freind said they were but i dont believe him...
2006-08-10 08:07:42 · 17 answers · asked by Curtis W 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
Calico (and tortishell ) cats are 99% female. There have been the rare cases of the calico (or tortishell) who are males, but it is thought that they cannot reporduce.
2006-08-10 09:40:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is one of those transatlantic translation problems...
In the US, "calico" means a tricolor cat -- white, black and orange. Calico (US) cats are always female because the gene that creates this coloration is on the "missing" leg of the second X chromosome; that is, if a cat is male and therefore has a Y chromosome in the second spot, it doesn't have that leg and therefore can't be a calico (US).
In the UK, "calico" means the same as "tabby" in the US -- I believe. That is, a cat whose coat is patterned in stripes and/or swirls.
If a UK "calico" is a striped and swirled cat as I seem to recall, then I can answer definitively that it IS possible to have a female orange striped cat because I've got one on my lap right now. She's the variety called "bullseye tabby," meaning that the stripes on her flanks form a roughly circular pattern.
2006-08-11 13:44:41 · answer #2 · answered by Scott F 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A calico or tortoishell cat is usually 99% sure to be female. The coloring pattern (orange, black and can have some white) is on the X chromosome and it takes that gene being on both the X chromosomes to produce that coloring. A male cat can be a carrier of that gene on his X cromosome that he gets from his mom. He must mate with a female carrying that gene to produce that coloring in his offspring.
If the cat is an orange tabby or an all orange cat the genetics behind it is that about 75% have the possibility of having that coloring and they will be male. Only about 25% of the kittens births will be female. These are statistical probabilities.
2006-08-10 15:20:58 · answer #3 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most orange cats are males - calico's (which is different than an orange cat, they are orange, white and brown usually) are females. A true calico that is a male would be quite valuable
2006-08-10 15:15:39 · answer #4 · answered by buggsnme2 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
calico cat consists of 3 different colors. Most calico cats are females. If you get a male calico cat then you have something that is very rare.
2006-08-10 15:13:48 · answer #5 · answered by cbutchee2000 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
actually...calico cats CAN be boys, but very rare and worth $$..and unless your "orange" cat has 2 more colors to the mix, its not a calico anyway.
Also...a tortoishell and a calico are 2 different kinds of kitties, there is not really a statistic about tortoishells being girls in my expereince....please show me this because I am courious and would love to be shown otherwise for my own experience.
2006-08-10 15:24:22 · answer #6 · answered by key2e 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no such thing as an orange calico and all calicos are girls. An orange tom can father girl calicos but thats as close as they get.
2006-08-10 15:18:09 · answer #7 · answered by groomingdiva_pgh 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In general orange cats are boys. Calico cts are girls.
However with the overpopulation in these ages it's not always the case.
They should all still be altered. And they are not rare.
Tallys Cat 101
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/owners.html
2006-08-10 15:13:44 · answer #8 · answered by cm30324 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
(calico cats or tortoiseshells are all female, male cats only have up to two colors) Besides that true fact... I've owned a brother and sister that were both the tiger pattern mimic.
2006-08-10 17:47:20 · answer #9 · answered by Meg C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Um, Calicos are three or more colors and are female.
2006-08-10 15:12:20 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋