5 male calico kittens, one littler

i was wondering. how rare is that? two of them died. i couldn't take all of them in. i only kept two. i've had calico males before but i've never seen an entire litter of calico males.

Just so you are aware...calicos aren't considered a breed:

Calico is not a breed of cat, but an unusual coloring occurring across many breeds, including Domestic Short-hair, Persian, and Manx. Virtually all calico cats are female; a male calico is a genetic anomaly and usually sterile. Producing calico kittens through selective breeding also is nearly impossible due to unpredictable actions of genes and chromosomes when cells multiply in a feline fetus.

A calico cat must be a tri-color, with its three colors in distinct patches, not mixed as in a tortoiseshell cat. Some breed standards specify what percentage of the body must be white; others allow tabby striping in the color patches. To be a true tri-color, a calico cat's colors must be: white; red or cream; and black, blue, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, or fawn. The variations in color from red and black are caused by a gene which dilutes, or lightens up the basic color, and produces a dilute calico cat, most commonly with a coat of white, cream, and blue.

I hope this answers your question:

And are all calico cats females? Well, the majority of them are. For very complicated genetic reasons, it takes two X chromosomes for a cat to be a tortoiseshell or calico cat. A male would have to possess two X and one Y chromosomes to be a calico cat. This can happen, but very rarely. According to a study at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Missouri, one out of 3,000 calico colored cats is male. This oddity occurs in humans, too. The males, in both cases, are usually sterile.

http://absolutelycats.tripod.com/22Calico.html

Katie

lol well i know all of that already. right when i saw them i looked it up. and i know they're not really a breed. but there really wasn't anywhere else to post this. just a question :\\

They also recommend having the males neutered.

So male Tricolors are rare. Can I sell one for big bucks?
Only to the gullible. They are not considered desirable in purebred breeding programs, as in some associations they cannot be shown or be used in breeding programs. They won't breed more male tricolors. There is not a significant market for them. Best just to neuter him and keep him as a beloved pet, or find him a good home.

http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/tri...shtml#bigbucks

Katie

Calicos aren't rare.

Are you sure of their sex?

What colour are their parents?

rotflmao idon't want to sell them or make money off of them. that would be cruel.

possitive. lol i've had kittens all of my life. after their balls dropped there wasn't any question about it lol

oh. and i'm not saying calicos are rare. i know that male calicos are rare. and i know the mother is calico. not sure about the father. they're "neighborhood cats" everyone in this area feeds them.

In my humble non breeder , I would just get them fixed

Originally Posted by spotted-zebra

oh. and i'm not saying calicos are rare. i know that male calicos are rare. and i know the mother is calico. not sure about the father. they're "neighborhood cats" everyone in this area feeds them.

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It would be best given that 2 of the litter died if mom and dad could be trapped and spayed/neutered. It will be MUCH healthier for them. Here is a list of TNR groups in ohio:

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html#oh

I would also have your kittens tested to ensure they don't have any health issues or diseases.

Katie

not really an issue of getting them fixed. i would be more inclined to get our female cat's fixed. because if they get loose while they're in heat we get stuck with kittens that we can't get rid of lol

Originally Posted by spotted-zebra

not really an issue of getting them fixed. i would be more inclined to get our female cat's fixed. because if they get loose while they're in heat we get stuck with kittens that we can't get rid of lol

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Actually, all of them need to be fixed or there will continue to be unwanted litters.

For the owned cats/kittens, here is a list of low cost clinics in Ohio:




OHIO
A Snip In Time
Cleveland OH
216-651-7142
Pets and ferals.
City of Cleveland Kennel
2690 West 7th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-664-2759 clinic
216-664-3069 main
Low cost spay/neuter clinic for pets of Cleveland residents.

Pet Guards Shelter
Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223
330-920-1522

Planned Pethood Inc.
5265 Berkey Southern Road
Whitehouse, OH 43571
419-877-3499

United Humanitarians
Toledo, OH
419-475-1977

MARX (Minimizing Animal Reproduction without Extremes)
Middletown OH
513-465-3295
Mobile s/n clinic for feral and pet cats in Middletown.

CAT-SNIP Program
Scratching Post
6958 Plainfield Road
Silverton, OH 45236
513-984-6369

Spay/Neuter Clinic
Columbus OH
614-367-9933

Humane Society & Spay Neuter
4920 State Route 37 E
Delaware, OH 43015
614-369-7387

Cat Welfare Association
736 Wetmore Road
Columbus, OH 43214
614-268-6096
Low cost spay/neuter for pets of low income people.

Spay Ohio
Northwest Columbus OH
614-457-5772


Advocates for Animals Inc Marietta OH
740-3730017


SICSA
Dayton, OH
937-294-6505
Low cost spay/neuter for pets of low income people.

Humane Society of Preble County
722 South Franklin Street Eaton OH 45320
937-787-4408 Thora Smith for appointments and info
Brings a mobile unit (NOMAD) to the area every month for low cost s/n of cats.

Spotted, it's up to you to decide whether or not to neuter them; we each NEED to take care of our OWN business, offer our own HUMBLE suggestions, and go from there. Male calicos are rare and as an early poster stated, most of them are sterile to begin with. You don't NEED to do anything except love them Good luck!

there's no way i could trap all of these cats. i could get my female kittens fixed and i'm debating about it. i'm hoping to keep them inside so i wouldn't have to. since the boys are sterile there shouldn't be any real problem. some of these cats may actually belong to people. i couldn't just do that. since there's no way i could possibly track down all the cats and their possible owners i'm not making that my priority.

Originally Posted by spotted-zebra

there's no way i could trap all of these cats. i could get my female kittens fixed and i'm debating about it. i'm hoping to keep them inside so i wouldn't have to. since the boys are sterile there shouldn't be any real problem. some of these cats may actually belong to people. i couldn't just do that. since there's no way i could possibly track down all the cats and their possible owners i'm not making that my priority.

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You need to get the females fixed...it isn't only a matter of pregnancy...by allowing a female cat to go into heat...you are increasing her chances at cancers:

Spaying and neutering helps cats and dogs live longer, healthier lives.
Spaying eliminates the possibility of uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the incidence of breast cancer, especially when your pet is spayed before her first heat.
Spaying can prevent various reproductive tract disorders
Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of benign prostate disease.

As far as trapping the outdoor cats....this really should be a priority to everyone because as you stated...you cannot find homes for all these kittens that are born. I would still suggest contacting the TNR groups....by not doing anything but feeding these cats, your community is allowing them to reproduce and create more litters. I'm not saying you should be the one trapping the cats...but certainly you can spread the word to encourage people to spay/neuter their pets and also contact a group about the strays. It is better for the cats...it's better for your community if they are all fixed.

Katie

Originally Posted by notme1295

Spotted, it's up to you to decide whether or not to neuter them; we each NEED to take care of our OWN business, offer our own HUMBLE suggestions, and go from there. Male calicos are rare and as an early poster stated, most of them are sterile to begin with. You don't NEED to do anything except love them

Good luck!

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Just because a cat is sterile...doesn't mean it shouldn't be neutered. Again, there is still the chance for cancer:

Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of benign prostate disease.

Also...there are these benefits as well:

Spaying and neutering can eliminate or reduce the incidence of a number of serious health problems that can be difficult or expensive to treat.

Neutering cats makes them less likely to spray and mark their territory with pungent urine.

Spaying a dog or cat eliminates her heat cycle. Estrus lasts an average of six to 12 days, often twice a year in dogs and an average of six to seven days, three or more times a year, in cats. Cats in heat can cry incessantly, and dogs and cats in heat may appear nervous and may attract unwanted males.

Neutering can make pets less likely to roam, run away, or get into fights.

Unsterilized animals often exhibit more behavior and temperament problems than do those that have been spayed or neutered.

Katie

i'm sorry. i just can't do that if it's someone's pet. a lot of people have outdoor cats. my father is one of those people. he believes that keeping cats inside all the time is cruel. i'm not that way but he is. and i know there are other people in this world that think the same way. cats are animals first and pets second. we domesticated them because we think that they're cute and cuddly. i can't help it if they reproduce. and i can't help it if their owners don't want to have them fixed.

Originally Posted by spotted-zebra

i'm sorry. i just can't do that if it's someone's pet. a lot of people have outdoor cats. my father is one of those people. he believes that keeping cats inside all the time is cruel. i'm not that way but he is. and i know there are other people in this world that think the same way. cats are animals first and pets second. we domesticated them because we think that they're cute and cuddly. i can't help it if they reproduce. and i can't help it if their owners don't want to have them fixed.

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It's one thing to allow cats outdoors...it's another to allow them to breed indiscriminately. They can be outdoors and fixed and not add to the overpopulation. It's also healthier for them and who doesn't want their cat to live the best life it can live.

Katie

i refuse to do this to other people's pets. if you care soooo much then you need to come to ohio, hunt down ALL the cats and do it yourself. i came here to ask a simple question that's it. i did not come here to debate about if i should take all the stray cats i've ever seen and get them spayed or neutered.

Originally Posted by spotted-zebra

i refuse to do this to other people's pets. if you care soooo much then you need to come to ohio, hunt down ALL the cats and do it yourself. i came here to ask a simple question that's it. i did not come here to debate about if i should take all the stray cats i've ever seen and get them spayed or neutered.

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I didn't say you personally had to take these strays...I recommended that you talk to people about having their pets spayed. I recommended you contact a group that would help with getting the strays fixed. I am doing a lot here in my own state and I can understand the position you are in which is why the recommendations I'm providing are for everyone in your community and not just you.

I would still highly recommend that you get your female and male kittens fixed since they are your responsibility.

Katie