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OT tortie colouring

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House-mouse

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Nov 5, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/5/00
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snip:Torties are almost always female, by the way, it's a sex-linked trait.:
Tortie is x linked so therefore always female or if male are sterile. Unless
they are mosaics, in which case they can be fertile. How do I know such
arcane stuff, well I used to cat-show and I was a midwife. The interest in
genetics stuck.


Sheena Mackenzie

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Nov 5, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/5/00
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Is it correct that reds are always male? I believed it to be so (I have one)
but occasionally people have said they have known a red female. It reminded me
of learning about the white and black rabbit in biology, then you had to track
down what colours the resulting off spring would be, other than plentiful.
Sheena

Deb from ToonTown

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Nov 5, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/5/00
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Sheena Mackenzie wrote:
>
> Is it correct that reds are always male? I believed it to be so (I have one)
> but occasionally people have said they have known a red female. It reminded me
> of learning about the white and black rabbit in biology, then you had to track
> down what colours the resulting off spring would be, other than plentiful.
> Sheena
>

Reds are not always male, but there are more red males than red
females. I don't know why this is, but I suspect it may have something
to do with the fact that a female can be red or black or both, while a
male can only be red or black.
Deb B
--
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
I haven't lost my mind...it's backed up on disc somewhere
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

Feathersby

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Nov 5, 2000, 10:19:06 PM11/5/00
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>
>> Is it correct that reds are always male? I believed it to be so (I have
>one)
>> but occasionally people have said they have known a red female.

To get a red female, both the sire and dam must carry the red gene! For
example, red stud with tortie queen.
Marialyce, who badly wants a red female MaineCoon!


JennyWren

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
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but the silvers are sooo gorgeous!
the Wren

Seanette Blaylock

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
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Feathersby had some very interesting things to say about "Re: OT
tortie colouring":

>Marialyce, who badly wants a red female MaineCoon!

That would be gorgeous!

HFM Felix is a brown tabby, and we think he's part Maine Coon [two
vets have thought so, anyway, and we can't be sure since he's a
shelter adoptee].

--
Seanette Blaylock
"You attribute perfect rationality to the whole of humanity, which has
to be one of the most misguided assumptions ever." - Alan Krueger in NANAE
[make obvious correction to address to send e-mail]

JennyWren

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
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Does he have big feet, gorgeous tufts in his ears, a long coat that doesn't
mat easily and an easy going disposition? those are good signs that there is
Coon in him.

The Wren

Seanette Blaylock wrote:

> Feathersby had some very interesting things to say about "Re: OT
> tortie colouring":
>

> >Marialyce, who badly wants a red female MaineCoon!
>

Seanette Blaylock

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
to
JennyWren had some very interesting things to say about "Re: OT tortie
colouring":

>Does he have big feet, gorgeous tufts in his ears, a long coat that doesn't


>mat easily and an easy going disposition? those are good signs that there is
>Coon in him.

Largish feet [with cute little tufts of fur], ears about "normal" for
a generic cat, longish fur with no matting tendency, shy with
strangers [and has a distinct preference for women]. Also has the
Maine Coon build, but is a bit smaller than purebreds I've seen at cat
shows. See http://www.impulse.net/~seanette/felixbk.jpg for a picture
of him.

JennyWren

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
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Aren't toe tufts cute? He also has that kind of feral expression--which
definitely a coon trait, as opposed to being "sweet faced" like Norwegian Forest
Cats. I've got a couple myself that may have some Coon in them--at least I'd like
to think so! (VBG)

The Wren

Seanette Blaylock

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
to
JennyWren had some very interesting things to say about "Re: OT tortie
colouring":

>Aren't toe tufts cute? He also has that kind of feral expression--which


>definitely a coon trait, as opposed to being "sweet faced" like Norwegian Forest
>Cats. I've got a couple myself that may have some Coon in them--at least I'd like
>to think so! (VBG)

For a *really* amusing expression on his face, try
http://www.impulse.net/~seanette/felixw.jpg , which was taken right
after he got a bath. :-)

Tina Kambarian

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
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OOOOOOOOOo I missed this post before.....I have a (mostly) Coon!!! He has
the tufts in his ears and in his feet...we all tease him about being such a
priss that he doesn't wear the fur off the bottoms of his feet. I didn't
realize this was a Coon trait. He also doesn't like strangers, but the
kitties that wander in had better look out!!!

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=845805&a=6147903&p=30280467
In this picture you can see the tufts in his rear feet, and his pretty white
belly. In the album there is another photo of him and his pal K.C. The
lighting makes him look dirty, but believe me, he NEVER gets dirty!!
LOL!!!!!!

Can you tell I love him?? Tee Hee

Tina K.


JennyWren <vand...@agecon.purdue.edu> wrote in message
news:3A071289...@agecon.purdue.edu...


> Aren't toe tufts cute? He also has that kind of feral expression--which
> definitely a coon trait, as opposed to being "sweet faced" like Norwegian
Forest
> Cats. I've got a couple myself that may have some Coon in them--at least
I'd like
> to think so! (VBG)
>

> The Wren
>
> Seanette Blaylock wrote:
>

> > JennyWren had some very interesting things to say about "Re: OT tortie
> > colouring":
> >

> > >Does he have big feet, gorgeous tufts in his ears, a long coat that
doesn't
> > >mat easily and an easy going disposition? those are good signs that
there is
> > >Coon in him.
> >
> > Largish feet [with cute little tufts of fur], ears about "normal" for
> > a generic cat, longish fur with no matting tendency, shy with
> > strangers [and has a distinct preference for women]. Also has the
> > Maine Coon build, but is a bit smaller than purebreds I've seen at cat
> > shows. See http://www.impulse.net/~seanette/felixbk.jpg for a picture
> > of him.
> >

Seanette Blaylock

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
to
Tina Kambarian had some very interesting things to say about "Re: OT
tortie colouring":

>http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=845805&a=6147903&p=30280467


>In this picture you can see the tufts in his rear feet, and his pretty white
>belly. In the album there is another photo of him and his pal K.C. The
>lighting makes him look dirty, but believe me, he NEVER gets dirty!!
>LOL!!!!!!

Felix sleeps in poses like that on a regular basis! :-)

[Oh, and he hates other cats, but loves dogs. He once scared me nearly
into heart failure by cuddling up to a Rottweiler we didn't know. I
like Rotties, but had NO clue how this one felt about cats.
Fortunately, no problem. The dog just looked SERIOUSLY confused, while
his owner laughed (and the dog seemed quite happy to make friends with
me).]

Nina K Pettis

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Nov 6, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/6/00
to
Seanette Blaylock wrote:
>
> Tina Kambarian had some very interesting things to say about "Re: OT
> tortie colouring":
>
> >http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=845805&a=6147903&p=30280467
> >In this picture you can see the tufts in his rear feet, and his pretty white
> >belly. In the album there is another photo of him and his pal K.C. The
> >lighting makes him look dirty, but believe me, he NEVER gets dirty!!
> >LOL!!!!!!
>
> Felix sleeps in poses like that on a regular basis! :-)
>
> [Oh, and he hates other cats, but loves dogs. He once scared me nearly
> into heart failure by cuddling up to a Rottweiler we didn't know. I
> like Rotties, but had NO clue how this one felt about cats.
> Fortunately, no problem. The dog just looked SERIOUSLY confused, while
> his owner laughed (and the dog seemed quite happy to make friends with
> me).]

I can't get a decent photo of my think-he's-a-Maine-Coon-mix brat: he's
mostly white with some pale orange [I'd say "apricot" but his little
masculine soul would be outraged] tabby splotches. When he sleeps like
that -- which is often, and the Rottweiler knows she'd better not step
on his fringes -- all you see is a fluffy white cushion with some
orange-ish trimmings. His face is mostly white, too, with a little pink
nose and wickedly mischievous eyes. All in all, he's eighteen pounds of
adorable, with a devilish streak. (But he has the ear tufts, the big
fluffy feet, and the no-brush coat!)

Nina
--
Professional proofreading doesn't cost; it pays!
ni...@ninaproofs.com http://www.ninaproofs.com

Aramanth Dawe

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Nov 6, 2000, 6:27:41 PM11/6/00
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Pure red cats(as opposed to red-and-white) are most commonly males.
However, it *is* possible to have a pure red female. My sister did
so, and Poss had 2 litters of kittens, both consisting of 2 pure red
female kittens.

Red and black are alleles (alternates) of the same gene and are found
on the X chromosome. This is why torties are almost exclusively
female - they are the only cats (usually) with 2 X chromosomes. The
'patchy' nature of the colour is because early in gestation one X
chromosome in each cell is 'switched off' (happens in other species
females too, including humans!) and it's random from one cell to the
next which one will be switched off.

Aramanth
(genetics major, currently owned by her second Tabby-Tortie)

On Sun, 05 Nov 2000 19:23:24 GMT, Sheena Mackenzie
<she...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:

>Is it correct that reds are always male? I believed it to be so (I have one)

>but occasionally people have said they have known a red female. It reminded me
>of learning about the white and black rabbit in biology, then you had to track
>down what colours the resulting off spring would be, other than plentiful.
>Sheena
>

>House-mouse wrote:
>
>> snip:Torties are almost always female, by the way, it's a sex-linked trait.:
>> Tortie is x linked so therefore always female or if male are sterile. Unless
>> they are mosaics, in which case they can be fertile. How do I know such
>> arcane stuff, well I used to cat-show and I was a midwife. The interest in
>> genetics stuck.

--
There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all time.

Voltaire

Sheena Mackenzie

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Nov 6, 2000, 7:17:52 PM11/6/00
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My red male was all red with lovely amber eyes until the age of two when he suddenly
sprouted white on his nose and chest. Later came a white tip to the tail. I felt I
should return him but by that time I found I had grown quite fond of this feline
that had been foisted on to me, so he's still here. I had always blamed my DD for
him being a male saying she should have known because he was red that he couldn't
possibly be female. She swore he was but that was just so I would take him, it was
me or the chop. I see you are genetics major, so now I have it from the cats
(horses?) mouth! Thanks, very interesting. Sheena

Kim Brown

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Nov 6, 2000, 8:13:37 PM11/6/00
to
Aramanth Dawe wrote:
>
> Pure red cats(as opposed to red-and-white) are most commonly males.
> However, it *is* possible to have a pure red female. My sister did
> so, and Poss had 2 litters of kittens, both consisting of 2 pure red
> female kittens.

<snip>

So did the Ugly Sister! She brought home a red female from the vet's
(had been surrendered for euthanasia because she was pregnant). Clemmie
(Lady Clementine Churchill) went on to have three babies, all gorgeous
red toms. One was killed in kittenhood through being bitten by a large
centipede, but the other pair (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) lived with
us well into a happy old age.

Other interesting colour alleles are the gene for blue eyes in cats, the
hairless gene in dogs and the palomino horse.
--
Trish {|:OI}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Pat Porter

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Nov 7, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/7/00
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Added to that, Red females and Tortie males are usually sterile. (we used
to breed Siamese - you get redpoints and tortie points in those, and the
same rules apply, of course.)

Pat P.


Sheena Mackenzie

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Nov 7, 2000, 3:00:00 AM11/7/00
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Not to mention so many hounds I have seen with one blue, one brown eye.
Sheena
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