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To: editor-surveyor; Doogle
It is impossible for a male cat to be “calico”

Ummm.. not really impossible.

They're just extremely rare and mostly sterile...

This from that bastion of all information that is mostly true, Wikipedia..

Calico cats are almost always female because the X chromosome determines the color of the cat and female cats, 
much like all female mammals, have two X chromosomes, whereas male mammals, including common male cats, have 
one X and one Y chromosome. Since the Y chromosome does not have any color genes, there is no chance he could 
have both orange and non-orange together. One main exception to this is when, in rare cases, a male has XXY 
chromosomes (see Klinefelter's syndrome), in which case the male could have tortoiseshell or calico markings. 
Male calico or tortoiseshell cats are sterile due to the abnormality of carrying two X chromosomes. Few of 
these males can breed (1 in 3,000) and are rejected by breeders for studding purposes and would, in any event, 
pass on only one of those X chromosomes to any male offspring, producing normal (non-calico) male kittens.


52 posted on 09/16/2013 7:15:34 PM PDT by NoCmpromiz (John 14:6 is a non-pluralistic comment.)
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To: NoCmpromiz

The info that I got on this way back in the ‘70s was that an X chromosome can only provide two colors, and thus a female has no problem having abundant colors.

Yes, I have seen two male calicos, and I am 68 years old.


54 posted on 09/16/2013 8:42:54 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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