Sires Across:Kittens possible in coloured squares. |
Black |
Black carrying Dilute |
Blue (Dilute) |
Red |
Red carrying Dilute |
Cream (Dilute) |
Dams Below:Black |
Black
|
Black
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Black
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Black Males
Tortie Females
|
Black Males
Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Black Males
Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Black carrying Dilute |
Black
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Black Blue
(50% of all non blue offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Black Blue
(all non Blue offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Black Males
Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Black Males Blue Males
Tortie Females Blue Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute 25% can be Dilute)
|
Black Males Blue Males
Tortie Females Blue Tortie Females
(all non Dilute offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Blue (Dilute) |
Black
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Black Blue
(all non Dilute offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Blue
|
Black Males
Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Black Males Blue Males
Tortie Females Blue Tortie Females
(all non Dilute offspring will carry Dilute) |
Blue Males
Blue Tortie Females
|
Sires Across:Kittens possible in coloured squares. |
Black |
Black carrying Dilute |
Blue (Dilute) |
Red |
Red carrying Dilute |
Cream (Dilute) |
Dams Below:Red |
Red Males
Tortie Females
|
Red Males
Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Red Males
Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Red Males
Red Females
|
Red Males
Red Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Red Males
Red Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Cream (Dilute) |
Red Males
Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Cream Males
Tortie Females Blue Tortie Females
(all non Dilute offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Cream Males
Blue Tortie Females
|
Red Males
Red Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Red Male Cream Males
Red Females Cream Females
(all non Dilute offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Cream Males
Cream Females
|
Sires Across:Kittens possible in coloured squares. |
Black |
Black carrying Dilute |
Blue (Dilute) |
Red |
Red carrying Dilute |
Cream (Dilute) |
Dams Below:Black Tortie |
Red Males Black Males
Black Females Tortie Females
|
Red Males Black Males
Black Females Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Black Males
Black Females Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Black Males
Black Females Red Females Tortie Females
|
Red Males Black Males
Black Females Red Females Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Black Males
Black Females Red Females Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Black Tortie carrying dilute |
Red Males Black Males
Black Females Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Cream Males Black Males Blue Males
Black Females Blue Females Tortie Females Blue Tortie Females
(50% of all non Dilute offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Cream Males Black Males Blue Males
Black Females Blue Females Tortie Females Blue Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Black Males
Red Females Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Cream Males Black Males Blue Males
Red Females Cream Females Tortie Female Blue Tortie Females
(50% of all offspring can carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Cream Males Black Males Blue Males
Red Females Cream Females Tortie Female Blue Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Blue Tortie (Dilute) |
Red Males Black Males
Black Females Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Cream Males Black Males Blue Males
Black Females Blue Females Tortie Female Blue Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Cream Males Blue Males
Blue Females Blue Tortie Females
|
Red Males Black Males
Red Females Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Red Males Cream Males Black Males Blue Males
Red Females Cream Females Tortie Female Blue Tortie Females
(all offspring will carry Dilute)
|
Cream Males Blue Males
Cream Females Blue Tortie Females
|
Named after the studies of Gregor Mendel, simple inheritance relates to a trait governed by a single gene.
In cats, the inheritance of black and blue is an example. Genes on the autosomes (the chromosomes other than the X and Y sex chromosomes) are inherited in pairs, one copy from each parent.
If a cat inherits 2 blue genes, it will be blue. If it inherits 2 black genes it will be black. If it inherits 1 black gene and 1 blue gene it will be black but can pass on the blue gene to its offspring.
The black gene is dominant - this gene will always be expressed (show up in the phenotype i.e. outward appearance) even if only 1 copy is present. The blue gene is recessive and will only be expressed if 2 copies are present.
A dominant gene is always expressed even if only one copy is inherited. A recessive gene is only expressed if two copies are inherited.
An animal where both copies of the gene are the same is homozygous for that trait. An animal where the copies are different is heterozygous for that trait.
The blue gene is recessive. It is only expressed if the cat didn't inherit a black gene. Blue cats are homozygous for the blue colour. Its genotype (genetic make-up) is the same as its phenotype unlike a black cat whose genotype can be either heterozygous or homozygous.
By convention, a dominant gene is shown in uppercase and a recessive gene is shown as the same letter, but in lowercase.
| You will see from the table below that mating a blue (solid or tabby) cat to a black not carrying dilute (tabby or solid) all the resulting kittens will be black (tabby or solid) and whilst none will be blue they will ALL carry blue (dilute) This is the same for Cream as it is the dilute of Red as Blue is simply the dilute of Black. | ||
Black Homozygous Cat (BB) |
||
B |
B
|
|
Blue Homozygous Cat (bb) |
||
b |
Bb |
Bb |
b |
Bb |
Bb |
| You will see in the table below that mating 2 cats carrying dilute will result in 25% Black, 50% Black carrying Blue and 25% Blue kittens. | ||
Black Heterozygous Cat (Bb) |
||
B |
b |
|
Black Heterozygous Cat (Bb) |
||
B |
BB |
Bb |
b |
Bb |
bb |
Tabby Patterns also have a dominant and recessive - Mackerel is Dominant and needs only one copy to express in the coat - Classic needs two to express in the coat. All cats carry two tabby patterns - so a Mackerel cat can carry Classic pattern but not the other way around.
Solid works like the dilute gene - you need two copies to be solid but you can have a tabby cat who carries solid.
Silver - the Inhibitor gene is again Dominant and needs a cat to have at least one copy for it to be a silver (or smoke in a solid cat) - because of this a cat cannot carry silver it must be silver to have silver offspring. A cat can however have two copies of the silver gene if both it's parents were silver there is a 25% chance that the cat is Homozygous (carries two copies) and will therefore only have silver offspring no matter what mating is done.
Red is another dominant colour as it influences the non-agouti gene. Non-agouti (solid colour) cats that also have the orange gene will turn out to look tabby. Even the solid red (red self) cat will display tabby markings, even though breeders are working to decrease the contrast between background and marking colours.
| You will see below that a table showing the mating of a tortie female to a red male and how to work out the results. | ||
Genes from Tortie Female |
||
O (Red) |
o (Black) |
|
Genes from Red Male |
||
O (red) X Chromosome |
OO (Red Female) |
Oo (Tortie Female) |
No Gene (Y Chromosome) |
O- (Red Male) |
o- (Black Male) |
| Here you see a table with the mating of a tortie female to a black male. | ||
Genes from Tortie Female |
||
Genes from Black Male |
O (Red) |
o (Black) |
o (black) (X Chromosome) |
Oo (Tortie Female) |
oo (Black Female) |
No Gene (Y Chromosome) |
O- (Red Male) |
o- (Black Male) |