.

A fever coat can appear on any kitten, but is most noticeable on, of course, black cats.

Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
Credit: Travis Lee, TSM
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Until the fever coat disappears with age, Nyx has a cool, magical distinction.  And she has a magic trick.  I see her crawl under the bed, and in a heartbeat, she is under my feet.

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