The “ tortie” has more black and orange fur than white. They may also be known as the pastel calico cat. Along with white, the patches will be more charcoal grey than dark black and more strawberry blonde than bright orange. He will also likely be sterile.Ī dilute calico has more subdued color patches. On the rare occasion that a male has an extra X chromosome, he may be calico colored. As the locus for the gene for orange/non orange coloring is found on the X chromosome, calico cats are almost always female.Įvery female animal has two X chromosomes where every male animal has an X and a Y chromosome.īecause the Y chromosome does not possess any locus for the orange gene, there is no way that an XY male could have both orange and non-orange genes at the same time, which is what is needed to create calico or tortoiseshell coloring. Genetically speaking, calicos and tortoiseshells are the same, only calicos also have the white spotting gene. And of course, all paw prints lead to Egypt. Greek, Italian and French sailors liked them too. It seems a few Spanish sailors wouldn't weigh anchor without their multicolored mousers aboard. In Canada, the calico is known as a Spanish cat. While it is unknown when or why cats mutated to have orange fur, the mutant gene that causes orange fur has been traced back to Mediterranean ports. However, attempts have been made to trace the migration paths of such cats. Thus, the pattern has no distinct historical background. The fur color pattern of calico cats is not indicative of any breed, but rather occurs randomly in cat breeds that have a range of color patterns. There are, however, many other varieties such as cream, midnight blue, and auburn to russet. The most commonly seen combination of colors is white, orange, and black. The calico is so named after the calico cloth, a cotton textile originally woven in Calcutta, India and dyed in many bright colors and patterns.
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