Cat color query

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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Could somebody explain how this works?
I just read that a cat with three pronounced colors must be a female. A male cat can only have two colors.
Does this apply to all breeds? What is the genetics behind this?
 

houston

Arachnopeon
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Feb 18, 2017
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This website is an excellent resource-- the page explains everything very in-depth, with charts and diagrams and stuff. This page also discusses colors, but more on the genetics theorizing side.

The basic is that fur color is dependent on the X chromosome. Each X can only have one color-- either a black/ black derivative like brown or blue (which I'll just refer to as black), or orange. Since most toms (male cats) are XY, they can be either black *or* orange- since the X can only carry one color, and there's only one X. Queens (female cats) are XX, so they can carry both orange *and* black.

An XY cat can only have one color and white, while an XX cat can have black and orange and white. There are of course intersex individuals, like XXY toms who are tricolor, or X queens who can only have one color. It is safe to say that the vast majority of tricolor cats are female, though!

This does apply to all breeds!
 

The Snark

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@houston Cleared it up in a nutshell. Thanks much. Aplologies for being lazy and not researching it myself. Up to me arse in alligators today.
 

The Snark

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Now that I am paying attention. Just today in our neighborhood. Big orange target, err, cat, a tom. Black slinking through the yard, a tom, orange and white pees on our car, tom. Our brindle with white socks, F of course. How many years have I seen this and never noticed?

So on to other questions. Our white F cat has bi colored eyes, bl and w. I recently read this is common with white cats.
Why white? What other colored cats have this? What white cats, breed wise? How often does this manifest? Is this sex preferential and if so, to what degree? And what are the genetics behind this?
 
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