What Cat Breed Does A Calico Fall Under?

Question

I have a calico kitten that's 4 months old. I was just curious.

Answer 1

Calico is a color pattern not a breed.
Orange/black/white or cream/grey or blue/white.
Almost any breed can have calico colored cats.
Calico cats are almost always always female, with a rare male every now and then which is usually infertile.
Its more likely that you have a DSH/DLH (or Domestic Short or Long Hair) cat which is the feline equivalent of a mutt.

Answer 2

You can get pretty picky about what is a calico and what is a tortoiseshell. I have a 22 year old tortoiseshell who has white paws and a lovely white bib. She is a rescue cat so I have only had her for seven years. I think she is so beautiful and I often wish I had known her as a kitten--she must have been very precious.

The calico is a coat coloring and not a breed as someone has stated. I think I have seen the pattern in Persians and Maine Coons in Cat Fancy magazine.

The coloring is the result of having the necessary alleles on the cat's genes. It is not always "expressed" or visible. It must be on both of the X chromosome, the one she gets from her mother and the one she gets from her dad. Males rarely display the coloring because they only have one X chromosome, except if they get screwed up genetically and have a XXY pattern.

Enough with the biology already. I think this color pattern has been successful for the cat in its evolution as they are not seen as readily in a "jungle" or the dark. This is beneficial for a mother cat as she can hide easily and not be seen so readily when she goes to her kittens, thus enhancing her chances for her survival and that of her kittens.

Just love that little dolly and give her a long, happy life.

Answer 3

Your cat is probably just a regular domestic feline (no special breed). Calico is just a coloration that occurs due to genetics of the mother and father cat (it's a little complicated, so I won't go into it). You can also classify your cat by the length of it's hair, so if your kitty is short-haird, it's a short-hair calico domestic feline.

Answer 4

Calico is not a breed, it's a coat color. All kinds of cats may be calicos. Check out www.cfa.org to see the different breeds of cats.

Answer 5

"kinfolk Shorthair" or longhair, or medium hair. this is the valid breed designation for cats which at the instant are no particular breed (i.e. what could be written on the pedigree papers to procure from the breeder once you spent $4 hundred procuring a cat of a particular breed). Calico, like tabby is basically a coat trend, which would be modern in many breeds, besides as those of no particular breed.

Answer 6

Um, a Calico is a cat breed

Answer 7

Yea Calico is a color. There is also Dilute Calico which is kinda a pastel version if you will, But its a color not a breed....More like a variety.

Answer 8

Calico is a pattern and colour, like grey tabby or red tabby and it can be Domestic shorthair (DSH) domestic medium hair (DMH) or Domestic longhair (DLH) and that all depends on the length of it's coat.

Answer 9

I would check out a book called DK Smithsonian Handbook on Cats. It has different types of Calicos (long and short haired) and can probably show you exactly what your cat is. :)

Answer 10

They are not really a breed
http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/01glance/symbols/html/cat.html
Apparently it's an uncommon occurence that falls across many breeds. American Shorthair or Longhair would probably be the most common.