White Cats

[MeganLLB]

I was just wondering what color cats would have to breed together to have a litter or all white cats? Artemis came from a litter that only was white cats, so what colors, patterns, are dominant, etc in order to have a litter of all white kittens. Did his parents have to be white too?

 

[Willowy]

At least one parent was white. That's true of all white cats. In this case, that parent was dominant white, as a dominant white cat can only have white kittens. Unless both parents were white, Artemis is probably non-dominant white, and so, theoretically, if he fathered kittens about half would be non-white.

The genetics:
S/S is dominant white. S/s is non-dominant white. s/s is non-white.

So if one parent is S/S, he/she can only pass on the S, making all kittens white. If the parent is S/s, about half the kittens will inherit the S and will be white, the other half will inherit the s and be non-white.

Artemis also has a different genetic color "under" the white, but there's no way to know what it is without breeding him to see what color his non-white daughters are. Although some white cats have a small colored spot when they're kittens; that's their genetic color.

 

[lutece]

Most solid white cats are white because of the dominant white gene (DW). It is on the same gene locus as white spotting.
Dominant White

Willowy, I'm not sure what you mean by "S/s is non-dominant white." I think you mean heterozygous for dominant white, right?

 

[Willowy]

Yes, just simplifying it a bit . Perhaps "visible white" is a better way to phrase it.

 

[lutece]

I think it's a bit confusing to say "non-dominant white," because the DW gene is dominant in both the homozygous DW/DW and the heterozygous N/DW individuals. Either way, the cat is dominant white.

There is also a gene for recessive white (albinism) on a different gene locus but this is rare in the cat.
Cat Coat Color - Albino

 

[lutece]

I was just wondering what color cats would have to breed together to have a litter or all white cats? Artemis came from a litter that only was white cats, so what colors, patterns, are dominant, etc in order to have a litter of all white kittens. Did his parents have to be white too?

Here are some possibilities that could result in a litter of all white kittens:

(1) One white parent, homozygous for dominant white (DW/DW): all kittens would inherit the DW allele and be white, the other parent's color would not matter because DW is dominant over all other colors.

(2) Two white parents, heterozygous dominant white (N/DW): each kitten has a 75% chance of being white, so you could easily get a litter of all whites. (for each kitten, 25% chance of homozygous DW/DW (white), 50% chance of heterozygous N/DW (white), 25% chance of homozygous N/N (non white))

(3) With one white parent heterozygous dominant white (N/DW), and the other parent non-white (N/N), each kitten has a 50% chance of being white, so you could possibly get a litter of all white kittens but it is less likely.

 

[MeganLLB]

W Willowy

Yea now that I think of it his previous owner mentioned that all the other kittens had a grey spot on their heads but Artemis was the only one without any kind of spot. She took two of the kittens. His sister's grey spot eventually disappeared but he never had a spot on him.

 

[Daisy6]

Can someone explain how an otherwise white cat gets color on just the head? Her twin brother is all white without tabby markings (I know he is her only sibling). Is it probable one parent is a gray and white tabby or they have a gray parent and a white parent?

 

[Willowy]

Can someone explain how an otherwise white cat gets color on just the head? Her twin brother is all white without tabby markings (I know he is her only sibling). Is it probable one parent is a gray and white tabby or they have a gray parent and a white parent?

In that case the white may be from the white spotting gene instead of the dominant white gene, and he got enough white spotting to cover his whole body, and she only got enough to cover everything except her head.

Or he got the dominant white and she got high white spotting. That seems more unlikely though.

 

[Daisy6]

So you think they probably don't have an all-white parent?

 

[Willowy]

At least one of their parents must have a lot of white spotting, to pass it on.

 

[lutece]

It's not unusual for a dominant white kitten to have have some black or gray markings on the top of the head; these markings usually go away with maturity.

On the other hand, it would be very unusual for the white spotting gene to cover the whole body with white, not leaving any markings; I don't think that is even possible.

 

[leechi]

I think the mother cat is in that picture of the kitten pile. See that poofy tail sticking out? It looks like two of the kittens are nursing from her as well.

 

[MeganLLB]

I think the mother cat is in that picture of the kitten pile. See that poofy tail sticking out? It looks like two of the kittens are nursing from her as well.

Yea I do see it. I didn't before, but I see that poofy tail and then there's a bunch of white behind the three kittens. That must be the mother.

 

[Willowy]

I don't think that is even possible

I've heard that it's possible, but I'm sure it's not very likely.

Yeah, I thought I saw the mama cat in the kitten pile. A baby wouldn't be that fluffy yet, I think. So now you know his mama was white, at least!