Step aside, tuxedo cats—there’s a new coat in town. 🐾 First spotted in 2007 in Petäjävesi, Finland, salty licorice cats are named for their black-and-white ombré fur, which echoes the look of salt licorice (in Finland, “salmiakki)”, a popular—and polarizing—confection flavored with ammonium chloride. In 2024, scientists at the University of Helsinki traced the look to a recessive variant in the KIT gene, dubbed w-sal. The finding, made possible by community-contributed DNA, appears to affect coat color only, with no known health concerns. 🍬 - Source: CNN | 📷 Ari Kankainen