system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How does fur know what color to be when it's in a pattern (like spotted)?

Like on a leopard. If fur falls out, how does the new fur know to grow in that pattern? My cat is a tuxedo and I rarely see white hair in her black fur and vice versa but I know she sheds like crazy.
gpt
If you shave your cat (*disclaimer: do not shave your cat*) you'll notice that the *skin* under the white and black parts is different colours. It's like that for (most) animals with fur patterns - the pattern goes all the way down to the skin. There is different pigmentation in the skin that the hair follicles grow from.