Black and White/Tuxedo cats.

Just a question. Tuxedo cats, of which my Tux is one, all seem to have Black topsand white bottoms. Is here any reason for this? ( Iknow if they were they other way round they wouldn't be tuxedo!)

Not sure, but it might be a genetic thing. If you look at cats that are tabby and white or calico and white, for example, the chest, tummy and abdomen almost always incorporate white. Both my calico girls are like this and my tabby boy is the same with just a small marking that looks like the front of a waistcoat on his tummy.

My Rosie has a white chest, and she's a Tortie.

Susan

I wonder if it's for camoflage at night? Dark top (darkness), and light underside (gravel, dead grass or leaves)? Or just to break up their image & make them look smaller, like breakup camoflage? Just an idea. I wonder if anyone else has any ideas?

I've had a think about it and I think tuxedo cats are just a variation of colour and I don't think there's any reason for the particular markings. I think that's just what we call it just as we say tortioseshell, calico, tabby, torbie, spotted, ticked, marbled, striped etc.

Here's some imformation on tuxedo cats and the genetic theories:
http://www.messybeast.com/bicolours.htm

The above article, while very informative, didn't really get into the "birth order" theory. I've read that in the case of bicolor cats, the warmer the spot in the womb a particular kitten occupies, the more white it will have. I don't know if it's true or not, as it sounds like the idea came from the Siamese "points", but it certainly pretty much describes the litter JC was born in. His mother was a white cat with black ears and tail, and his (suspected) father a huge, long-haired gray tabby. The kittens, in order of birth, were:
1. a gray tabby female, 2. a bicolor male, approximately 75% - 80% black, with a white chest and front legs, 3. JC, roughly 65% black, 4. a bicolor male, 75% white, 25% gray, and 5. a bicolor male, 50% black, 50% white (oddly enough, half his face is white, the other half black). JC was the largest, and the gray and white kitten was the smallest. His gray is on his face and back.
And here's an oddity about the Siamese. Former neighbors in Philadelphia moved to Miami Beach. One of their cats, a seal-point Siamese, "faded" after living down there for a while. His points went from brown to almost beige.

Very interesting article. Thanks!

Can't say anything about birth order b/c I've never seen kittens born, but that sounds interesting, too.

I stand corrected.

Interesting. I love messybeast.com, it's an endless source of information.