I realize that normals aren't really a morph per say but seeing as there is such a wide range of colors and patterns, I was wondering what people's experiences had been with breeding them. The main reason I'm asking is because I've now got a normal female from a rescue situation who should be ready to breed next season. The only issue I see is that she's extremely dark with next to no blushing while I have focused more on the lighter morphs. After breeding cats for years, I realize that though a red/orange tabby is the same gene on all cats, some carry deeper, more reddish coloration than others and will affect each other. For that reason, I'm worried that taking a dark normal female to a lighter morph such as my pastel enchi, will end up creating lower quality morphs in the end. Any thoughts on this or experience with how the balance of color/pattern/flames on a normal affect or are affected by the introduction of morphs?

The other reason I'm asking is I've seen enough debate on the browned out pastel issue to choke a horse AND bury it. The last thing I wish to do is muddy up good genetics with my normal's genes in the mix. If need be, I can always look into the darker morphs such as cinnamons, etc. to go with her if they do seem to have a strong affect on the morph genes.

Thanks ahead of time for any input breeders might have on this topic. Though it's not as interesting as say the latest 5-6 gene animal, the range of normals is something that is interesting to me.