There are some myths and curiosities about the three-color cat that will interest all animal lovers. So let's dive into this subject?

First, there are kittens of different colors and they are all very cute. But it is from the mixture of different coats that tabby cats of different colors emerge. Like, for example, the tricolor and the escaminha.

If you are a cat lover, you must know what the three-color cat is. But, it's always good to remember. The colors present in a tricolor kitty are: white, black and orange.

Also, do you know what is one of the most famous myths about a cat with three colors? That this animal is always female! But, is this a fact or just a legend? Let's find out more about this fact!

Well, there are many forms that a tricolor cat's coat can take. Like, for example, brindle, piebald and mosaic. Calm down, we'll already know the differences.

But, before moving on, it's important to say that tricolor cats can appear in several species! This is not a trait reserved for just one group of cats.

So, you can have Persian, Angora and even mongrel cats with a tricolor coat. But how can this coat be?

Cats of this style have the tricolor coat spotted in a very similar way all over the body. By the way, this is a very rare type of cat with three colors!

This type of kitten is also known as Calico. Thus, he has the white color spread mostly in the region of the abdomen, paws and chin. And the rest is mottled between black and orange.

Kittens that have tortoiseshell coat are mostly black. Thus, there is little presence of white tones in the fur. In addition, the pattern is more asymmetric and diverse.

Well, let's talk about why the tricolor cat has its three colors spread across its beautiful coat. So, as we highlighted above, colors can mix in different ways, creating patterns and different types of tricolor cats.

But what happens is that kittens have a protein you may have heard of, melanin. By the way, humans also have melanin in their bodies.

Well, this substance is responsible for coloring the coat of our furry friends. Furthermore, in the case of cats, melanin can be of two types, light and dark.

For example, dark will give rise to black and brown tones, while light will give rise to reddish tones.

In addition, the different mixtures of these two types of melanin originate intermediate tones such as gray and gold.

By the way, you must be wondering: but what about the white color? Don't worry, we'll understand where the third color of the tricolor coat comes from.

Well, the white hue of a cat's coat comes from elsewhere. This coloring can have three origins, but they are all genetic.

It can come from albinism, the white color gene or a specific white spot gene! Thus, in tricolor cats, the reason for the partially white coat is genetic!

But the biggest doubt of all people and one of the biggest myths about cats with three colors is: are they all female? Let's answer this question right now and explain where this theory comes from!

The answer to that question is: no! But, on the other hand, we can say that about 99% of tricolor cats are female. So, if you've already crossed a kitten with this characteristic, the chance that it was a female is very high.

But, why do most people immediately think that a tricolor cat is female and why in most cases is this observation correct?

First, it is important to point out that coat color comes from genetic causes. But rest assured that we will detail the whole scenario.

If you don't remember from your high school biology class, the sex chromosomes are split between X and Y.

Thus, when we have a cat with the XX chromosome pair, it is female. On the other hand, in the case of an XY feline, he is male!

Thus, during reproduction, the female always sends one of the two X chromosomes she has to her offspring. And, in turn, the male sends his X or Y chromosome, defining the sex of the offspring.

Now that we remember these points, let's understand how this relates to the tricolor cat?

As we said, both the light and dark melanin proteins that define the colors orange and black are contained within the X chromosome. By the way, orange is called XO and black Xo.

So, for a cat to be tricolored, it needs to gain two X chromosomes with different colors. And, cats that have two X chromosomes are female!

In addition, white, represented by the letter W, appears genetically separately from the X and Y chromosomes. Thus, the beautiful three-color coat appears on cats!

But, on the other hand, now you must be wondering, what about 1% that is not female, how is this possible if this is a genetic issue?

So, three-color male cats are, of course, much rarer. They only arise through a genetic anomaly.

That is, for male cats to be tricolor, in addition to the Y chromosome, they need to have two X chromosomes, one from each coat. In that sense, this is called Klinefelter Syndrome!

But rest assured there's nothing wrong with these kittens. They are just as beautiful, cute, lovable and special as the rest.

And then? Did you like to know more about the myths about the three-color cat? This is a very common doubt, isn't it?

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