sdzoo:

Sunny Spring Day Brings Cool Snow to San Diego Zoo Snow Leopards

Smoky
gray and blurred black markings on a pale gray or cream-colored
background provide the snow leopard with superb camouflage in the
mountains. These “spots” are arranged in distinct rows and get paler in
the winter. No wonder this medium-sized cat has been called the ghost
cat of the Himalayas! Snow leopards have dense fur not found on cats in
warmer climates. They move to different altitudes along with the summer
and winter migrations of their prey animals, so their coats vary from
fine in the summer to thick in the winter.