why is there no female gender cats in those yellow and orange cats?
2006-08-21 22:57:46 · 37 answers · asked by ? 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
They are not always male, it is just far more common for them to be male. Just as a tortoishell (calico) cat is ususally female. A useful explaination on colours in cats and sex linkage is here: http://messybeast.com/mosaicism.htm#geneforginger
2006-08-21 23:05:16 · answer #1 · answered by marzipanthecat 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
All cats have 19 pairs of chromosomes. These chromosomes carry genes, and these genes determine a cat’s appearance, intelligence, etc. There’s a copy of all 19 pairs of chromosomes in every cell of a cat’s body.
Like humans, cats have one pair of sex chromosomes. These are the ones that make them male or female and they play an essential role in determining a cat’s colour. In females, both sex chromosomes are X making girls XX. Males are XY, the Y making them male. A kitten gets one chromosome from Mom and one from Dad. Moms only have X’s so the variable is given by the Dad, if he gives his X, the kitten is a girl, if he gives his Y, it is a boy.
The gene which makes a cat ginger or orange is located on the X chromosome. The gene 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.
2006-08-29 12:34:11 · answer #2 · answered by althegrrl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have an orange female cat. At the shelter once there was a litter of four long-haired orange kittens.
Statistically there is a 75% chance of a cat being male as opposed to a 25% chance of its being female. So it's a genetic roll of the dice. Just like a family can have three, four, five children of one sex and none of the other.
2006-08-29 09:22:07 · answer #3 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a yellow/orange cat for 6 years that I caught as wild. She was very timid, and never had kittens. Wouldn't let another cat near her. She was never fixed, I got her as a kitten. A pack of dogs got her one night, (broke my heart) I buried her over a year ago. I started searching for another tabby cat, and discovered that female orange cats are hard to find. 6 months later a friend said, I heard you was looking for a orange cat. You still want one? Well, guess where she lives now? I don't know about male tabby cats being hard to find, but I know females are!
2006-08-27 16:26:19 · answer #4 · answered by sweet southern charm 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a female orange cat when I was a kid. She had a litter of 2 males and 2 females and they were all orange.
A black cat that I have now came from a litter where the mother cat was orange.
2006-08-21 23:02:10 · answer #5 · answered by Catmmo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it just may seem a coincidence that all the orange and yellow cats you've ran across have been males... we had a litter of 7 kittens that 3 were orange striped tabbys', all were female!
2006-08-29 00:05:14 · answer #6 · answered by someone s 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have an orange male cat and a femal orange cat. Actually, the litter the female came from was all females, except for one....
2006-08-27 04:58:21 · answer #7 · answered by sillyscreennamegonebad 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All males have just two colors in their fur. This is a fact. If your cat has 3 or more colors on their coat then you can bet it is a female. Although a female can only have 2 colors too but if there is more than two colors then it is for sure to be a female not a male.
2006-08-29 07:40:46 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's not necessarily true...I'm saying this because I have an orange female sitting on my computer desk right now...She's a 4 year old yellow striped orange tabby....Yes, they do tend more so to be males, but there are females as well...Just depends on the bloodlines when the male and female mate...
2006-08-28 17:29:12 · answer #9 · answered by lil_goober19 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are female yellow/orange cats!
2006-08-28 12:59:02 · answer #10 · answered by Sydney 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a child we had an orange cat. It was a female.
2006-08-27 16:33:47 · answer #11 · answered by Classy Granny 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋