Do I Have A Male Calico?

marissawolf

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Meet Ace
His mother was a calico, his father a brown tabby, and Ace came out a mixture of the two. He's always had these random patches of orange on his legs where the brown just stops and immediately changes to orange. I know sometimes brown cats have orange tints in areas- but that's not the case with this cat. He doesn't look like your typical "calico", he's mostly brown, but he does have two colors on him and then white. What do you guys think?

Oh, and to make it crazier, Ace is a father.
Actually he's fathered several litters of kittens with our female cat. (the mother's a brown/grey tabby) His babies couldn't be crazier in color either themselves- I've seen everything! *One of his daughters came out a calico
I know how rare male calicoes are, let alone a fertile male calico is nearly unheard of... Yet, I can't help thinking this boy might just be one. Your inputs would really help!
IMG_3019.jpg IMG_2810.jpg IMG_3030.jpg IMG_3010.JPG IMG_3009.JPG IMG_3016.jpg

Meet his daughter too! Here's Kriva the Calico
She's also known as a Tabico (Calico with Stripes)
IMG_0345.JPG IMG_2130_Facetune_28-03-2019-03-37-55.jpg
 

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Norachan

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Hi marissawolf marissawolf Welcome to TCS.

Ace is a handsome boy. I don't think he's a male calico though. I would describe him as tabby and white DSH. It's very common for tabby cats to have some lighter patches of brownish fur mixed in with the darker brown or grey, particularly on the back of their legs or their cheeks.

The majority of male calicos are sterile, so that makes it even more unlikely that Ace is a calico.

Have you been able to re-home any of the kittens? TCS is a pro-spay and neuter site. Your female cat will be much healthier if she is spayed rather than allowed to go on producing kittens.

Let us know if you need any help finding a low cost spay and neuter clinic in your area. Our members can recommend a cheap place to get all your cats fixed.

;)

Why You Should Spay And Neuter Your Cats

"kittens To Good Homes" - How To Find A Good Forever Home For Your Kittens
 

Willowy

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I think something is going on there, because the red patches are too distinct (well, the one on the left leg is) to just be shading. Not XXY calico though, I don't think. I suspect a chimera situation, where he absorbed a sibling in utero.

That is not as rare as most people think. We're learning a lot with the reccent prevalence of DNA tests!
 

lutece

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I agree that one of the leg patches looks like a red tabby patch. On his face, however, he looks more like a warm brown tabby.

If he was bred to a brown tabby female with no red areas, and produced a torbie and white kitten, that would be evidence for him being a chimera... unless that kitten had a different father! If the mother of the kittens ever goes outside, it's quite likely that her kittens would have had multiple fathers.

Just FYI, being a chimera wouldn't make him or his kittens more "valuable," and it also isn't something he would be able to pass on to his kittens. Chimera just means that two zygotes got smooshed together in utero somehow, and developed into one cat.
 
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marissawolf

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Thank you for all your inputs- I could really use some more suggestions though! He's suppose to get neutered soon but if he's a fertile calico then I wouldn't want to do that...
 
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marissawolf

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I agree that one of the leg patches looks like a red tabby patch. On his face, however, he looks more like a warm brown tabby.

If he was bred to a brown tabby female with no red areas, and produced a torbie and white kitten, that would be evidence for him being a chimera... unless that kitten had a different father! If the mother of the kittens ever goes outside, it's quite likely that her kittens would have had multiple fathers.

Just FYI, being a chimera wouldn't make him or his kittens more "valuable," and it also isn't something he would be able to pass on to his kittens. Chimera just means that two zygotes got smooshed together in utero somehow, and developed into one cat.
none of our cats go outside

And I wasn't asking if he or his kittens were valuable or not... I don't care about that stuff, I just wanted to know if perhaps I had a male calico (or chimera) calico or something different
 

lutece

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Thank you for all your inputs- I could really use some more suggestions though! He's suppose to get neutered soon but if he's a fertile calico then I wouldn't want to do that...
Why wouldn't you want to neuter him? Being a chimera isn't a trait that can be passed on to kittens.
I wasn't asking if he or his kittens were valuable or not... I don't care about that stuff, I just wanted to know if perhaps I had a male calico (or chimera) calico or something different
Great! The only reason I mentioned "valuable" is that it's very common for people to think a male calico must be worth a lot of money, since there are so few of them. People also often think that fertile male calicos would be valuable for breeding. It's a common misconception :)
 
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JoyM

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Why wouldn't you want to neuter him? Being a chimera isn't a trait that can be passed on to kittens.

Great! The only reason I mentioned "valuable" is that it's very common for people to think a male calico must be worth a lot of money, since there are so few of them. People also often think that fertile male calicos would be valuable for breeding. It's a common misconception :)
I’m forever the peacekeeper so I hope this isn’t taken wrong by anyone. I’m a foster with the shelter so I know the importance of spaying and neutering. There are still areas that don’t have access to affordable spay/neuter. We have come a long way but not everywhere has programs. I live in a county in SC that is mostly rural and not only do we not have any spay/neuter clinics or programs within an hour of my home, there are no TNR groups in the county AND the COUNTY shelter doesn’t accept cats!! From my understanding, they euthanize strays that they have to pick up.
I have to drive an hour and a half just to volunteer as a foster for the neighboring county which does have a TNR program and low cost spay/neuter vouchers (2/household within their county only). All that being said, I had to spend $841 getting my 2 cats fixed and chipped... even though I volunteer for the neighboring county.
I have known many people who love their pets just as much as the rest of us but can barely feed their family, much less spend that much on just getting a pet fixed.
I know you were being an advocate and working towards the goal of reducing the overpopulation of pets which is a great goal. I just had to point out that it’s not always that easy. I seriously doubt you meant to come across as judgemental but based on the lack of response from the OP, they might have felt hurt and ashamed. I would like to suggest that when ANY of us (me included) comes across a poster that needs to get their pets fixed, we ask where they live and try to find a spay/neuter program in their area and send them the information if we do along with the reason it’s so important. This way they are educated and have a low cost/free option. One of my cats didn’t get fixed until he was almost 3yr old because of lack of resources, not neglect or ignorance.
 
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