Does anyone have a male calico cat

[Why and Dotte]

I've always heard that calico cats are always female, I've had four calico cats and all were female, any kittens out of litters that were calico ended up being female. Does anyone have a male calico or is it old wives tale that there's no such thing?
Just curious

 

[houndit]

I too heard that they were always females. I have yet to see one.

 

[lamoka]

As far as I know three colored or "calico" only shows up in females we had many when I was home and all the cats with 3 colors in there coat where female. I have always been told that only females show the three colored trate and I have not ever been able to disprove this.

 

[Jaguaress]

Mine have always been female, so dunno.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Our neighbor had one about 10 years ago, he didnt keep him inside and he ran off so I often wonder what happened to him, but he was an obvious male if you know what I mean.

 

[slackwater]

The calico patterning occurs specifically in XX female cats (vice XY males). It occurs b/c only one copy of the X chromosome is expressed in any given cell, and the other "shuts off" randomly. So, if a female cat has both a black X and a brown X, approximately half of the black Xs will "turn off" and approximately half of the brown Xs will "turn off", so you will have a cat with mottling, like a calico. THe white has a different genetic basis (it overrides the color, I believe - or the other way around, I don't remember exactly). But, since males have to express only one copy of the X chromosome, they will be all one color, b/c they dont' have any "extra" chromosomes to shut off.

So...calico cats will ALWAYS be female. Not an old wives tale - a genetic truth!

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Quote:
Just not true, even though that is what I had always heard too, it really was an obvious male that woodstock was. The owners were offered money for him and wouldnt sell him. I swear it! I have no reason to make this up, he wasnt our kitten although we did have his sister.

 

[slackwater]

Okay, the exception would be an XXY male. SOrry, I guess I could have gotten into it a little bit deeper. THe genetic underpinning of calico cats is having two copies of the X chromosome. Just as in humans, it is possible for a male cat to be XXY (having a Y chromosome will always override having two Xs, so a cat can be XXY, XXXY, XXXXY - and all would be males). So, yes, I stand corrected - male cats CAN genetically be calico. However, the incidence would be so small, since it requires a fairly rare genetic anomaly, that, for all intents and purposes, most people will never see a male calico.

 

[chicks4kids]

MomtoSyd&Emma :

Our neighbor had one about 10 years ago, he didnt keep him inside and he ran off so I often wonder what happened to him, but he was an obvious male if you know what I mean.

He didn't run off.....someone took him! If your neighbor was offered $$ for a cat that they let just roam around outside and someone heard of the $$ offer, then I wouldn't doubt it one bit. I mean seriously, how could he let it roam free knowing it was worth a small fortune?​

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Quote:
He didn't run off.....someone took him! If your neighbor was offered $$ for a cat that they let just roam around outside and someone heard of the $$ offer, then I wouldn't doubt it one bit. I mean seriously, how could he let it roam free knowing it was worth a small fortune?

Trust me when I "say" this, they arent the brightest bulb in the box! Really truly lol lol