• entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org
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    6 months ago

    That’s a female cat. Calico cats are exclusively female, barring cats with extra chromosomes which are extremely rare.

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      That’s probably a female cat.

      Fixed it for you.

      Somewhat related: here’s a pic of my calico Emily looking like she’s drunkenly threatening to punch me

      • entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org
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        6 months ago

        I stated the exception to the rule in my own comment, I’m just not gonna hedge my bets when the odds are 99.967% in my favor.

        Thanks for the adorable photo!

        • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Edited my original comment to reflect your getting it right the second time 😁

          You’re welcome for the pic, here’s one of her Tortie (also almost always female since it’s the same gene) sister Charlotte ALSO napping in wicker. They really enjoy wicker 😁🥰

    • EtherWhack@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Are you sure that isn’t just a birman that was born with a simple congenital deformity of that part of its face?

      • entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org
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        6 months ago

        My understanding is that the X chromosome carries the gene for red cat fur. Female calicos have one X with the red fur gene and one without. If a cat only has X chromosomes that carry the red fur gene, they’ll be an red-furred cat, which is why the only male calicos are XXY. An XY male cat with the red fur gene on their X chromosome just comes out red.

        I don’t see how some separate “simple congenital deformity” other than an extra X could account for red fur.

        I could be wrong, I’m not a cat scientist, I just grew up knowing hundreds of cats.