h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Why are all calico cats female?

Not all are female. Approximately one male calico is born for every 3,000 females. And I think most male calicos are sterile for some reason. But in answer to why females dominate, I'm afraid I don't know.

Same reason as gingers are toms, but I've no idea why either ()

Well, is there really any need for a 50/50 ratio? Unless the males live with the female and help them feed the children and such.

How do these cats breed if there are so few males? Or don't they need to be purebred?

Erm, it's something to do with half the color genes being on the X or Y chromosomes, or something... It's confusing, but I think I used to know it...
<star.

Ugh, Smileytypo.

*assuming his most boring old pompous hrmmphy tone*

Female? I don't think so. Why they used to call me the Calico Kid and I ain't got a female creosote in my bawdy.

Actually colour (pigmentation) of fur and skin and eyes et al is determined at the gene level. Blondes (people) are really 'failed' redheads. Redheads are just mutant brunettes.

Colour coding of genetic failures is better understood by naturally breeding species like cats. I mean just look at the interacial beauty mankind is only just beginning to discover. (Or, rediscover, if you believe those myths about Amazonia. The 'gingers' of the ancient world.)

(unless I misunderstand my biology education-- quite likely) the answer is the same answer to why only men are color blind. (Okay, some women are, but not very many). The fur color (pattern? I have to say I know little about cats.) is a sex-linked trait, meaning that it is on the same chromosome as the one definining sex (X or Y).

I may be totally wrong... ask a local vet to be sure.

And yes, I know this is a rather old conversation, but I'm a bit bored...

Really? And what are strawberry blondes? Really confused?

SC

Strawberry (a red colour) blondes only serve to prove the point that blondeness is a failure of the redhead gene which itself is a mutation of brunette.
This notion, recently put forth by geneticists, really puts a crimp in the blondes-have-more-fun theory of racial supremacy. It just shows we all come from one source, probably somewhere in Africa.
The silly idea that blue eyed blondes from the north are fairhaired and light skinned because of weakened sunlight is put on its head. The reality is that the original fairhaired fairskinned tribes were probably driven out of Agrica and driven north as freaks. Only later, after harsh ice-age conditions obliged them to develop certain technologies and social practises did they repeatedly re-invade the southern regions throughout the dynastic, classic and modern periods.
peace
~jwf~

You're right, Amy, it's a sex-linked gene, on the X chromosome. Tortoiseshell cats (as I would call them) have to have a copy of both the ginger gene (for the ginger patches) and the black-and-white gene (for the black-and-white patches). This means they must have two X chromosomes and are almost automatially female.

The 1 in 3000 figure for male calico cats is the number of times you get odd male cats with an extra X chromosome (XXY instead of the normal male XY).

To be ginger, a male cat only needs to get the ginger gene from his mother. A female cat needs to get two copies of the ginger gene, one from each parent, so ginger tomcats are more common than ginger females.

Azara

Yay! I was right for a change!

That fruit fly lab from bio 2 did something... wouldn't my teacher be proud?

The white colour isn't actually on a gene but is an absense of colour all cats can get naturally (which is why most cats have *some* white markings).

And I have a male tortie (or calico if you want to call it that). I don't know if he was sterile, but we had him neutered anyway

~Fluffy

And because pigmentation has something to do with hearing, cats with white patches on their ears are almost always deaf. Should probably be under useless facts.

White cats (as opposed to albinoes) in general are usually deaf. Is this true for other species, or just cats?

Well, humans also have pigment-less spots here and there. And I think if you have it on your ear you´re actually likely to be deaf. So I guess it goes for a lot of animals.

*sneaks in quietly, the stealth of a ghost - snags a cat in his jaws and with one quick shake of his head snaps its neck and carries it off into the deep north wood before anyone is the wiser*

How-wooooooo!

I hope that wasn't a white deaf one - that really wouldn't be nice.

I have a completely white cat who fortunately is not deaf. But I am curious - Does anyone know the connection between white cats and deafness?