Here is the litter the sleepy kitten comes from. There ARE eight kittens and it looks like only ONE is not a calico. I tend to like calicos and tortoiseshells. Did you know that three colors in cats is sex-linked? Most are female; 1 in 3,000 are male, and usually sterile. Tricolor males have the feline equivalent of Kleinfelter's Syndrome and have an extra X chromosome. Female calicos or tortoiseshells can be thought of as half-orange because they have one orange color gene. An orange female can must have two orange color genes. A orange male cat needs only one orange color gene. Each calico or tortoiseshell is unique because the coloring and pattern are determined by conditions in the womb.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Beautiful Kitten Litter
Here is the litter the sleepy kitten comes from. There ARE eight kittens and it looks like only ONE is not a calico. I tend to like calicos and tortoiseshells. Did you know that three colors in cats is sex-linked? Most are female; 1 in 3,000 are male, and usually sterile. Tricolor males have the feline equivalent of Kleinfelter's Syndrome and have an extra X chromosome. Female calicos or tortoiseshells can be thought of as half-orange because they have one orange color gene. An orange female can must have two orange color genes. A orange male cat needs only one orange color gene. Each calico or tortoiseshell is unique because the coloring and pattern are determined by conditions in the womb.
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Very interested in the calico cats! I have a FIVE color calico. Her mother was a Himalayan, father was a brown tabby. My gal is black, white, cream, mahogany, orange and grey. Her head is multicolor, body has the "points" of the mother, predominantly grey on cream. She has mahogany spots on her knees. Everyone who sees her remarks on her unusually coloration.
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