Principles of cat color breeding

We know that male chromosomes are XY and female chromosomes are XX. The same is true for cats. The male cat’s chromosomes are XY (X comes from the mother, Y comes from the father), and the female cat’s chromosomes are XX (one ;That is to say, the color of male cat XY comes from the mother, and the color of female cat XX comes from the father + mother.

Example: A pure red male cat and a pure black female cat, if the baby is male, it must be pure black;

If it is a female, it must be black + red (also called tortoiseshell color). ​​​​​​

Heredity of Garfield cat colors

A pure red male cat and a tortoiseshell (red + black) female cat, if the baby is male, it will be black, or red; if it is a female, it will be red, or It is tortoiseshell color (red + black).

Other derivative colors

Fading gene: It dilutes the color of the cat based on its original color. The diluted colors of black are blue, chocolate, lilac (lilac); the diluted colors of red are milky (also called milky yellow); if parents carry the diluted gene, there is a certain probability that their children will also carry the diluted gene, and the diluted gene is related to Gender has nothing to do with it.

Example: A blue male cat matches a red female cat. If the baby is male, it will be red or cream. If the baby is female, it will be blue + milk if it inherits the dilution gene. If it does not inherit the dilution gene, it will be blue + milk. Tortoiseshell (black + red).

Key color gene

The key color is like a piece of colored cloth, which looks like it has been washed away based on the cat’s own color. The cat itself is inherited according to the natural color of the cat, black or red, and it is not until you meet a partner who also carries the key color gene that you have a chance of giving birth to a key color baby.

Tabby gene

Tiger spots also appear as tiger stripes based on the cat’s own color. For example, if the black cat tabby gene appears, it will become brown tabby color, and if the red cat tabby gene appears, it will become red tabby color.

Example: A brown tabby male cat matches a pure black female cat

The babies produced by breeding, both male and female, are pure black or brown tabby. Red tabby Garfield (red color + tabby gene) is also the prototype of the movie "Garfield"

Black and white Garfield

If a tiger has white spots, we call it a brown tigerGarfield cat with spotted and white, silver tabby and white, brown tabby and white Garfield; if a bicolor cat plus white, we call it tricolor, and this type of cat must be a female cat. Tri-color Garfield (blue + milk + white), if a cat is mostly white and only a small part of the flower color, we call it "Fanhua": Fanhua Garfield; if a cat only has a tail and head With color, other parts are white, we call it "Jingfan" or Jingfanjiafei (the internet celebrity cat "Red Little Fatty" you are familiar with is a Jingfanjiafei).