New arrivals

**Soquili** · 25 June 2009, 12:13 AM

Cute as Kittens

Kittens are marvelous little friends.

**steve.ledger** · 25 June 2009, 12:38 AM

purrrr'fect pair.

I assume they are both females?

**angelize** · 25 June 2009, 01:33 AM

awwwwww They are sooooo cute! I miss having a cat but as Bill is allergic we have a non shed little doggie instead.

**gwpriester** · 25 June 2009, 02:04 AM

Calicos are females. Now that they have been here for almost 6 hours they have quieted down. I hope this can last into the night. Not likely though.

**steve.ledger** · 25 June 2009, 02:18 AM

Originally Posted by gwpriester

Calicos are females.

I wasn't aware of that trait, I've only ever had siamese, tabbies or a black/white (like imatheblues 'Dos')

However, at odds with genetics, the cat that roams my house roof in the evening and muddied my car I think is a tortoise shell/calico just like your top photo. He's a male.

I'll try to get a photo to compare better.

**Burpee** · 25 June 2009, 02:28 AM

What a charming pair! Congratulations on becoming a 'daddy'

**zaphodeist** · 25 June 2009, 03:19 AM

Beautiful additions to the family

I used to be controlled by one similar to the lass on the left - didn't know she was a white calico though.

**handrawn** · 25 June 2009, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by gwpriester

Calicos are females

not strictly true - calicos need XY chromosomes - ie female as such

but they could be XXY, also female, or XYY, male

I know this because we had an XYY calico cat which we took to the vet and referred to as 'he', no said the vet without looking, its a 'she' - but he wasn't [I can tell the difference

]

after checking, the vet explained about chromosomes

**gwpriester** · 25 June 2009, 05:25 PM

I will back off a bit, not being a scientist, and say that most calicos are female and leave it at that. I have never known of a male calico.

For those with longer memories, we moved to New Mexico in 2000 with five cats. Baxter, the Maine Coon cat is the lone survivor. And so we decided it was time to restock.

Chloe, the white calico, is problematic. She does not get along at all with her sister (who is an absolute love). But she does get a long well with humans. She would have been better as someone's only cat.

But we are not going to return her. We will sort it all out.

**iamtheblues** · 25 June 2009, 06:12 PM

Calico = female and ginger = male is an urban myth. It is true that the majority of calico cats are female and the majority of ginger cats are male, the ratio is roughly 3:1.
Saludos,
Bob.