Calico cat

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A calico cat A Calico cat.jpg
A calico cat
Calico cat with diluted coloration British Shorthair tricolore.jpg
Calico cat with diluted coloration
Calico cat with tabby markings Calico cat.png
Calico cat with tabby markings
Calico cat with predominantly-black coloration Taiwanese Dominantly Black Calico Cat.jpg
Calico cat with predominantly-black coloration

A calico cat (US English) is a domestic cat of any breed with a tri-color coat. The calico cat is most commonly thought of as being 25% to 75% white with large orange and black patches; however, they may have other colors in their patterns. Calicoes are almost exclusively female except under rare genetic conditions.

Contents

A calico cat is not to be confused with a tortoiseshell, who has a black undercoat and a mostly mottled coat of black/red or blue/cream with relatively few to no white markings. However, outside North America, the calico pattern is more commonly called tortoiseshell and white. [1] Calicoes with diluted coloration (blue tortoiseshell and white) have been called calimanco or clouded tiger. [2] Occasionally, the tri-color calico coloration is combined with a tabby patterning, called tortoiseshell tabby with white. A calico-patched tabby cat may be referred to as caliby. [3]

Derived from a colorful printed Calico fabric, when the term "calico" is applied to cats, it refers only to a color pattern of the fur, not to a cat breed or any reference to any other traits, such as their eyes. [4] Formal standards set by professional and show animal breeders limit the breeds among which they permit registration of cats with calico coloration; those breeds are the Manx cat, American Shorthair, Maine Coon, British Shorthair, Persian cat, Arabian Mau, Japanese Bobtail, Exotic Shorthair, Siberian, Turkish Van, Turkish Angora, and the Norwegian Forest cat.

Because the genetic determination of coat colors in calico cats is linked to the X chromosome, calicoes are nearly always female, [5] with one color linked to the maternal X chromosome and a second color linked to the paternal X chromosome. [6] In most cases, males are only one color as they have only one X chromosome. Male calicoes have an extra X chromosome (XXY, known as Klinefelter syndrome in humans) [7] or are genetic chimeras with two different sets of DNA (XX and XY). [8]

Some calico cats, called "dilute calicoes", may be lighter in color overall. Dilutes are distinguished by having grey (known as blue), cream, and gold colors instead of the typical colors along with the white.

History

The tri-color coat characteristic of calico cats does not define any breed, but occurs incidentally in cats who express a range of color patterns; accordingly, the effect has no definitive historical background. However, the existence of patches in calico cats was traced to a certain degree by Neil Todd in a study determining the migration of domesticated cats along trade routes in Europe and Northern Africa. [9] The proportion of cats having the orange mutant gene found in calicoes was traced to the port cities along the Mediterranean in Greece, France, Spain, and Italy, originating from Egypt. [10]

The calico has been Maryland's state cat since 1 October 2001. Calico cats were chosen as the state cat because their white, black, and orange coloring is in harmony with the coloring of the Baltimore oriole (the state bird) and the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (the state insect). [11]

Etymology

The fabric called "calico" was originally from the city of Calicut in southwestern India. [12] Printed calico was imported into the United States from Lancashire, England, in the 1780s, and a linguistic separation occurred there. While Europe maintained the word calico for the fabric, in the US it was used to refer to the printed design or pattern. These colorful, small-patterned printed fabrics gave rise to the use of the word calico to describe a cat coat of tri-color; "calico" as an adjective being synonymous to "mottled" or "resembling printed calico". [13] [14]

Genetics

Calico cat sisters, demonstrating the variation in their coat patterns Calicocats2222.jpg
Calico cat sisters, demonstrating the variation in their coat patterns
A long-haired adult calico cat Longhaired Calico Cat.jpg
A long-haired adult calico cat

In genetic terms, calico cats resemble tortoiseshells in most ways, except the tortoiseshell has a black undercoat and the calico has a white undercoat. One anomaly is that, as a rule of thumb the larger the areas of white, the fewer and larger the patches of ginger and dark or tabby coat. [15] In contrast, a non-white-spotted tortoiseshell usually has small patches of color or even something resembling a salt-and-pepper sprinkling. This reflects the genetic effects on relative speeds of migration of melanocytes and X-inactivation in the embryo. [16]

Serious study of calico cats apparently began in 1948 when Murray Barr and his graduate student E. G. Bertram noticed dark, drumstick-shaped masses inside the nuclei of nerve cells of female cats, but not in male cats. These dark masses became known as Barr bodies. [17] In 1959, Japanese cell biologist Susumu Ohno determined the Barr bodies were X chromosomes. [17] In 1961, Mary Lyon proposed the concept of X-inactivation: when one of the two X chromosomes inside a female mammal shuts off. [17] She observed this in the coat color patterns of mice. [18] There are two different alleles in Calico cats, one received from each parent, that can determine their fur coloration: each allele is responsible for either orange or black fur. Typically, each allele received would create a solid coat of black and orange fur, but, with Calico cats, Lyonization (commonly known as X-inactivation), occurs at random, which makes for the very distinct fur coat. [19]

Calico cats are almost always female because the locus of the gene for the orange/non-orange coloring is on the X chromosome. [20] In the absence of other influences, such as color inhibition that causes white fur, the alleles present in those orange loci determine whether the fur is orange or not. Female cats, like all female placental mammals, normally have two X chromosomes. In contrast, male placental mammals, including chromosomally stable male cats, have one X and one Y chromosome. [4] [17] [21] Since the Y chromosome does not have any locus for the orange gene, it is not possible for a normal XY male cat to have both orange and non-orange genes together, which is what typically results in tortoiseshell or calico coloring. [19] [22]

One rare genetic exception resulting in a male calico is when faulty cell division leaves an extra X chromosome in one of the gametes that produced the male cat. That extra X then is reproduced in each of his cells, a condition referred to as XXY, or Klinefelter syndrome. Such a combination of chromosomes could produce tortoiseshell or calico markings in the affected male, in the same way as XX chromosomes produce them in the female. [22] [23]

All but approximately one in ten thousand of the rare calico or tortoiseshell male cats are sterile because of the chromosome abnormality and breeders reject any exceptions for stud purposes because they generally are of poor physical quality and fertility. Even in the rare cases where a male calico is healthy and fertile, most cat registries will not accept them as show animals. [24]

As Sue Hubble stated in her book Shrinking the Cat: Genetic Engineering Before We Knew About Genes,

The mutation that gives male cats a ginger-colored coat and females ginger, tortoiseshell, or calico coats produced a particularly telling map. The orange mutant gene is found only on the X, or female, chromosome. As with humans, female cats have paired sex chromosomes, XX, and male cats have XY sex chromosomes. The female cat, therefore, can have the orange mutant gene on one X chromosome and the gene for a black coat on the other. The piebald gene is on a different chromosome. If expressed, this gene codes for white, or no color, and is dominant over the alleles that code for a certain color (i.e. orange or black), making the white spots on calico cats. If that is the case, those several genes will be expressed in a blotchy coat of the tortoiseshell or calico kind. But the male, with his single X chromosome, has only one of that particular coat-color gene: he can be not-ginger or he can be ginger (although some modifier genes can add a bit of white here and there), but unless he has a chromosomal abnormality he cannot be a calico cat. [10]

Currently, it has been very difficult to reproduce the fur patterns of calico cats by cloning. This is shown in the case of CC, whose genetic donor, Rainbow, was a calico domestic longhair. Copy Cat and Rainbow had different fur patterns. [25]

The study of calico cats may have provided significant findings relating to physiological differences between female and male mammals. [17] [21] [26]

Folklore

Cats with calico coloration are believed to bring good luck in the folklore of many cultures. [27] In Germany, the word for a cat with calico coloring is "Glückskatze" or "lucky cat". In the United States, calicoes sometimes are referred to as money cats. [28] In Japan, Maneki-neko figures depict calico cats, bringing good luck. Japanese sailors often kept a calico as their ship's cat to protect against misfortune at sea. [29]

Literature

In the late nineteenth century, Eugene Field published "The Duel", a poem for children also known as "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat".

On August 31, 2021, Google launched a role-playing browser game called Doodle Champion Island Games . The player character is a calico cat named Lucky.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bicolor cat</span> Cat having fur of two colors

A bicolor cat is a cat with white fur combined with fur of some other colour, for example, solid black, tabby, or colourpointed. There are various patterns of a bicolour cat. The coat patterns range from the Van-patterned, which has colour on the tail and crown of the head, to a solid colour with a throat locket or medallion. Bicolour coats are found in many cat breeds and are in domestic longhair and domestic shorthair cats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Bobtail</span> Breed of cat

The American Bobtail is an uncommon breed of domestic cat which was developed in the late 1960s. It is most notable for its stubby "bobbed" tail about one-third to one-half the length of a normal cat's tail. This is the result of a cat body type genetic mutation affecting the tail development, similar to that of a Manx cat. The breed is not related to other short-tailed breeds, such as the Cymric cat, or the Japanese Bobtail or Kurilian Bobtail, despite the similar name and physical type—the breeding programs are entirely unrelated, and the genetic mutation causing the bobbed tail are known to be different, as the mutation causing the American Bobtail's short tail is dominant; comparatively, the Japanese Bobtail, for example, has a tail mutation that is recessive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat coat genetics</span> Genetics responsible for the appearance of a cats fur

Cat coat genetics determine the coloration, pattern, length, and texture of feline fur. The variations among cat coats are physical properties and should not be confused with cat breeds. A cat may display the coat of a certain breed without actually being that breed. For example, a Neva Masquerade could wear point coloration, the stereotypical coat of a Siamese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ragdoll</span> Breed of cat

The Ragdoll is a breed of cat with a distinct colorpoint coat and blue eyes. Its morphology is large and weighty, and it has a semi-long and silky soft coat. American breeder Ann Baker developed Ragdolls in the 1960s. They are best known for their docile, placid temperament and affectionate nature. The name Ragdoll is derived from the tendency of individuals from the original breeding stock to go limp and relaxed when picked up. The breed is particularly popular in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javanese cat</span> Breed of cat

The Javanese, also known as the ColorpointLonghair in some registries, is a variety of purebred domestic cat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental Shorthair</span> Breed of cat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay (horse)</span> Hair coat color of horses

Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish-brown or brown body color with a black point coloration on the mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs. Bay is one of the most common coat colors in many horse breeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brindle</span> Coat coloring pattern in some animals

Brindle is a coat coloring pattern in animals, particularly dogs, cattle, guinea pigs, cats, and, rarely, horses. It is sometimes described as "tiger-striped", although the brindle pattern is more subtle than that of a tiger's coat.

<i>Ojos Azules</i> Breed of cat

Ojos Azules was a breed of shorthaired domestic cat with unusual blue or odd eyes caused by a dominant blue eye (DBE) genetic mutation. The breed came in all coat colors; however, only particolors, colorpoints, and intermediate colors with a characteristic white tail tip were permitted. The breed also had a semi-longhaired coat variety, the Ojos Azules Longhair. Due to the lethal side effects of the Ojos Azules gene, breeders stopped working with this blue eye mutation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merle (dog coat)</span> Genetic pattern in a dogs coat

Merle is a genetic pattern in a dog's coat and alleles of the PMEL gene. It results in different colors and patterns and can affect any coats. The allele creates mottled patches of color in a solid or piebald coat, blue or odd-colored eyes, and can affect skin pigment as well. Two types of colored patches generally appear in a merle coat: brown/liver and black. Associated breeds include Carea Leonés, Australian Shepherds and Catahoula Leopard Dogs. Health issues are more typical and more severe when two merle-patterned dogs are bred together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex linkage</span> Sex-specific patterns of inheritance

Sex linked describes the sex-specific reading patterns of inheritance and presentation when a gene mutation (allele) is present on a sex chromosome (allosome) rather than a non-sex chromosome (autosome). In humans, these are termed X-linked recessive, X-linked dominant and Y-linked. The inheritance and presentation of all three differ depending on the sex of both the parent and the child. This makes them characteristically different from autosomal dominance and recessiveness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-Mendelian inheritance</span> Type of pattern of inheritance

Non-Mendelian inheritance is any pattern in which traits do not segregate in accordance with Mendel's laws. These laws describe the inheritance of traits linked to single genes on chromosomes in the nucleus. In Mendelian inheritance, each parent contributes one of two possible alleles for a trait. If the genotypes of both parents in a genetic cross are known, Mendel's laws can be used to determine the distribution of phenotypes expected for the population of offspring. There are several situations in which the proportions of phenotypes observed in the progeny do not match the predicted values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut (horse color)</span> Horse coat color

Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs. It is one of the most common horse coat colors, seen in almost every breed of horse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabby cat</span> Domestic cat with distinctive coat markings

A tabby cat, or simply tabby, is any domestic cat with a distinctive M-shaped marking on its forehead, stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, around its legs and tail, and characteristic striped, dotted, lined, flecked, banded, or swirled patterns on the body: neck, shoulders, sides, flanks, chest, and abdomen. The four known distinct patterns, each linked to genetics, are the mackerel, classic or blotched, ticked, and spotted tabby patterns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White tiger</span> Tiger morph

The Ashy Tiger is a leucistic morph of the tiger. It is occasionally reported in the Indian wilderness. It has the typical black stripes of a tiger, but its coat is otherwise white or near-white, and it has blue eyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acromelanism</span> Coloration of animal coat/fur

Acromelanism is a genetic condition that results in pigmentation being affected by temperature. It results in point coloration where the extremities of an animal are a different colour to the rest of the body. It is commonly known for the coloration of Siamese and related breeds of cat, but can be found in many other species including dogs, rabbits, rats, mice, guinea pigs, minks, and gerbils. It is a specific type of point coloration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tortoiseshell cat</span> Two-color coat coloring in cats

Tortoiseshell is a cat coat coloring named for its similarity to tortoiseshell pattern. Like tortoiseshell-and-white or calico cats, tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Male tortoiseshells are rare and are usually sterile.

Colours of the Syrian hamster can be described in three ways: as "self", "agouti" or "combinations". Self colours are a consistent coat colour with the same colour topcoat and undercoat. Agouti hamsters have a ticked coat, where each individual fur is banded in different colours. Agouti hamsters also have "agouti markings" which consist of dark cheek markings, a dark marking on the head, and a light underbelly. Combinations are produced when two self or agouti colours are present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agouti (coloration)</span> Animal fur with multiple color bands on each hair

Agouti is a type of fur coloration in which each hair displays two or more bands of pigmentation. The overall appearance of agouti fur is usually gray or dull brown, although dull yellow is also possible.

The agouti gene, the Agouti-signaling protein (ASIP) is responsible for variations in color in many species. Agouti works with extension to regulate the color of melanin which is produced in hairs. The agouti protein causes red to yellow pheomelanin to be produced, while the competing molecule α-MSH signals production of brown to black eumelanin. In wildtype mice, alternating cycles of agouti and α-MSH production cause agouti coloration. Each hair has bands of yellow which grew during agouti production, and black which grew during α-MSH production. Wildtype mice also have light-colored bellies. The hairs there are a creamy color the whole length because the agouti protein was produced the whole time the hairs were growing.

References

  1. ↑ Sayer, Angela 1996. Encyclopedia of the Cat. London: Chancellor Press, p219. ISBN   1-85152-923-3
  2. ↑ Bojo, Amy (9 June 2020). "How To Tell Difference Between Calico, Tortie, Torbie, Tabby Cats and Kittens". lovemeow.com.
  3. ↑ Cat Colors FAQ: Common Colors - Torties, Patched Tabbies and Calicos  :Archived 5 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 Robinson, Richard. "Mosaicism". Genetics. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 76-80.
  5. ↑ Centerwall, WR; Benirschke, K (September 1973). "Male Tortoiseshell and Calico (T-C) Cats". Journal of Heredity. 64 (5): 272–278. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a108410.
  6. ↑ Hays, F.A. (November 1923). "The tortoiseshell cat". Journal of Heredity. 14 (8): 369–370. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a102367.
  7. ↑ Centerwall, WR; Benirschke, K (September 1975). "An animal model for the XXY Klinefelter's syndrome in man: tortoiseshell and calico male cats". Am J Vet Res. 36 (9): 1275–80. PMID   1163864.
  8. ↑ Malouf, Najla; Benirschke, K.; Hoefnagel, D. (1967). "XX/XY Chimerism in a Tricolored Male Cat". Cytogenetic and Genome Research. 6 (3–4). Cytogenetics: 228–241. doi:10.1159/000129944. PMID   6035565 . Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  9. ↑ Todd, Neil B. (November 1977) Cats and Commerce. Scientific American.
  10. 1 2 Hubbell, Sue. Shrinking the Cat: Genetic Engineering Before We Knew About Genes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
  11. ↑ "Calico Cat, Maryland State Cat". msa.maryland.gov.
  12. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica (2008). "calico".
  13. ↑ "You searched for calico, Muslin, gauze".
  14. ↑ "Calico definition and meaning". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  15. ↑ "The Science Behind the Calico Cat's Colors". Lets talk science. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  16. ↑ Robinson, Roy. Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians, Butterworth-Heinemann Medical, 1991. ISBN   978-0750635400
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Travis, John. "Silence of the Xs". Science News. 158 (6): 92–94. 5 August 2000.
  18. ↑ Gilbert, Scott F. "Transcriptional Regulation of an Entire Chromosome: Dosage Compensation." Developmental Biology, Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates, 2000.
  19. 1 2 "The Genetics of Calico Cats - QPS Clinical Research". QPS. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  20. ↑ "Calico Cats: Guide & Facts". 22 December 2020.
  21. 1 2 Gunter, Chris. "She Moves in Mysterious Ways". Nature 17 March 2005.
  22. 1 2 "Are All Orange Cats are Male, and Calico Cats are Female?". PussMeow. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  23. ↑ Centerwall, W. R.; Benirschke, K. (September 1975). "An animal model for the XXY Klinefelter's syndrome in man: tortoiseshell and calico male cats". American Journal of Veterinary Research. 36 (9): 1275–1280. ISSN   0002-9645. PMID   1163864.
  24. ↑ "What's A Chimera? Thanks To A Genetic Anomaly, An Extremely Rare Fertile Male Calico Is Born". Cat Gazette. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  25. ↑ Roelen, Bernard A. J. (2020), Rodrigues, Gabriela; Roelen, Bernard A. J. (eds.), "Cloning", Concepts and Applications of Stem Cell Biology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 93–113, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-43939-2_6, ISBN   978-3-030-43938-5 , retrieved 4 August 2024
  26. ↑ Pearson-White, Sonia. "Mammalian Genetics: X/imprinting Archived 17 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine ". The University of Virginia. 2004. Accessed 23 May 2010.
  27. ↑ Hartwell, Sarah (1995). "Feline Folktails - Cats in Folklore and Superstition" . Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  28. ↑ Finegan, Edward; Rickford, John (2004). "Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century". Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  29. ↑ Finlay, Katie (25 November 2017). "4 Things You Didn't Know About Calico Cats". iHeartCats.com. Iheartcats.com. HomeLife Media. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
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