Calico Cats Are All Females – You would be rich if you found a male calico cat!

When a cat has fur with three different colours, mostly white, black and orange, we call it a calico cat. Actually, calico cats are all females. Male calico cats are so rare that they can fetch enough money to buy a house.

The hair colour is determined genetically. Chromosomes are the threadlike structure in the nucleus that carry genetic information. Sex chromosomes determine whether a fetus becomes male or female; females have two X chromosomes, and males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome.

The genes that determine the colour of the fur of calico cats are on the X chromosomes, but males only have one chromosome, and in order to have three different colours, two X chromosomes are necessary.

Although it is incredibly rare, male calico cats do exist. It is the result of mutation. To become a male, you definitely need a Y chromosome, and males can very rarely have three sex chromosomes; XXY. If a cat’s sex chromosomes are XXY, he will be a calico cat. However, XXY males are infertile by nature, so his rare characteristic cannot be inherited. Therefore, the price of male calico cats is significantly high.

Knowing this fact, don’t you think you want to check a stray calico cat walking around your neighbourhood, to see whether it is male or female? If it were a male, you would be rich.

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