Is it true that all calico cats are female? Why?
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peggylou (
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January 6th, 2007
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Yes, it's true. Although occasionally a male will be born calico, but have improperly formed genitals. My vet told me this; it's something genetics-related, but I don't remember the specifics.
Also, all the orange cats are male.
Males have one X and one Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes. (I'm sure we all remember this from bio.)
I can't figure out a way to say the rest.
:)
skfinkel said that all orange cats are male, THIS IS NOT TRUE, we have 4 orange cats that are female, so Ha! BUT, as for the all calico cats are female, this is true.
Calico cats are always female and the are also refferred to as tortoiseshell. The answer has to do with genetics. Every cat has 38 pairs of chromosomes; half of the pairs are from the mother, the other half is from the father. Within every chromosome there are thousands of different genes.
Every female cat receives one X chromosome from her mother and one X chromosome from her father, while a male receives one X chromosome from his mother and one Y chromosome from his father. Within the X chromosome is a gene for coat color.
In calicos and tortoiseshells, one X has the black gene; the other X has the orange gene. White coat color is associated with a completely separate gene.
At conception, the kitten is a one-celled organism, which divides until there are millions of cells that make up the final kitten. Each time a cell divides, it passes on its genetic material.
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