Many pets have features and parts of them that make them unique and special. All dogs and cats usually have specific fur markings and colorings that make them look special and different from others of their breed.
Sometimes, their markings are so unique and crazy, that they resemble something we've seen elsewhere in the world, like in TV shows and films. Recently, one cat has gained wild popularity online for resembling one specific musical that we all adore.
A Broadway classic, Phantom of the Opera first appeared on the stage in 1986. The musical is based on a French novel that was published in 1910. The show is well known for the mask that the lead wears, which is a white half-mask.
The masked figure, which everyone now recognizes in the modern day as a staple of Broadway, was known to lurk around the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, terrorizing and scaring everyone who went.
Erin, who is the proud cat owner, shares videos of her furry friend Ashfur. She has been sharing videos on the popular social media app for well over a year. However, people recently have been seeing Ashfur more on their "for you page."
The video shows Ashfur showing off his fur markings, which look exactly like the phantom mask from the hit musical "Phantom of the Opera." The cat has a black face, which matches the rest of his black fur, but it's split down the middle with the righthand side of his face covered in white fur.
Many on TikTok commented about how much the cat looked like a Phantom of the Opera feline. "If Andrew Lloyed Webber combined Cats and Phantom of the Opera into one musical," one TikTok user commented on the video.
Many commented on Erin's videos saying that they had never seen a cat with such unique markings. They also could not get over how simply stunning Ashfur is and how he is a striking little cat.
Ashfur's owner, Erin, happens to have quite a few cats. But, Ashfur seems to be the most popular of them all. Erin's TikTok page is even called "phantomoftheopurra" as a funny little pun to showcase she knows that Ashfur is a total Broadway kitty.
All cats, no matter the breed, have different foundation colors—black and red.
"When the pigment is distributed more thinly down the hair shaft, it is "diluted" and we get the colors blue [commonly called gray; the dilute of black] and cream [the dilute of red]. Melanin gives us the brown/black color that we see in brown tabby cats," Cat Fanciers' Association Allbreed Judge and editor of Cat Talk magazine, Teresa Keiger told Newsweek.
Keiger said that genetics are the reason for the various patterns that we often see in cats, such as tabby patterns, solid, pointed, and even their tails. There are more common patterns, as well as those that are much more unique.
Speaking with Newsweek, Erin shared that Ashfur actually developed vitiligo, which is a condition where the skin loses natural pigment. This can occur in both humans and animals alike. The skin or fur begins to turn white.
Fortunately, vitiligo does not cause any discomfort or harm to animals or humans. Many people actually have this condition and it causes them to have unique and special markings. Like Ashfur, it's what makes them truly special.
