Question about calicoes

Hiya all. I was wondering if I was able to get information about calico cats. Like their ancestery, and such. I have a cat book, but they do not mention anything about a calico breed except that they are usually bicoloured or tricoloured. Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears from the ones I have seen (and owned), that they are at least part oriental, maybe even siamese. Any help would be appreciated.

Calico is a coat pattern. not a breed. They come in all sorts of breeds

I have Calico persians and two calico Moggies.

I dont know the ancestory but its a coat pattern

yep, it is just a coat coloration. No particular breed or anything. Many many breeds and moggies can be calico colored, and very VERY rarely are males calico. Basically they will always be female. They also have very distinct black and red patches on a mostly white body. When they have tabby patterns mixed in like yours does, they are Patched Tabbies or Torbies depending on the amount of white and striping.

ok. I did see that for a calico to be bicoloured, at least a third of the fur is too be white, up to a half, with the white being concentrated on the underparts and the legs. mine fit this description to a T. Was just wondering is all. So in essence, I have tabbys?

Calicos are a color - not a breed - many different breeds have calicos as one of the color patterns.

Calicos are 99.9% females - the rare male genetically has an XXY chromosone.

Calicos are produced from one parent carrying the black gene, the other a red gene (and one or both having white too)

The vet called Blossom a torty, then I read if they have white they're calico. Blossom has brown tabby markings, red tabby markings with white feet, chest & belly. Coco my old cat is a true torty.

Originally Posted by Jen

yep, it is just a coat coloration. No particular breed or anything. Many many breeds and moggies can be calico colored, and very VERY rarely are males calico. Basically they will always be female. They also have very distinct black and red patches on a mostly white body. When they have tabby patterns mixed in like yours does, they are Patched Tabbies or Torbies depending on the amount of white and striping.

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I had never known that calicos were suppose to be all female until I found Lexi. The first encouter I ever had with a calico was with a litter of persian kittens our cat had had. Very much so a calico, pure-blooded persian, and MALE! I mean he was against all odds...don't know how it happened but it did. He was such a sweetie.

Here is a link from the catsite I read a while back on calicos.

http://www.thecatsite.com/Snips/200/Calico-Cats.html

Calicos are a color, as everyone else has said. You say many appear to have siamese/oriental in their backgrounds, and for calico moggies I have found this to seem true. Alot of Calico moggies I have met have the thin face, expressive eyes, some have lean bodies, small heads etc. When my Ceci wakes up from a nap, she looks just like a colored siamese, with her small apple shaped head and expressive eyes.

But I know shes just a moggie. Ive seen lots of cats that resemble the Siamese in these ways.

BTW, Calicos are always tri-color. If they were bi-color they wouldnt be Calico (i.e. they would be black and white bicolor, or orange and white)

A Calico is named for its 3 distinct colors, white, black and orange/red, or in the case of dilutes, grey, white and apricot.

I don't have much to add except that from what I can tell of you pics, your girls are calicos.

ok, now I am getting confused a bit. My cats are female and have the XXY chromosomes that have caused the spotting they have. FOr them to be bi or tri coloured, they must have one third to half white fur, mainly on the underside and legs of them?

So where does the reference to a tabby come in? Or is a tabby another coat pattern as well?

Sorry for being a bit dense, just trying to understand this, and learn more about my cats. My cats are similar in many occurances, and total opposites in others. I guess that goes to their quirkyness.

Females are XX, Males are XY, a calico male would be XXY. The color genes are only ont the X - that is why mom can give color to the males and females; dad can give color to females only.

Tabby markings in BOTH colors would be called a TORBIE (or tortoiseshell tabby).

Calicos are basically white cats with patches of red and black. Tortoiseshells are black and red cats with the colors mixed together.

TORBIES are basically a tabby cat that has more then one color mixed.

A tortie/white is not a calico - its a tortoiseshell cat that has some white - mainly on the face, chest, feet and belly.

Okay,

Based on your siggy, both your cats are dilute calicoes. They have tabby markings (the stripes in the red/cream).

Calico is a color and tabby is a marking - for example, a classic tabby will have a bullseye on the side and a mackeral tabby would have lines going down.

Did I clarify some for you? Or did I make you more confused?

Trying to understand this. But i think the nuts and bolts of it is, that I will not be able to find out the ancestry of my cats as it is a coat issue, and not a breed issue. That would explain why there is nothing really on calicoes in the book i have.

But then where does a tabby come into the pic?? Sorry. Trying to understand breeds. Thanks for the patience.

All this was just too confusing for me to understand. I always though of Frankie as a calico but she has tabby in both her colors so I don't know what that makes her. All I know is I love her what ever she's called.

Tabby (if I'm right) would be the "stripes" you see the their color patches.

Tabby only means that one of the parents was a tabby cat. You can have a brown tabby bred to a calico and get the "torbie" cats. ALL calicos do not have stripes - just some.

And "tabby" is just another name for a color... like calico or tortie. There are different kinds of tabbies, too. In general, some breeds may be based on a color, but that doesn't mean that cats of other breeds or mixed cats can't have the same color, too. Gets confusing, eh?

Ok, I am going to try here, because terminology is getting mixed up.

Your kitties are

Breed: Domestic Short Hair

Color: Calico

Pattern: tabby (tiger striping in red patches)

The breed of cat ie.. Persian, Aby, Domestic Short Hair, Domestic Long Hair, Maine Coon, etc

is different than the color, ie, calico, red, blue(grey), black and white,

which is again different from the pattern ie Tabby (which can be mackeral, classic, ticked and spotted) , Van, Tuxedo, Pied etc,


Certain breeds have limits on the color and pattern allowed in the coat, and some breeds have unique coat colors and pelt types.

I think you are getting mixed up in reading about the pattern types. I know I have a kitty that is calico on her tail, and has a couple spots on her head. If I read the calico description she doesn't fit however she is not a bi-colored cat...she is tri colored. Now if you read about Bi-color or Pied cats, you get this "pattern" descrition, however these cats only have two colors..one of which is white.

I hope this helps some. Remember, Breed is different than Color, which is different than coat Pattern

If you kitty only has color on the tail and head it would be known as a "calico van"

Van patterned cats have color on the head, tail and maybe 1-2 body spots - ideal van is head/tail only

Here's a really great link (if somewhat technical) that explains color in cats. I have it bookmarked because it's so great at explaining how colors occur.
http://home.earthlink.net/~featherland/off/white.html