Top veterinarians, best-selling pet-care authors and other top pet-care experts are all part of the Pet Connection team. If you would like the newest, freshest weekly syndicated Pet Connection articles from the Universal Press Syndicate for your newspaper, publication or Web site, find out more here.
Calico kitten turns out to be male
published 01/17/1999
Q: I picked out a kitten at the end of summer, a calico, so I knew it was a girl. Guess what? It’s not! I thought that wasn’t possible. — C.O., via the Internet
A: Extremely rare, but not impossible. About one in every 3,000 calico or tortoiseshell cats is a male.
The genetic code for a calico or tortoiseshell pattern is found only on the female, or X chromosome. For a cat to be a calico or tortie, it must have two X chromosomes, and that means in the vast majority of cases it’s going to be female.
When the calico pattern exists in a male, it’s because the cat has something relatively uncommon: three sex chromosomes — two X, one Y. If both of those X chromosomes carry the calico gene, you’re looking at a male calico. The three chromosomes make what is called a Klinefelter male, and they’re usually unable to reproduce.
All information copyright 2009 by Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori.
This information is provided for the personal use of Pet Connection readers
and may not be reproduced in any way or in any media without expressed,
written permission of Dr. Marty Becker, Gina Spadafori, Honest Dog L.L.C.
and the Universal Press Syndicate.
Contact us
for information on using any material
from this Web site. All advice offered is general, and the Pet Connection is
not responsible for any problems arising from the use or misuse of the
information. Since each animal and each situation is unique, we recommend
that you contact your own veterinarian for help with any health or behavior
problems in your pet.
Terms & Conditions