![calico vs tortie calico vs tortie](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/43/52/3a/43523a0feef95fa7f16e9b6a8b8d6016--pretty-cats-beautiful-cats.jpg)
The recessive dilution (d) gene turns black into grey, chocolate into lilac, cinnamon to fawn and red to cream. Chocolate and cinnamon (locus B)Ĭhocolate and cinnamon are due to a mutation in tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) which changes the shape of eumelanin (black) pigment granules from round to an oval (chocolate) or rod (cinnamon) shape. You will notice some of the photos below show the coat colour has changed from black to brown or grey and orange has become cream, this is due to dilution and modifier genes. Why does my cat open her mouth when i pet her.If she receives two non-orange genes (oo), she will be another colour, the tortie has both orange and non-orange (Oo). This inactivation (known as lyonisation or x-inactivation) is random which is how the coat displays both orange and non-orange.įor the female to be ginger, she must carry the O on both X chromosomes (OO). During development, one of the X chromosomes is switched off to prevent the expression of both X’s. Tortoiseshell and calico cats have two X chromosomes, one carrying the O gene, and the other non-orange (Oo). O is dominant over black (non-orange), so if a male has the O gene, he will be ginger. Male tortie or calico cats do exist (the incidence is 1/3000) due to an extra X chromosome which makes them XXY, however, they are almost always infertile. As the male (XY) only has one X chromosome he will be orange or non-orange. The O allele converts the production of black pigment (eumelanin) into orange (pheomelanin) and is located on the X chromosome. The genes are located within the chromosome, and each gene has a fixed position within the chromosome known as the locus (or loci in plural), an allele is a variant form of a gene and is located at the same place (locus). Eumelanin is spherical and absorbs almost all light, which gives black pigmentation, pheomelanin granules are elongated and produce the red coat colour. Cats have two types of melanin, black-based eumelanin and orange-based pheomelanin. The size, shape and arrangement of melanin granules are responsible for the colour of the cat’s coat. Melanocytes are cells that produce melanin, which are microscopic granules found in the hair, skin, and iris of the eyes. You are reading: Calico tortoiseshell difference The calico and tortie coat colour/pattern occurs in both random-bred as well as purebred cats with both long and short coats. Both patterns refer to a multi-coloured cat which may consist of black and orange, brown and orange, grey and cream with or without white. The terms calico and tortoiseshell are often used interchangeably, and it is easy to see why. Are tortoiseshell and calico cats friendly?Ĭalico and tortoiseshell (tortie) are both common coat colours/patterns which appear almost exclusively in female cats.Are all tortoiseshell and calico cats female?.What is the difference between tortoiseshell, calico and torbie?.What are calico and tortoiseshell cats?.