Genetics Archives - Cat-World

Why Are Sphynx Cats Bald?

December 9, 2022December 9, 2022

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

What is a Sphynx cat?

The Sphynx cat is described as hairless, although that is not entirely true as it actually has short, downy hair that feels like chamois. The breed originated in Toronto, Canada in 1966 when a black and white tuxedo called Elizabeth gave birth to a hairless male kitten named Prune. Prune was mated back to Elizabeth, and this mating produced more bald kittens.

Hairless cats had occurred prior to that but quickly vanished. Several other hairless breeds are recognised in the cat fancy today including the Peterbald, Don Sphynx, Bambino, Elf, Ukrainian Levkoy and Dwelf. Most of these breeds are man-made Sphynx crosses, such as the Bambino, which is a cross between a Munchkin and Sphynx. The Don Sphynx occurred due to a spontaneous mutation which is different to the Sphynx mutation.

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

Can two cats be identical twins?

Identical or monozygotic twins are possible in kittens, but rare. Almost all kittens in a litter are not identical, even if they have the same physical appearance.

What are identical twins?

Identical (monozygotic) twins occur when a fertilised egg splits in two during early development resulting in two kittens who share the same DNA. This differs from non-identical (dizygotic twins) who have their own unique DNA. The worldwide incidence of identical twin births in humans is 3 – 4 per 1,000 births. We don’t tend to refer to kittens as twins, triplets, etc, in animals who give birth to multiple offspring, instead, they’re known as littermates.

14 Facts About Seal Point Siamese Cats + Picture Gallery

October 18, 2022October 16, 2022

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

1. What does a seal point Siamese look like? A seal point Siamese is a Siamese cat whose coat color is seal point (“Seal point” is the color). This unique coat consists of an ivory or cream background with dark brown/black points on the face (known as a mask), ears, paws and tail. The seal … Read more

Solid (Self) Coloured Coat Colours in Cats

July 18, 2022July 17, 2022

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

Solid coloured cats are referred to as self or non-agouti, and as the name suggests, they display a uniform coat colour with no ticking or tabby markings. Solid cats occur in three basic self-colours, which are black (B-), chocolate (bb) and cinnamon (bl). All other self colours are variations of these three base colours caused … Read more

Klinefelter Syndrome in Cats

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

What is Klinefelter syndrome?

Also known as XXY syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is a sex chromosome condition that occurs when a male kitten is born with an extra X chromosome. Klinefelter syndrome is a type of trisomy, which is a chromosomal condition characterised by an additional chromosome. Down syndrome is the most well-known trisomy in humans that is caused by a third copy of chromosome 21.

What is a Tortoiseshell Cat?

June 22, 2022May 23, 2022

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

What is a tortoiseshell cat?

A tortoiseshell cat is a cat with a coat colour made up of mottled patches of black, chocolate or grey along with red or cream. This unusual coat pattern is sex-linked and is almost exclusively found in female cats.

The most common colour combination is black and red, which consists of almost equal amounts of black to red. In some cats, there will be more red than black, which is known as a reverse tortie.

What Is A Black Tabby Cat?

May 23, 2022May 21, 2022

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

A black tabby is a type of coat color and pattern combination that consists of melanistic black stripes, sworls or spots on a lighter banded (ticked) ground color. The face of the black tabby cats consists of an M on the forehead as well as thin pencil lines on the cheeks.

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

What is a dilute tortie cat?

Also known as a muted tortie, a dilute tortie is a type of coat colour and pattern which consists of grey and cream markings.

This striking coat pattern is the dilute form of the more traditional black and red (orange) tortie pattern. Tortoiseshell almost exclusively occurs in female cats as the orange gene is located on the X chromosome, as the male (XY) only inherits one copy of the X chromosome he will either be orange or non-orange. As a female cat (XX) has two X chromosomes, if she inherits one copy of the orange gene, and one copy of black, she will be tortoiseshell. The dilute gene changes black and red to grey and cream.

The Genetics of White Spotting in Cats Explained

March 1, 2023November 30, 2021

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

What is white spotting? White spotting (WS) is the appearance of areas of white on a solid or tabby cat and occurs in both purebred and random-bred cats. The gene responsible is dominant, which means the cat only needs to inherit one copy for white spotting to occur. The white spotting pattern is due to … Read more

Grey Cats – Breeds, Genes and Inheritance

May 1, 2022November 21, 2021

Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder

Also referred to as blue or Maltese, grey is a common coat colour in both purebred and domestic cats. Grey is the dilute form of black, caused by the aptly named dilution gene which is caused by a single base deletion 1 bp in the melanophilin (MLPH) gene. This gene provides instructions for making melanophilin, a carrier protein that is found in pigment-producing melanocytes. Melanophilin is essential for the even distribution, transport, and translocation of melanin (pigment granules). Menalocytes are specialised cells that contain organelles known as melanosomes. Melanosomes synthesise, store and transport melanin out of the cell via the dendrites to neighbouring keratinocytes (keratin producing cells).