Cat Morphs

[MissLissa]

Oh, man, I love genetics!

Here is a list of cat genes, their codes and and their inheritance:

Eumelanin mutations: (changes in the concentration and dispersal of eumelanin)
Black: B- Dominant
Brown (Chocolate): bb Recessive to Black, dominant to Light Brown
Light Brown (Cinnamon): b^lb^l Recessive to both Black and Light Brown

Phaelomelanin mutations: (changes int eh concentration and dispersal of phaelomelanin)
Orange: O(O) Sex-Linked Dominant. This decreates eumelanin, and increases phaelomelanin, making the cat look reddish or orange. Females need two copies to be orange, males only need (and can only have) one. Exception: Black female cats carrying the Orange gene will express both Black and Orange colours- making both Tortoiseshells (no White Spotting) and Calicos (with White Spotting). Generally speaking, male cats cannot be calicos (unless they are genetic chimeras, or have an extra chromosome). As far as i know, the rare male calico is infertile (XXY; I suppose genetic chimeras could be fertile, but would probably only produce black or orange genes, not both).

Dilutions:
Dilute dd Recessive (combined with black = blue, combined with brown = lilac, combined with Light Brown = fawn, combined with Orange = cream)

Albinism :
Dominant White: W- Dominant. Also produces a white cat with blue eyes, and are also often deaf.

Albinism: c^ac^a Recessive. Homozygous albinos always have blue eyes, and new research shows that they are not associated with deafness unless paired with a gene that is. Blue eyes are much paler than those of the Dominant Whites.

Albinism: cc Recessive. Produces white cats with pink eyes. Not associated with deafness unless paired with a gene that is.

Sepia: c^bc^bRecessive

Pointed: c^sc^sRecessive

* Sepia and Pointed genes are recessive, but co-dominant with each other. c^bc^b = Burmese or Sepia, c^sc^s = Siamese or Pointed, and c^bc^s = Toninkese or Mink. These patterns are a form of partial albinism; a mutation in tyrosinaese. Heat-sensitive pattern; the coolest parts of the cat's body will be the darkest in colour)

Ticking and Tabbies:
Agouti: A- Dominant. Creates bands of various colours on individual hairs.

non-Agouti: aa Recessive. This produces solid colour cats.

Ticked Tabby: T^a- Dominant. Ticked or agouti hairs are evenly spread throughout the coat.

Mackerel Tabby: T- Dominant to Classic, Recessive to Ticked. Ticked hair alternated with solid hair to make stripes. Most common tabby colour

Classic Tabby: tbtb Recessive to Ticked and Mackerel, dominant to non-Agouti. Ticked hair and solid hair alternate in a swirling, whorled pattern

Shading:
Chinchilla: Ch-? I? Appears to act generally Dominant. Research is ongoing- suspected polygenetic trait.

Patterns:
White Spotting: S- Dominant. Somewhat co-dominant; SS cats tend to have larger white areas than Ss cats. Associated with partial or complete deafness, especially when the white area overlaps an eye or ear. Also can cause heterochromia (eyes of different colours). Actually a "masking" gene; even entirely white White Spotted cats sill have their Tabby (or whatever) genes "hidden" by the white.

And that's as much as I know. Those genes will pretty much create any paint job you could ask for in a cat. There are also a few non-genetic feline phenotypes, but I won't get into that!