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2 years, 2 months ago

Why are calico cats always female?

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cosmopinkice | 2 years, 2 months ago
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Calico cats are not always female, but the vast majority of them are. If a male cat is calico, it is usually sterile because it's a genetic defect for the cat. XXY, a three chromosome cat.

Calico means that there are 3 colors present. The colors in a cat are a sex-linked trait. The third color comes from the X-chromosome and that comes from the female have XX when the male only has one X.

You can read more in details about how the chromosomes make up the colors at this link:

http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/catbreed1/f/FAQ_calicocats.htm

http://www.cats-central.com/cat-kitten-pictures/images/calico-cat-3.jpg

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doubleminaz | 2 years, 2 months ago
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Well, Miss J, welcome to Mahalo and thanks for bringing such a good question to the table!

The short answer is: genetics and the way that coloring traits are carried on the X chromosomes.

The long answer is: welllll, I'm no genetics expert, so I'm going to point you to this very nicely-written explanation: http://messybeast.com/tricolours.htm

Thanks, and again, welcome!
images:

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