Why are calico cats always girls and orange tabby cats always boys?

Answer by  smellycat22 (1129)

About all the calico cats are female and 75% of orange tabbies are males. This is because orange and black colorings are genetically inherited from the sex chromosomes.

Answer by  tessamalk (466)

Female cats have the sex genes XX; males are XY. The genetic code for black or orange is always on the X chromosome. Because females have two, they can display both colors. Some rare (1/3000) males are XXY and calico; however, about twenty percent of orange tabbies are actually female.

Answer by  chelle16127 (12)

This is a great story! My Orange Male, had kittens with my Orange female. Both cats had 6 toes on each feet... all 6 kittens came out Orange with 6 toes on each foot (polydactyl)... they were AWESOME and found homes so quickly! Was great!

Answer by  karenkay (343)

Three-color (white, black, and orange) calico cats are females or sterile males. This is indeed a sex-linked, genetic thing. Two-color calico cats can be either gender. While orange tabbies that are boys outnumber orange tabbies that are girls 3 to 1, it is not true that orange tabbies are always boys.

Answer by  katharine (3981)

For a cat to have both orange and black (calico), it needs to have a specific gene, and 99% of the time only females have that gene. For orange tabbies, it is more common for them to be male, but there are also a fair number of females.