2006-09-25 12:34:13 · 15 answers · asked by linjen74 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
No but calico females outnumber calico males by anywhere from 300-1 to 2000-1. The reason is that the genes that control feline coat color are found on the X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes; males have an X and a much smaller Y. (During fertilization, the female contributes an X to the embryo, whereas the male contributes either an X or Y. If it is an X chromosome, the embryo is female; if it's the Y, the result is a male kitten.) To compensate for this imbalance, part of one of the female's X chromosomes, on which the genes for orange, black and white coat color are coded, is inactivated or turned off. Inactivation takes place several days after fertilization when the embryo has grown from a single cell to a cluster of cells. It is a random act as to which X chromosome is inactivated in each cell. In some cases, it might be the gene for white coat color; in other cases, it will be black. This random turning off of genes results in the unique patterning of the calico and tortoiseshell cat.
It is a rare genetic occurrence, but a male calico can result. This cat will have two X chromosomes and a Y chromosome, and will usually be sterile.
2006-09-25 16:50:46 · answer #1 · answered by 14Words 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not ALL but MOST - it's VERY VERY rare to have male calicos. It's also not true that all ORANGE cats are male - just a majority. And YES calicos do purr - I don't know where that person got that from - all I have ever owned are calico's (all female and all VERY capable of purring) :)
2006-09-25 13:23:52 · answer #2 · answered by comelycrush 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No all calico cats are not female I have had a few male calicos myself, they are very sweet
2006-09-25 12:40:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a genetic aberration for a tri-colored cat to be male. And it does happen, maybe one in every 20,000 kitten births. The tri-color gene is recessive on the X chromosome. So it takes XX to express that color pattern. XX is female, XY is male. Occasionally a male (human too) is born with an extra chromosome XXY. That male can be calico or tortoiseshell.
2006-09-25 13:43:40 · answer #4 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, mostly. There are two X chromosomes and roughly 99%
of calicos are female. The rare XXY trisomy appears male but is
sterile.
2006-09-25 14:11:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
not all female cat are calico
there are some males but, are hard to find
2006-09-25 12:44:50 · answer #6 · answered by Nickolie05 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Excuse me for my ignorance but what is a calico cat????
2006-09-25 12:43:59 · answer #7 · answered by raliegh 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most of the time they are...I have a female Calico (her names kelly). Did you also know that Calico's dont purr? you can feel them purring..but you cant hear it.
2006-09-25 12:43:10 · answer #8 · answered by amanda rose 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have been told this for many years & I believe it....I've never seen or heard of a male calico. However, in this ever changing world we live in, the anwers "never", "impossible", "absolutely" & "always" can sometimes be too rigid.
2006-09-25 12:48:43 · answer #9 · answered by PAMELA G 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
usually yes, it is very rare to find a male calico, but I am sure they do exist.
2006-09-25 12:38:20 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋