Member

Posts: 107
From:sherman oaks,california,USA
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 02-21-2004 01:09 PM         

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Hey guys...I am taking an animal science class and learned an interesting fact about Calicos that I never knew before. All calicos are females...there are no male Calicos ever! I thought it was weird...i never knew that...just thought I would share.

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Member

Posts: 240
From:Campton, NH USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-21-2004 02:23 PM         

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See if you can find out if there is any truth in the rarity of a male calico...I've heard that they are out there and they are always sterile. Not sure if that's an urban legend or if there is some truth in it.

also redpoint siamese are usually always male - the siamese rescue gets a female in once in awhile but it's extremely unusual

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Posts: 1591
From:NY, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 02-21-2004 02:46 PM         

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Actually there are male calico's but they are rare....I think I've read something like only 1 in 3000 calico cats are born male. There was one at my SPCA last year.

I found this site that explains more: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/CCAH/Genetics/FAQ.htm
"Male calicos are rare. The calico coat color is caused by a coat color gene on the X chromosome. Since females have two copies of the X chromosome and males only have one, in females one X is inactivated. In the case of calicos, one X has the black gene and the other has the orange gene. Since the Xs are randomly inactivated, the cat ends up with black and orange patches. Male cats with calico coloring have two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome. This is very uncommon and can lead to an intersex phenotype. These individuals would most likely be sterile."

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Member

Posts: 701
From:CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-21-2004 06:32 PM         

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Hello. That's interesting! I never knew that. One of my cats that I had for 20.5 years was a Calico (she passed away a few years ago). She was wonderful! Anyway, thanks for the info.

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Posts: 67
From:Albany, Ga, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-21-2004 07:03 PM         

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There are male calicos.. they are just really really really really really really rare. I am going to college to be a veterinarian and that was in a book about cats and the different breeds and stuff..

stephanie

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Posts: 84
From:Ontario Canada
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-22-2004 05:09 AM         

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Isn't it also true that orange tabbies are almost always male? Or am I just confused?

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Posts: 84
From:Ontario Canada
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-22-2004 05:13 AM         

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I found this interesting. I guess male Tories are as rare as the calicos:

The gene which makes a cat ginger (orange) is located on the X chromosome. The gene for ginger will override all other colours. Since males have only one X, they either are or aren’t ginger - no halfway about it. Girl cats have two X’s in each cell. As far as the cells are concerned two X’s is one too many, so each cell deactivates one of the X chromosomes in a fairly random fashion. Sometimes the ginger X will be left on producing a bit of orange fur and in some cells the ginger X will be turned off and the genes for black, brown or other colour fur will be produced. And there you have a Calico or Tortoiseshell Cat.

Since males only need to have the orange gene on one chromosome to become ginger, and females have to have it on two, ginger males outnumber females 3 to 1. To show both orange and another colour such as black or brown a cat has to have two different X chromosomes per cell. Therefore calico (or tortoiseshell) female cats outnumber males by at least 200 to 1, some stats go as high as 3,000 to 1. When a male tortie does appear, (a result of a mutation producing two X’s and one Y) he is invariable sterile and exhibits feminine behaviour such as nurturing nearby young.

Why do we have so many orange and white cats? Because white isn’t a colour but the absence of colour. The genes that cause the suppression of colour are stronger than the genes for any colour including the mighty orange. Since white isn’t a colour and is merely hiding the genes for colour, white cats often produce coloured kittens.

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Posts: 1591
From:NY, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 02-22-2004 05:59 PM         

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Dolly: That was a great explanation. Thanks for posting it.

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Posts: 3
From:Arad, Israel
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-25-2004 06:05 AM         

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I actually have a friend who had a male calico. We just assumed he was female and never checked. What a surprise when the vet said she was a he when s/he was brought in for de-sexing. He was still nutered even though he was most likely sterile.

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