Do you like cats? I absolutely love them, and I have one. Mine is a tabby, and how about yours?

A week ago, I read an article about cat fur patterns. Since it was fascinating, I'd love to share it with you.

Do you know that about 80% of ginger cats are male, and about 99.9 % of calico cats are female? Do you know why it happens?

A research team in Kyushu University, Japan discovered a gene-mutation called ARHGAP36, which is found only on the X chromosome. All ginger cats have this gene. Male creatures have one X and one Y chromosomes, while female creatures have two X chromosomes. So, if a male cat carries the ARHGAP36 on his X chromosome, he'll have ginger fur, while female cats need both X chromosomes have ARHGAP36 to turn their fur ginger. That's the reason most of ginger cats are male.

Calico cats' case is more complicated. Calico cats have three different colors, white, ginger and black in their furs. If one of the X chromosomes has ARHGAP36 and the other doesn't have it and plus, the cat has a gene which turns its fur white, the cat's fur turns ginger, black and white. However, male cats have only one X, so it's nearly impossible they'll have ginger and black fur together. That's why male calico cats are extremely rare. Tortoiseshell cats, which have black and ginger fur without white, are also almost always female for the same reason.

Isn't that interesting?

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