Calico Cats
From LoveToKnow Cats
Calico cats are easily recognizable, but did you know they aren't actually a specific cat breed? Calico is really just a color pattern that can be found across many different breeds of cats. Read on to learn other interesting facts about Calicos that you may not already know.
Calico Cats Folklore
Calico cats have always been popular for their distinctive coloring, but did you know that they are also considered lucky by some cultures?
Japanese sailors often carried calico cats on board their vessels because they believed the cats would bring them protection at sea. These felines were also believed to bring good fortune to any home lucky enough to have one.
Whether or not you put any stock into the luck angle, these cats are still highly prized for their looks.
Color and Pattern
Calico cats are essentially tri-colored cats in basic shades of black, red and white. Each color has it's own separate patches, and the colors are never blended or mixed as they are in Tortoiseshell cats.
Sometimes the colors are diluted, and so a Calico may actually bare shades of blue, chocolate, cream, or fawn instead of the standard black and red on white.
Genetics
Calico cats are the result of a specific genetic code. Since genetics can be a bit difficult to follow, let's try to explain it as simply as possible focusing on the X chromosome.
The genetic code for color is contained in an X chromosome. Female cats receive an X chromosome from each parent, making them XX, while male cats receive an X chromosome from their mother and a Y chromosome from their father, making them XY.
Females
In Calicos, one X chromosome carries the red color, while the other X carries black. Whenever two X chromosomes are present, as in females, one will eventually become de-activated. The timing of the chromosome's shut off determines each Calico's pattern as well as which color will be predominant.
Because two X chromosomes are necessary to create those distinct color patches, you'll find nearly all Calico cats are female.
Males
Since most males only receive a single X chromosome, they do not carry the genetic coding to be Calicos, however, there are rare occasions when a male inherits two X chromosomes, making him XXY, and therefore able to present the Calico pattern and coloring. This rarity is basically a genetic anomaly, and for this reason the few male Calicos you'll find, perhaps one in three thousand, are nearly always sterile.
Breeding for Calicos
Since Calicos are such a popular color pattern, you'd think cat lovers would specifically breed for these beauties. In reality, this is not the case.
Breeding for Calicos is a bit of a gamble since there as yet is no way to prompt one of the X chromosomes to shut off at any given point in an embryo's development. However, with the current experimentations in genetic manipulation enabling scientists to produce a hypo-allergenic cat, you have to wonder if color manipulation is just around the corner?
Breeders can increase the chance of producing Calico kittens by using Calico females, or by breeding orange cats to black ones, but there is no guarantee that any of the kittens will have the desired color pattern.
Conclusion
For now, Calico cats remain a happy accident of genetics, so appreciate your patchwork kitty not only for its beauty, but for the unusual genetic sequence that was necessary to produce her.
Comments
Hi Jenny,
How well cats get along really doesn't have as much to do with breeds as the personalities of the cats involved. One thing you can do to ease the transition is to the follow the tips in our article Bringing a New Cat Home, and then read through our visitor questions about bringing a new kitten home.
-- Contributed by: LoriSoardI BROUGHT A NEW CAT HOME LAST WEEK TO BE FRIEND MY CALICO CAT AND SHE DID NOT GET ALONG WITH THE CALICO. MY CALICO CAT ATTACKED HER ALL NIGHT LONG I HAD TO BRING HER BACK THE NEXT DAY. DO THEY GET ALONG WITH OTHER CALICO CATS BETTER THEN OTHER BREEDS? PLEASE HELP
-- Contributed by: JENNYHi FG,
The good news is that you know the diagnosis and therefore can offer the proper treatment. Many cats with kidney problems live long lives. It is going to be vital that you keep her on the special cat food and do not give her any treats or items other than that food. Watch her carefully and make sure she is drinking normally and using the litter box normally. There are special litters available that will change color when she urinates and signal if there is a problem. They are worth their weight in gold in this instance.
Also, any time she needs medication, remind the vet about her kidney problems. Hope this helps!
-- Contributed by: LoriSoardThis page has been accessed 4,510 times. This page was last modified 02:11, 5 March 2008.
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