Is it true that there are no male calico cats?

Question

I heard that and now that I think about it I have never seen one, they are all females.

Answer 1

http://www.cat-e-corner.com/calico_cats.htm

interesting and answers the question.

Answer 2

I had a colico that had kittens and the vet told me that a male colico cat is orange like a morris.

A little calico kitten is just about as cute as a baby animal can be. However, a calico cat is not actually a breed but rather a very specific color characteristic. A "true" calico is a tri-color cat, with its colors in distinct patches, not mixed as in a tortoiseshell cat. However, there is more to a calico cat than just a mix of colors.
For instance, have you ever seen a male calico cat? Few have, as a matter of fact, word has it that all calico cats are female. To better understand this mystery, lets have a brief, very basic, review of genetics.

Each mother cat's offspring will carry a pair of sex chromosomes, XX or XY, the result of which will make the kitten either a girl or a boy. The mother passes an X chromosome down to it's creation and the father passes either an X or a Y. If the offspring receives the Y, it's genetic composition will be XY and it will be a male.
However, color and other physical calico kitten characteristics are tied specifically to the X or Y gene depending on the specific circumstance. For a kitten to be born a calico it takes two X genes, one carrying an orange characteristic and one carrying the non-orange characteristic (usually black). And, if a cat has the XX combination of genes it needs to be calico, then it would be a female, hence, why there is the perception that a calico cat has to be a female.
However, as life would have it, you will, on very rare occasion, run into a male calico cat. "But, how can this be?", you ask. Well actually, it is possible, rare, but possible just the same, that a genetic anomaly can occur where an offspring ends up with an extra sex chromosome producing the combination XXY. The XX of the XXY meets the requirement of the two X chromosomes needed to produce the calico cat characteristic's color and the Y of the XXY produces the male sex. However, male calico cats are usually sterile and do not reproduce.
So next time you see that cute little calico kitten, remember there's more to that girl than "meet's the eye".

Answer 3

It is said that there are no such thing as male calico cats. And I have never seen one myself either. I do know that males will be born calico but never make it past 4 or 6 weeks old.

They usually have some defect that doesn't allow them to live.

Reserchers say it is a defect in the DNA x cromazone that when born male create a defect in the y cromazone. When born female the female usually picks up after the mother which is also calico.

Just as well it is said there are no such thing as solid black cats either. You can find them darn close but most have a shade of brown in them or you can find some different color of hair on them other than black.

This tale has even been researched.

Answer 4

It is very rare to get a male and they are almost always sterile. The only one I've ever seen was Mr. Calico at a cat show. Calico is a color not a breed you don't need males to keep the color going. It is the orange and black combo that doesn't allow for males, adding the white for a tri-color doesn't matter

Answer 5

I have heard that too. All the calico cats I have ever seen were female. So, I guess it is true.

Answer 6

There are some male calico and tortie cats but they are very rare.....some predict at about 3,000 females to every 1 male...I never seen one myself however

Answer 7

Sure is true, at least all the calicos I have ever had were females

Answer 8

Yes, it is true. There are no male calicos. Only female cats are calicos!!

Answer 9

It is very rare as it requires a genetic abberation where the cat has two X chromosomes and one Y. The color is recessive on the X chromosome and it takes two of them to get that coloring and the Y makes them male. Sometimes human males can have the extra X chromosome too and it is called Klingfelter (sp?) syndrome.

Answer 10

Yes, calico and tortoise back cats are always female. The genes for those pattern are 'sex-linked' genes.

Answer 11

Yes, for the most part -- and very rarely, no. About one in 3,000 tricolored cats are males, although only 1 in 10,000 of these males is fertile.