Calico Cats: Tri-color Beauties

Rebound was the first cat our family adopted. She was a precious multi-colored kitten that had been dropped at the shelter just hours before we arrived. She was not only the smallest and most timid of the bunch, but she also had a very unusual coat; a tri- colored mixture of orange, black and white. At that time I knew very little about cats (I’ve come a long way since then..), so I Googled, “orange, black and white cat” and was introduced to the world of calico cats. “What exactly do you mean by calico?”, you may ask. First, understand that the term “calico” refers to the tri-coloring of a cat’s coat which includes the colors orange, black and white, or some variation such as ginger, grey and cream. A calico cat is not a specific breed; however, a number of breeds can have a calico coat. Calico cats generally have large distinctive blocks of the three colors, while tortoiseshell cats, have the colors mingled together without specific shapes or patterns. Some tortoiseshell cats are almost all black, or have little to no white on their coat. What makes a cat a calico? Without getting too technical, it all has to do with genetics, more specifically the number of X and Y chromosomes. Female animals have two X chromosomes, (XX) and male animals have an X and a Y chromosome (XY). The genetic code that displays the colors black or orange is found in the X chromosome. Therefore, because female cats have two X chromosomes, they can produce the colors black and orange at the same time. This means that almost all calico cats are female. Since a male cat, has only one X chromosome, he can only display one of the two colors, black or orange. In rare instances you may find a male calico cat, which means that he has two X chromosomes and a Y chromosome (XXY), and they are usually sterile. The color white is located in a different gene. There is a wealth of information on calico cats if you are in the mood for a lesson in genetics. Here are a few interesting links that will explain the calico phenom in much greater detail. The Genetics of Calico Cats Torties, Calicos, and TriColor Cats Calico Cats: Tri-Color Beauties