It has been widely reported that the University of Minnesota found the incidence of male torties or calicos is 1 in 3,000. What is the chance of a male calico or tortie cat? His coat is black and ginger, and he also carries the white spotting gene (note the white on his paws and chest). The male will either be ginger or non-ginger, he cannot be a mixture of both like the female. If she inherits the O gene from both parents, she will be ginger. So, if she inherits the O gene from one parent and o (non-orange) from the other parent, she will be a random mix of orange and another colour (usually black). As both X chromosomes within the cell cannot be expressed, one is inactivated in a process called lyonsation. The female (XX) inherits one X chromosome from her mother and one from her father. If the X chromosome carries the O gene, he will be orange, if it does not, he will be non-orange. The male (XY) only has one X chromosome, from his mother, and a Y chromosome from the father. The dominant gene responsible for orange is located on the X chromosome (which makes it sex-linked). Genes are located on the chromosomes and are tiny segments of DNA that act as a code that specifies the production of a protein, which do most of the work within the cells and are essential for the function and regulation of the body’s organs and tissues. Each chromosome is made up of matching pairs, which provides information from the mother and the father. The chromosomes are located within the nucleus of every cell. To recap, cats have 19 chromosome pairs, 18 autosomes and the sex chromosome pair of XX or XY. Reviewed by Dr Sam Kovac – Southern Cross Veterinary Clinic How are some male cats calico or tortie?Ĭalico and tortie cats are almost always female, which we have covered in our article on calico cats.
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