Are you ready to learn everything about the Calico cat? We have spent a lot of time on this article to provide you with everything you ever wanted to know about Calico cats.
Calico is the color of a cat's coat, not its breed. Calico cats are 99% female and have black, orange and white fur. Only 1 in 3,000 Calico cats are male, and they usually have Klinefelter syndrome, which means they have an extra X chromosome (XXY).
These calico cats are one of the most popular in the world, which is why people have so many questions about them.
What kind of character does a Calico cat have?
Calico cats are usually very independent, loyal and loving. However, we believe that a cat's personality has a lot to do with how you raise her, her gender, and whether she's spayed or not. The connection between a cat's character and the color of its coat has never been conclusively confirmed.
A cat's personality is determined by how you treat it throughout its life. Any cat that has been teased and handled constantly from an early age will be temperamental, to say the least. The Calico cat I had for about 15 years was always calm and sweet.
Are Calico cats angry?
There is no real evidence that Calico cats are any more vicious or aggressive than cats of other colors. Although many people think that Calico cats are more feisty, overall they are very sweet.
A bit of genetics
Many people are interested in how the colors of Scottish cats are formed. In Scottish cats, two genes predominate, responsible for black and red coat color. Each of them can act as dominant (suppression of weaker genes) or recessive (suppression of genes). There is also a third diluent gene, which is responsible for saturating the pigment. Combined in a certain order, these genes can produce completely unimaginable colors.
The presence of a certain color in a Scottish kitten cannot always be determined in the first weeks of life. This is not the final shade yet, because the coloring becomes brighter and more pronounced only when the coat is replaced by an adult during the baby's molt. This occurs around six months of age. But up to 2 years the shade may change slightly.
Are Calico cats expensive?
Not particularly, you will find that most domestic cat breeds are similar in price, including Calico cats. Some people try to sell male Calico cats for a high price, explaining that they are very rare. The sad truth is that male Calico cats will almost certainly suffer from health problems due to genetic defects, which we will discuss later in the article. We wouldn't recommend paying a high price for a male cat as you will likely spend a lot more money on medical bills and be left heartbroken when he doesn't live to be 15 years old like regular male cats.
Buy a Persian kitten
The popularity of the breed provides ample opportunities for its acquisition, and non-professional people often take advantage of this. They are not responsible for the health of a small representative of such a popular breed and its physical and hereditary genetic data, so you should not choose a baby on sites that have nothing to do with professional nurseries.
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To avoid getting into trouble, you need to know in advance what documents should accompany the purchase of a Persian. The breeder is required to provide pedigree records, a veterinary passport indicating the vaccinations given and notes on genetic tests.
The nursery will also demonstrate the kitten’s parents; you will be able to observe all the babies in the litter and visually verify their health.
The price of kittens of this breed depends on the class to which they belong. The cost of a classic cat and an extreme cat is approximately the same. You can buy a pet-class kitten at a price from 7000
rubles, breed class from
15,000
rubles and show class from
25,000
rubles.
What to name a Persian cat
When a Persian cat appears in the house, everyone in the house wants to choose the most beautiful name for it. There is no need to rush, it is better to observe the baby and its habits; this often helps to decide on the pet’s name. Sometimes the decisive word is “said” by the color of the cat (black, blue, white, red).
For a chic fluffy girl, you should choose a gentle and regal name.
A boy with such a presentable appearance also has the right to a euphonious name. If you have difficulties with selection, you should refer to the large list of nicknames suitable for the breed, not forgetting to focus on the names in the pet’s pedigree. Names for Persian kittens
| Girl | Boy | ||
| Fairy Lulu Zara Alani Teona Comet Cinderella Vanessa Jaya Maha Lana Waxa Yuga Gerda Bessie | Ollie Joly Amber Mina Erma Fusya Annette Oda Adelia Pilka Pesya Ulla Leda Sonya Snezhka | Largo Katsap Barkhan Kumai Ferry Mefik Azar Zembi Kasper Elbar Barry Dick Maris Simba Bob | Nils Archie Moth Nemo Marcus Blair Mickey May Fluff Raf Lucky Tisha Filya Indie Ike |
Why does my Calico cat bite me?
A cat of any color may sometimes bite you if you pet it a lot and it feels too excited. This doesn't mean they don't like the attention, it's just that they feel a little overwhelmed by the sensations and need some kind of outlet (biting) to try and get the excitement out. When my cats reach this point of excitement, I usually calm them down with affection to keep my hands from attacking.
It's also possible that your lilac cat just wants some peace and quiet. If this is the case, the longer you pet her, the more angry and irritated she will become. This makes me think about how different cats are from dogs, sometimes cats just want to be left alone, which can hardly be said about a dog.
Some people believe that Calico cats are more aggressive than other cats in general. However, there is no clear evidence to support this assumption.
What is the difference between calico, tabby and tortoiseshell cats?
All these names are given to distinguish the different colors and patterns of cats. Here is a description of these colors and patterns:
Calico
- Calico cats are tri-colored domestic cats consisting of black, white, and orange coats.
- Calicos are typically 25 to 75% white with black and orange spots on the rest of the coat.
- The colors of a Calico cat are randomly distributed throughout the coat and do not follow a specific pattern unless it is a Calico variation. (Tabby pattern with calico flowers)
- The Kalibby variety has the same colors as the Calico, but comes in tabby stripes.
- Sometimes the color of a Calico cat is lighter than usual and is called a "dilute calico" (light orange, charcoal and cream).
- Among the Calico cats, 99.96% are females and 0.034% are males.
- Male Calico cats are usually infertile and have health defects associated with Klinefelter syndrome.
Tortoiseshell
- Tortoiseshell cats are predominantly black and orange in color, but sometimes have a small amount of white fur.
- Tortoiseshell cats can also be calicos if they have a mix of white, black and orange fur. If they are only black and orange, then technically they are only tortoiseshell, since calico cats are identified by three colors, not just two.
- The tortoiseshell cat also has no specific color pattern and is haphazardly marked with orange and black patches of fur.
- Tortoiseshell cats are also 99.96% female.
- Klinefelter syndrome is also extremely common in male tortoiseshell cats.
Tabby
- What makes a cat a "tabby cat" is the color pattern of its coat, not the colors themselves.
- A tabby cat has an M shape on its forehead.
- She usually has stripes around her eyes, on her face and on her paws.
- Tabby cats can be either male or female, with no preference for either gender.
Recommendations
- Cat Colors FAQ: Common colors are tortoiseshell, tabby, and calico: Archived October 5, 2011 Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c
Robinson, Richard.
"Mosaicism". Genetics
. New York: Macmillan USA Reference, 2003. 76-80. - "Calico cat" Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- "XX/XY Chimerism in the calico cat." Cytogenetics. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- Todd, Neil B. (November 1977) Cats and Trade. Scientific American
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Hubbell, Sue.
Shrinking the Cat: Genetic Engineering Before We Knew About Genes
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. - Robinson, Roy. Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians
, Butterworth-Heinemann Medical, 1991. ISBN 978-0750635400 - ^ a b c d e
Travis, John.
"The Silence of the Crosses" Science News
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(6):92–94. August 5, 2000 - Gilbert, Scott F. "Chromosome-wide Transcription Regulation: Dosage Compensation." Developmental Biology
, Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, 2000. - ^ a b
Gunther, Chris.
"She moves in mysterious ways." Nature
March 17, 2005 - “Are all orange cats male and calico cats female?” PussMeow
. Retrieved May 4, 2022. - “What is a chimera? Thanks to a genetic anomaly, an extremely rare fertile male calico was born.” Cat newspaper. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- Cernoglou, Penelope Ann. "To Clone or Not to Clone: A Look at Why Cloning Fluffy and Fido May Not Be in the Best Interests of Society and Inevitably Pave the Way to Human Cloning." April 25, 2004. Web. April 24, 2010 https://www.law.msu.edu>.
- Pearson-White, Sonya. "Mammalian Genetics: X/imprinting Archived June 17, 2010 Wayback Machine." University of Virginia. 2004. Accessed May 23, 2010.
- Hartwell, Sarah (1995). "Feline Folktails - Cats in Folklore and Superstition." Retrieved January 22, 2009.
- Finegan, Edward; Rickford, John (2004). "Language in the USA: Topics of the 21st Century." Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
- "Maryland State Cat: Calico Cat."
- Finley, Kathy (November 25, 2022). "4 Things You Didn't Know About Calico Cats." iHeartCats.com. HomeLife Media. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
How long do Calico cats live?
Female Calico cats live to be approximately 15 years old, which is the average lifespan of most domestic cats. Male cats have a shorter lifespan due to the fact that they often suffer from Klinefelter syndrome because they have XXY chromosomes. All cats usually have only two chromosomes, XX for females and XY for males. Male cat calicos need two X chromosomes to produce three colors because the X chromosome contains the color gene, but they must also have a Y chromosome to become male. This can cause developmental problems, bone mineral deficiencies, and increased body fat, leading to other overall health problems.
On average, male Calico cats always live shorter lives than females, although life expectancy depends on the severity of their health defects.
Color codes
Cat identification is supported by both WCF (World Cat Federation) and FIFe (Federation Internationale Feline). It is not so difficult to understand it, and in the future there will be no problems determining the breed and characteristics of the animal you like.
The breed code looks like this: ХХХ.хх.NN.NN.NN.(NN). The decoding of this “formula” is as follows: XXX – large English letters of the name of the breed, example:
- SFL – Scottishfold.
- SFS – Scottish Strike.
- BRI - British.
- MAN – cat o. Maine, and further down the list.
Next come two lowercase English letters - xx. The first one represents the base color. Example:
- n – black color.
- w – white color.
- g – blue-cream turtle, and so on.
There are only two second letters: s – silver and y – golden. Example: ns – black silver (smoky), ny – black gold. Other pairs of numbers, when needed, now the last pair is not used. Number one indicates the type of feature, the second – the feature itself, it looks like this:
- if the number is 0 – the presence of a white color scheme.
- 1 – degree of tipping for silver colors.
- 2 – indicates the type of pattern in tiger colors.
- 3 – determines the type of point color.
- 5 – determines the length of the tail.
- 6 – eye coloring.
- 7 – ear placement.
Now examples:
03 – two-tone bicolor. 11, shaded, ¼ of the end part of the hair is darkened. 23 – tabby color. 34 – Singapore color. 51 – taillessness. 63 – disagreement. 73 – fold. 71 – straight and so on.
Now let's look at a few examples:
SFSns2271 – black and silver marbled Scottish strike. Here 22 are marbled, 71 are straight ears. Next: BRIw63 is a white British man with different eyes. MANg226251 – cat o. Maine, blue-cream turtle, tailless, eyes, orange. Here 51 are tailless, 62 are orange eyes.
Does a Calico cat need to be spayed?
Yes, if you don't want them to reproduce. Most calico cats are female and can produce kittens of varying colors depending on the type of cat they mate with. In the rare case that you have a male cat, there is a high chance that he is infertile, but it is not entirely impossible. There is also a high probability that a male cat will develop other health defects. Female Calico cats are usually completely healthy and can reproduce unless you spay them.
Habits and character of Persian cats
An obedient Persian kitten fits perfectly into a home environment, as its character makes it easy to accept the rules of behavior set by the owner of the house. Raising a baby goes smoothly; contact is quickly established between the attentive owner and the baby.
Reviews from people who keep such gorgeous cats speak about the intelligence of their pets, their restraint and affectionate nature.
Kittens are quite smart and are able to quickly learn to use a litter box, especially with the proper human approach to training the baby. A growing pet lends itself well to simple training, which brings it even closer to its owner. The difficulty may be the manifestation of disapproval on the part of the owners - the Persian cat's soul is very vulnerable.
The whole family loves to observe the habits of peaches: the cat easily gets along with other pets, does not offend poultry, and studies every nook and cranny of the home with interest. If a random mouse wanders into the house, the cat will not miss the chance to catch it - for him this is another interesting toy.
Children love to stroke such a long-haired animal, but it’s worth explaining right away that if the pet is not inclined to such caresses, it is better to leave it alone.
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We can't back this up with scientific evidence, but according to old Irish folklore, rubbing a cat's tail on a wart can help remove it.
The origin of calico cats goes back to Egypt
The researchers concluded that calico cats moved along the trade routes of Europe and North Africa. The orange gene can be traced back to Egypt.
Calico cats were preferred to be used as ship cats
This is because cats were believed to bring good luck in swimming and protect against bad weather and misfortune in general. Since Calico cats are the most popular cats in terms of luck, it is not surprising that they have traveled all over the world.
More facts about the Calico cat
Calico can often be seen on Japan's national cat
The calico color is often found on Japan's national cat, the Japanese Bobtail. They also believe that these types of cats bring good luck.
Calico cat prevents train station closure
In 2007, the Kinokawa train station was scheduled to close due to budget cuts. At this time, a calico cat was appointed stationmaster, who greeted passengers as they came and went. It soon became quite an interesting spectacle and increased the station's business by 17%, preventing its closure.
