Is it true that all orange tabby cats are male; ditto calico cats being female?

Question

I'd heard this factoid, but the friends I've asked don't believe.

Answer 1

Neither "factoid" is true. About 99% of calico cats are female and there are males.

Orange cats are statistically more liable to be male (75% to 25%) and female orange tabbies can be found all over. They are not born deformed or sickly.

By statistically I mean that before you were conceived there was a 50-50 chance you would be either male or female. When sperm enters egg that is decided and irrevocable.

Answer 2

Sort of

Here's the bests I understand/can explain it

Calicos

To have both orange AND black on the same cat requires two X Chromisomes. XX= Female. Males don't usually have two X's. That's why calicos (white, orange, black) are almost always females. Occasionally, there will be a "male" that is XXY. It will apparently be a male, and can be calico. THey are almost always sterile

As for female orange tabbies, I had one as a child. She had kittens, too. Odds of an orange tabby female are very low though. Unlike male caliocs, they don't have to be genetic "mutants" BUT the odds are stacked against them. For example, they would HAVE to have a mother and father both with orange. For example, a calico mated with an orange tabby male could potentially have female orange tabby kittens. From what I understand.

Hope that answers your questions.

Thumbs down to the person who said "A few rare cases have been reported in which sterile, deformed, or sickly kittens have been born as female oranges or male calicos, but they often die young and cannot reproduce."

That is NOT true of female oranges. As I said, THEY are not a genetic mutation, they just beat "the odds" of having the exact right combination of parents and genes. (kinda like the odds of two brown eyed parents having a blue-eyed child).

It's somewhat true of calico males. At least being sterile. I don't know about sickly. Again, they are a genetic mutation (XXY instead of XY)

Answer 3

Usually orange tabby cats are male, but this is not always so.

You may have a few rare cases with male cats being calico, but calicos are almost always female. This is because the calico gene is a trait of the y chromosome, which only female animals have.

What determines that a male cat is a male cat or that a female cat is female is their chromosomes. A male cat has 2 x chromosomes, while a female cat has an x chromosome and a y chromosome.

Hope I gave you a thorough understanding!

Answer 4

It is true most orange Tabby's are males and most calico's and tortoiseshells are females. It is rare for a female to be a Orange Tabby and same with the Tortoiseshelles and Calicos to be a male.

Answer 5

This is usually the rule, but i have a female orange tabby and my friend has a male calico.

Answer 6

Ginger females are fairly rare, but there are a fair few around, I've met lots.

Calico/tortoiseshell cats are pretty much always female, the gene for the coat colour is found with the female chromosone. I heard a rumour of a male tortoiseshell once, and the other day a client claimed to own a male tortie, but since our clients never seem to know what sex their animals are I didn't really believe them.

Chalice

Answer 7

Not all orange cats are male. Although the majority of them are. However it is true that all calico cats are female. It all has to do with genetics. It happens for the same reason that boys can be colored blind.

Answer 8

I have never heard that about orange tabby cats, but it is absolutely true that most calicos are female.

Answer 9

yes its true. but its rare for an orange cat to be a female, and its very rare for a calico or tortie to be a male. if you look on any shelter websites who post the sex and coloring of the cat you will see that orange cats are male and females are either a calico or a tortie.

Answer 10

No, it's not true! My friend has a female orange cat! It's just that *most* ginger cats are males and most calicos are female... but not all!