Furgonomic Tattoos

[malymin]

made with nex3's grid generator

Colorpoint cats and rabbits are the result of a mutation that prevents melanin from being produced at normal body temperature; the extremities retain pigment production because they are the coldest part of the animal. As a result, there's a lot of quirks to "Himalayan" markings. Babies tend to be born all-white, because they've been warmed by being inside the mother. Colorpoint cats who live in cold areas or homes tend to be more darkly colored, with cream or beige bodies, than ones whose living conditions are hot to warm. And if a part of such an animal is shaved, and thus exposed to cold (here represented by the ice pack), the fur will grow back darker for a while.

In a society of furred sophonts where the temperature-dependant pigment mutation is a common part of the gene pool, I can imagine taking advantage of this being a popular form of temporary tattoo - at least for the people it would work on. (By contrast, freeze branding, and traditional hot branding, create a permanent "tattoo.")