Post by cerkowah on Dec 13, 2017 6:09:52 GMT
So, cat genetics can be quite confusing for those of you who are unfamiliar, but I'm here to create a basic guide (I know it looks really long but I swear this is quite simple) to cat genetics so you can figure out what colours your kittens might be! You will need these filled out if you want to breed your cats~
Feel free to PM me either here or on discord (discord will have a faster response) if you have any questions! Look at my characters bios for examples on how to write the genes out
First off, lets start with cat colours and patterns! (click on each word for an example of a cat with those markings/colours):
Colours:
The first colour is the base (you'll learn about this later), the second colour is the diluted version of the base, and the third colour is the blue-modified version of the base.
Black, Black Tabby, Black Point, Black Tabby Point
Blue, Blue Tabby, Blue Point, Blue Tabby Point
Caramel, Caramel Tabby, Caramel Point, Caramel Tabby Point
Chocolate, Chocolate Tabby, Chocolate Point, Chocolate Tabby Point
Lilac, Lilac Tabby, Lilac Point, Lilac Tabby Point
Taupe, Taupe Tabby, Taupe Point, Taupe Tabby Point < when I searched it there was just photos of shoes but you get the idea
Cinnamon, Cinnamon Tabby, Cinnamon Point, Cinnamon Tabby Point
Fawn, Fawn Tabby, Fawn Point, Fawn Tabby Point
Fawn-Caramel, Fawn-Caramel Tabby, Fawn-Caramel Point, Fawn-Caramel Tabby Point
Note: Cats with a red base HAVE to be tabby. No exceptions
Red Tabby, Red Tabby Point
Cream Tabby, Cream Tabby Point
Apricot Tabby, Apricot Tabby Point
Eye Colour:
Eye colour is probably the simplest one of all! The only rules of eye colour are as follows:
Colour point/mink/sepia cats MUST have blue eyes as this is a form of albinism
Cats can only have blue eyes if there is white colouration are their eyes. The base colour does not matter as long as there is white around the eyes (even if its just circles)
It is very rare for cats other than pure white cats to have different coloured eyes (but it's not totally impossible)
Markings:
Tortoiseshell: A combination of a black and red base. The colours can be diluted, but they must be diluted in the same way. (Ie. you cannot have a tortoiseshell with black and cream, but you can have one with grey and cream) Dilute Tortie, Blue Modified Tortie, Chocolate Tortie, Cinnamon Tortie
Tabby Tortoiseshell/Torbie: This is when a cat is tortoiseshell and also has tabby markings. Can be any of the tabby types listed below. (To tell if your cat is a torbie, look at the dark markings. If the dark markings are tabby as well, thats a torbie!)
Calico: Tortoiseshell with white markings. The white has to cover over 20% of the cats body to count. You can also have torbie calicos.
Note: ALL tabbies have the classic markings on their face, as this is what makes them tabby. Essentially, the spots above their eyes and faint stripes on their cheeks is what you are looking for. NOT all tabbies have stripes
Mackerel Tabby: The 'common' tabby. So named for the vertical lines running down a cats side, similar to the gills of a fish.
Classic Tabby: Characterized by thick, swirling stripes.
Spotted Tabby: The stripes are replaced by spots of varying sizes. They often have stripes on their lower legs and tails, and the bengal's 'rosettes' (leopard spots) would classify as spotted tabby as well.
Ticked Tabby: These tabbies have no (or very little) stripes. It is acceptable for ticked tabbies to have stripes on their legs, but no where else. The word 'ticked' comes from the cats hairs. The hairs are the main colour on the base, but the darker colour on the top, creating a speckled look.
Colour Point: The cats body is cream and they only have colour on their faces, paws and tails. The cats eyes are ALWAYS blue because this is a form of albinism.
Mink: Similar to colour point where the markings are only on the face, feet and tail, but the markings have much less contrast to the main body.
Sepia: Once again, similar to mink and point but the markings are barely visible from the body.
White, White Markings #1, White Markings #2, White Markings #3, White Markings #4(AKA 'van'), White Markings #5
Important Definitions:
Agouti: How bold a cats markings are. A high agouti means extremely bold markings, and a low agouti means no tabby markings. High, Med, Low
Silvering: The hairs are white with colour at the tip. Leads to silver tabbies and smokes.
Albino: a lack of pigment. Can be a complete lack of pigment or a very basic lack of pigment. Total albino (red eyed albino), pale blue/lilac eyed albino
Ok, now for figuring out your cat's genes! There's a lot to this I know, but I swear it's not that complicated once you get used to it.
Note: genes have 'alleles' (the different letters for each gene). Dominant alleles (uppercase letters) ALWAYS cover up recessive alleles (lowercase letters). However, this does not mean a parent with a dominant allele would not have a child with a recessive allele showing. Me and the other admins will calculate all of this for you but remember that just because an allele is dominant it does not mean the child will have that allele.
1. Figure out your cats colours
Bases: cats have two different bases, black and red. The black base includes black, chocolate, cinnamon and any modifications of those, while the red base only includes red and any modifications of that colour.
For a black male base you would start with: o
For a black female base you would start with: oo
For a red male base you would start with: O
For a red female base you would start with: OO
For tortoiseshell/calico cats you would start with Oo
2. Chocolate - B Gene
Choose your cats starting colours. (Red bases are not affected by this, so you can choose any combination of genes you want)
Red coat: (BB), (Bb), (Bbl), (bb), (bbl) or (blbl)
Black coat: (BB), (Bb) or (Bbl)
Chocolate coat: (bb) or (bbl)
Cinnamon coat: (blbl)
3. Blue Dilution - D Gene
Has a diluting effect on both red and black cats.
Original base (to keep your previous colour unchanged):
Black, Chocolate, Cinnamon or Red coat: (DD) or (Dd)
Dilute of base (to change your previous colour):
Blue, Lilac, Fawn or Cream coat: (dd)
4. Blue Modifier - Dm Gene
This gene only affects dilute (dd) colours. It has a browning effect on the otherwise diluted colour
Original base (to keep your colours from step 2 or 3 unchanged):
Black, Chocolate, Cinnamon or Red coat: (DmDm), (Dmdm) or (dmdm)
Blue, Lilac, Fawn or Cream coat: (dmdm)
Modified Base (to modify the dilute colours from step 3):
Caramel, Taupe, Fawn-Caramel, Apricot: (Dmdm) or (DmDm)
5. Silvering
Causes silver tabbies or smokes (see above):
Silvering: (II)
Faded Silvering: (Ii)
Non-Silvering: (ii)
6. White Spotting (Piebaldism)
This gene causes white spotting in the coat. The more white a cat has in its coat the more likely it is to be deaf
Bi-Colour, Tri-Colour (calico) or Van coat: (SS)
Mitted, small patchs: (Ss)
No White: (ss)
7. Albino - C Gene
Please check above for a more in depth description of albino. These are temperature sensitive (the second letter), meaning the higher the temperature the more major the albinism. An albino cat still has all the other genes, it simply has an albino 'mask' that hides them.
Pink Eyed Albino: (cc)
Pale Blue/Lilac Eyed Albino: (caca)
Colour Point: (cscs)
Sepia: (cbcb)
Mink: (cbcb)
Non-Albino: (CC)
8. Dominant White - W Gene
This gene causes a cat to be solid white, but is not albino. However, similar to albinism, the cat still has all the usual genes, they are simply 'masked'
White: (WW) or (Ww)
Non-White: (ww)
9. Agouti
How bold you want your cats markings to be
Bold Markings: (AA)
Faint Markings: (Aa)
No Visible Markings: (aa)
10. Tabby Genes - Mc, Sp, Ta
This decides the type of markings your cat will have. Please keep in mind that ALL cats have tabby genes, regardless of whether or not you can see the markings
Mackerel: (McMc)
Classic: (mcmc)
Spotted: (SpSp)
Ticked: (TaTa)
11. Coat Length
This ones pretty self explanatory
Long: (ll)
Medium: (Ll)
Short: (LL)
12. Breed Specific Genes
Some breeds have extra genes associated with them. If your cat's breed is not listed here, congrats you're done!
Devon Rex and Sphynx:
Full rex: (rere) or (rehr)
Sphynx: (hrhr)
Non-rex: (ReRe)
Cornish Rex:
Full rex: (rr)
German rex: (rgrg)
Non-rex: (RR)
Oregon Rex:
Full rex: (roro)
Non-rex: (ReRe)
Selkirk Rex:
Full rex: (SeSe)
Non-rex: (sese)
Wirehair:
Full Wirehair: (WhWh)
Non Wirehair: (whwh)
Manx and Bob Tailed:
Manx (causes deformation of the spine)
Full Manx: (Mn)
Non Manx: (mn)
Bobtail (does not cause deformation of the spine)
Full Bobtail: (Jb)
Regular Tail: (jb)
Munchkin (Hypochondroplastic Dwarfism):
Munchkin is defined in three different categories: rughuggers (shortest), medium (inbetween), and regular
Rughugger: (MkMk)
Medium: (Mkmk)
Regular: (mkmk)
Curled and Folded ears:
Curled: (Cu)
Non-Curled: (cu)
Folded: (Fd) (can cause swollen feet and thickened tail)
Non-Folded: (fd)
Feel free to PM me either here or on discord (discord will have a faster response) if you have any questions! Look at my characters bios for examples on how to write the genes out
First off, lets start with cat colours and patterns! (click on each word for an example of a cat with those markings/colours):
Colours:
The first colour is the base (you'll learn about this later), the second colour is the diluted version of the base, and the third colour is the blue-modified version of the base.
Black, Black Tabby, Black Point, Black Tabby Point
Blue, Blue Tabby, Blue Point, Blue Tabby Point
Caramel, Caramel Tabby, Caramel Point, Caramel Tabby Point
Chocolate, Chocolate Tabby, Chocolate Point, Chocolate Tabby Point
Lilac, Lilac Tabby, Lilac Point, Lilac Tabby Point
Taupe, Taupe Tabby, Taupe Point, Taupe Tabby Point < when I searched it there was just photos of shoes but you get the idea
Cinnamon, Cinnamon Tabby, Cinnamon Point, Cinnamon Tabby Point
Fawn, Fawn Tabby, Fawn Point, Fawn Tabby Point
Fawn-Caramel, Fawn-Caramel Tabby, Fawn-Caramel Point, Fawn-Caramel Tabby Point
Note: Cats with a red base HAVE to be tabby. No exceptions
Red Tabby, Red Tabby Point
Cream Tabby, Cream Tabby Point
Apricot Tabby, Apricot Tabby Point
Eye Colour:
Eye colour is probably the simplest one of all! The only rules of eye colour are as follows:
Colour point/mink/sepia cats MUST have blue eyes as this is a form of albinism
Cats can only have blue eyes if there is white colouration are their eyes. The base colour does not matter as long as there is white around the eyes (even if its just circles)
It is very rare for cats other than pure white cats to have different coloured eyes (but it's not totally impossible)
Markings:
Tortoiseshell: A combination of a black and red base. The colours can be diluted, but they must be diluted in the same way. (Ie. you cannot have a tortoiseshell with black and cream, but you can have one with grey and cream) Dilute Tortie, Blue Modified Tortie, Chocolate Tortie, Cinnamon Tortie
Tabby Tortoiseshell/Torbie: This is when a cat is tortoiseshell and also has tabby markings. Can be any of the tabby types listed below. (To tell if your cat is a torbie, look at the dark markings. If the dark markings are tabby as well, thats a torbie!)
Calico: Tortoiseshell with white markings. The white has to cover over 20% of the cats body to count. You can also have torbie calicos.
Note: ALL tabbies have the classic markings on their face, as this is what makes them tabby. Essentially, the spots above their eyes and faint stripes on their cheeks is what you are looking for. NOT all tabbies have stripes
Mackerel Tabby: The 'common' tabby. So named for the vertical lines running down a cats side, similar to the gills of a fish.
Classic Tabby: Characterized by thick, swirling stripes.
Spotted Tabby: The stripes are replaced by spots of varying sizes. They often have stripes on their lower legs and tails, and the bengal's 'rosettes' (leopard spots) would classify as spotted tabby as well.
Ticked Tabby: These tabbies have no (or very little) stripes. It is acceptable for ticked tabbies to have stripes on their legs, but no where else. The word 'ticked' comes from the cats hairs. The hairs are the main colour on the base, but the darker colour on the top, creating a speckled look.
Colour Point: The cats body is cream and they only have colour on their faces, paws and tails. The cats eyes are ALWAYS blue because this is a form of albinism.
Mink: Similar to colour point where the markings are only on the face, feet and tail, but the markings have much less contrast to the main body.
Sepia: Once again, similar to mink and point but the markings are barely visible from the body.
White, White Markings #1, White Markings #2, White Markings #3, White Markings #4(AKA 'van'), White Markings #5
Important Definitions:
Agouti: How bold a cats markings are. A high agouti means extremely bold markings, and a low agouti means no tabby markings. High, Med, Low
Silvering: The hairs are white with colour at the tip. Leads to silver tabbies and smokes.
Albino: a lack of pigment. Can be a complete lack of pigment or a very basic lack of pigment. Total albino (red eyed albino), pale blue/lilac eyed albino
Ok, now for figuring out your cat's genes! There's a lot to this I know, but I swear it's not that complicated once you get used to it.
Note: genes have 'alleles' (the different letters for each gene). Dominant alleles (uppercase letters) ALWAYS cover up recessive alleles (lowercase letters). However, this does not mean a parent with a dominant allele would not have a child with a recessive allele showing. Me and the other admins will calculate all of this for you but remember that just because an allele is dominant it does not mean the child will have that allele.
1. Figure out your cats colours
Bases: cats have two different bases, black and red. The black base includes black, chocolate, cinnamon and any modifications of those, while the red base only includes red and any modifications of that colour.
For a black male base you would start with: o
For a black female base you would start with: oo
For a red male base you would start with: O
For a red female base you would start with: OO
For tortoiseshell/calico cats you would start with Oo
2. Chocolate - B Gene
Choose your cats starting colours. (Red bases are not affected by this, so you can choose any combination of genes you want)
Red coat: (BB), (Bb), (Bbl), (bb), (bbl) or (blbl)
Black coat: (BB), (Bb) or (Bbl)
Chocolate coat: (bb) or (bbl)
Cinnamon coat: (blbl)
3. Blue Dilution - D Gene
Has a diluting effect on both red and black cats.
Original base (to keep your previous colour unchanged):
Black, Chocolate, Cinnamon or Red coat: (DD) or (Dd)
Dilute of base (to change your previous colour):
Blue, Lilac, Fawn or Cream coat: (dd)
4. Blue Modifier - Dm Gene
This gene only affects dilute (dd) colours. It has a browning effect on the otherwise diluted colour
Original base (to keep your colours from step 2 or 3 unchanged):
Black, Chocolate, Cinnamon or Red coat: (DmDm), (Dmdm) or (dmdm)
Blue, Lilac, Fawn or Cream coat: (dmdm)
Modified Base (to modify the dilute colours from step 3):
Caramel, Taupe, Fawn-Caramel, Apricot: (Dmdm) or (DmDm)
5. Silvering
Causes silver tabbies or smokes (see above):
Silvering: (II)
Faded Silvering: (Ii)
Non-Silvering: (ii)
6. White Spotting (Piebaldism)
This gene causes white spotting in the coat. The more white a cat has in its coat the more likely it is to be deaf
Bi-Colour, Tri-Colour (calico) or Van coat: (SS)
Mitted, small patchs: (Ss)
No White: (ss)
7. Albino - C Gene
Please check above for a more in depth description of albino. These are temperature sensitive (the second letter), meaning the higher the temperature the more major the albinism. An albino cat still has all the other genes, it simply has an albino 'mask' that hides them.
Pink Eyed Albino: (cc)
Pale Blue/Lilac Eyed Albino: (caca)
Colour Point: (cscs)
Sepia: (cbcb)
Mink: (cbcb)
Non-Albino: (CC)
8. Dominant White - W Gene
This gene causes a cat to be solid white, but is not albino. However, similar to albinism, the cat still has all the usual genes, they are simply 'masked'
White: (WW) or (Ww)
Non-White: (ww)
9. Agouti
How bold you want your cats markings to be
Bold Markings: (AA)
Faint Markings: (Aa)
No Visible Markings: (aa)
10. Tabby Genes - Mc, Sp, Ta
This decides the type of markings your cat will have. Please keep in mind that ALL cats have tabby genes, regardless of whether or not you can see the markings
Mackerel: (McMc)
Classic: (mcmc)
Spotted: (SpSp)
Ticked: (TaTa)
11. Coat Length
This ones pretty self explanatory
Long: (ll)
Medium: (Ll)
Short: (LL)
12. Breed Specific Genes
Some breeds have extra genes associated with them. If your cat's breed is not listed here, congrats you're done!
Devon Rex and Sphynx:
Full rex: (rere) or (rehr)
Sphynx: (hrhr)
Non-rex: (ReRe)
Cornish Rex:
Full rex: (rr)
German rex: (rgrg)
Non-rex: (RR)
Oregon Rex:
Full rex: (roro)
Non-rex: (ReRe)
Selkirk Rex:
Full rex: (SeSe)
Non-rex: (sese)
Wirehair:
Full Wirehair: (WhWh)
Non Wirehair: (whwh)
Manx and Bob Tailed:
Manx (causes deformation of the spine)
Full Manx: (Mn)
Non Manx: (mn)
Bobtail (does not cause deformation of the spine)
Full Bobtail: (Jb)
Regular Tail: (jb)
Munchkin (Hypochondroplastic Dwarfism):
Munchkin is defined in three different categories: rughuggers (shortest), medium (inbetween), and regular
Rughugger: (MkMk)
Medium: (Mkmk)
Regular: (mkmk)
Curled and Folded ears:
Curled: (Cu)
Non-Curled: (cu)
Folded: (Fd) (can cause swollen feet and thickened tail)
Non-Folded: (fd)
