Hurry, hurry, step right this way! See the Amazing Color Changing Cat!

Tuxie is a feline of many talents. One of his most impressive tricks is his ability to change color. It’s not a unique skill: many Siamese lighten and darken as the ambient temperature changes.

But Tuxie takes the whole process to impressive levels, especially considering that he’s not a meezer.

Check it out. Here’s what he looked like in February.

And here’s a similar shot from last night.

Impressive, isn’t it?

Yes, some of the difference has to do with the amount of light shining on him, but not all. Not by a long shot. Note how much more pronounced the stripes on his tail are in the second picture–to say nothing of the stripes on his side. As for the back of his neck, it’s hard to believe it’s the same cat. (It is.)

What’s behind the shift? Some of it is clearly age-related. It’s hard to tell in these pictures, but in person it’s clear that much of the difference on his face and neck is the due to the appearance of gray hairs.

Some of the difference may be due to the temperature. But that seems unlikely to be a major contributor: the average temperature in May was less than ten degrees higher than in February. And he’s not spending any more time sunbathing now than he did then.

I think the answer is that Tuxie just got bored with his old look, and decided to try something new. If he shows up next month sporting green and purple polka-dots, I won’t be a bit surprised.