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There is one gray kitten born this spring that is definitely female. Little white feet, otherwise solid gray. There is another gray kitten but I haven't gotten the chance to check out it's gender. Seems like most of the kittens born this year from the strays have been female. I agree with you about the orange cats...I owned one years ago who was male, and I have a very loving stray that is a long haired orange male. I love him to pieces. I would adopt him and bring him indoors but he would be terrified of my dobie. He usually comes around every few days and insists on being held. One of the friendliest strays I have ever had. I try to socialize them all, but the males are much more trusting than the females.
 
From what I understand, a female cat has to get the orange gene from both parents to express it, so only about 30% of domestic cats are born as orange females. I know of one in my area whose owners let her run around in the park without a collar or ID. Sweetest little darling. Short explanation of genetics here: http://www.messybeast.com/quickfacts.htm#ginger

I've lived with 2 female black cats (Ginny and Minerva), and fostered/rescued several more. It doesn't seem to be as defined as the orange thing.
 
3CsMommy said:
From what I understand, a female cat has to get the orange gene from both parents to express it, so only about 30% of domestic cats are born as orange females.
I've lived with 2 female black cats (Ginny and Minerva), and fostered/rescued several more. It doesn't seem to be as defined as the orange thing.
Click to expand...
That is really interesting!
And no, I don't think that it is as defined as the orange trait. All three of my orange kittens that I have right now are males. The 4 black kittens that we took in at the clinic - 3 were boys, 1 was a girl.
That link is awesome!!!! Thanks!!!

As far as Calico's go...for a quick explanation without reading the link
Color coat in cats is all sex linked.
Genetic coding for displaying black or orange is found on the X chromosome.
Since females have two X chromosomes, they are able to show two colors (orange and black...or variations of color) and white...which is where the 3 color calico comes from.
Males only have one X chromosomes so they can only be orange OR black, but not both. In RARE occasions a male can turn out to be a Calico if he ends up with two X chromosomes and one Y (XXY)...they are almost always sterile.
 
Sunday night weights

Pip: Last weight was 27.5oz on Friday - tonight he is @ 29oz

Waffle: Last weight was 16oz on Friday - tonight he is @16oz

Walrus: Last weight was 15oz on Friday - tonight he is @ 15oz

Waverly: Weighed 12.5oz on Friday - tonight she is back @ 14oz

Webster: Last weight was 15oz on Friday - tonight he is still @ 15.75oz

Whistle: Last weight was 19oz on Friday - tonight he is still @ 20oz

Wysteria: Last weight was 13oz on Friday - tonight she is @ 15.5oz
 
You have a very pretty buff tabby kitten (the light almost cream colored one)! I love buffs... that's what my Kahlua is (named for her color, of course ;))

My husband and I are currently rehoming the two litters we got from two strays who showed up VERY pregnant on our doorstep. We have one long-haired little girl, and I've noticed that she isn't very active most of the time. She eats plenty, and she plays occasionally, but most of the time she just naps on random objects. I think it is a long-haired thing - I would get tired lugging all of that fur around, too!

Best of luck with your little guys!!! :)
 
I know it, he's sooo cute!!! But he has a permanent food beard that I can't get rid of no matter how many times I clean him. HAHA

I think it must be a long haired thing...its funny, I never thought about hair or colors or any of this stuff until recently and now I'm noticing more and more. Kinda neat!

Good luck with your kittens too!!
 
Needing some opinions

Kittens have been here for a week and a few days now.
Their litter box skills have gone from a few accidents a day to no accidents a day...I attribute that to the litter attract that I added to their litter.
One kitten is 6 1/2 weeks, the other are all 5 1/2 weeks.
I've been keeping them in a play pen that is set up to measure around 3 feet wide by 6 feet long. I'm now wondering if I should take the pen down and give them free roam of the bedroom...I've been debating when I want to do this because they are getting bigger and bigger and I feel like they are going to need more space to run about.
So basically, I'm wondering what everyone else thinks...should I take the pen down or should I wait until the end of the week?? :hmm:
 
I suppose that depends on you...I think I would keep increasing their space a bit at a time so they remember where the cat box is and don't get too far away, hence having an accident. Maybe add another catbox for a larger area? I've brought in kittens at 6 weeks of age and let them loose in the house. I just made sure I led them to the catbox often until I was sure they would remember where it was and that they were expected to use it. Lots of praise when they did use it.
 
Well, I let them have the bedroom...they wont get anymore than that, but so far so good. Right now everyone is up on the bed cuddling for night time. Which is what I am about to do. Fingers crossed that they do well...so far everyone has been going to the box.
 
I'll borrow the camera from the shelter again soon, so I'll be sure to get some of these =) They love all of this freedom to run really fast...over our faces...in the night...:laughitup:
 
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Most, but certainly not all, orange tabby cats are male. It’s about 80/20 male to female. We have many female orange tabbies in my practice. There is no monetary value, per se, associated with a female orange tabby cat. Calico and tortoiseshell cats, however, are almost always female.

Here’s how it works. To have black and orange in the same cat, you need two X chromosomes. Two X chromosomes mean the cat will be female. Male cats need a Y chromosome and are XY.

Occasionally a mutation will arise during embryonic development and a kitten will be born with an extra chromosome: XXY. The two Xs allow for it to be black and orange. The Y makes it a male. This is how you get a tortoiseshell or a calico male cat. They’re uncommon (one out of 3000 are male), but don’t get your hopes up about breeding them for money. As a result of this mutation, most of them are sterile.
 
In your practice? What do you do?

I don't think anyone was mentioning breeding them, but if anyone else was reading this thread and thought about it...yeah, listen to Mander...its not easy to do because of sterility.
 
My neighbors have the most beautiful long haired male ever. It's really hard to explain. What he looks like but I've never seen another cat that looked like him. His belly is white and the top of his head/back are like grey with a little brown.
 
New Weights

Growing Growing Growing! I'll be getting pictures again after the weekend.

Pip: Last weight was 29oz on Sunday - tonight he is @ 34oz (translation...a little over 2 pounds!!)
I'm so proud of Pip, he's completely come out of his shell and can have the dogs walk all around him now without him getting hissy or scared. He's such a snuggler now too, something he didn't care to be when he first came here.

Waffle: Last weight was 16oz on Sunday - tonight he is @21oz (translation...3oz shy of a pound and a half)
Waffle is a hider...I can't ever seem to find him and when I do its in very odd places...like shoved behind a book on the book shelf...behind our pillows on the bed....those are the only two spots I've been able to find him in...the rest are still a mystery.

Walrus: Last weight was 15oz on Sunday - tonight he is @ 19oz (translation...just over a pound)
Walrus is pushy. If the other cats are eating and he wants what they have (its all the same!) he wont hesitate to use his body and shove them...and by shove, I mean shove them out and he will LAY in the food dish!! He's had a few baths...:laughitup:

Webster: Last weight was 15.75oz on Sunday - tonight he is @ 18oz (translation...just over a pound)
Webster is SUCH a baby, but I'm SO happy to report that he is eating hard food now!! I purposely didn't feed them breakfast so that they would have to start munching on their hard food and it worked. Don't worry, they got a big lunch ;) I just needed them to start learning that they don't always get mushy food. HUNGER PREVAILED! He's my little sweetie though. He loves to lay next to me whenever he can and he follows me all over. I'm a huge pushover at night time though...and I know I've got to stop this...but he cries and cries at me for a "bubba"...he loves to suckle and I feel awful not giving him one at night. If I don't...he does this :tantrum:

Whistle: Last weight was 20oz on Sunday - tonight he is @ 23oz (translation...he'll be a pound and a half any day now!)
Whistle hasn't shown me a whole lot yet. He's a sweet boy, but I haven't seen any super unique traits come out just yet.

My girls are really slow gainers...
Wysteria: Last weight was 15.5oz on Sunday - tonight she is still @ 15.5oz
Wysteria is so goofy...she loves to flop over on her back and have her belly rubbed...she's the biggest "rag doll" of a cat I've ever seen. She's also very bossy though...if you aren't giving her the attention she SO deserves she will crawl right up to your face, meow, and try to suck on your nose or lip. She MUST be noticed. She's a snuggler too...she likes to lay on your shoulder or your head (if you're laying down of course).

Waverly: Weighed 14oz on Friday - tonight she is @ 14.25oz
Waverly is pretty lazy too, but she's very curious. She likes to paw at you (or the dogs) just so that you'll look at her and she can look at you. She's very pretty and also very quick to fall asleep.:asleep:
 
PIP - 7 1/2 weeks

I'll have to do this kitten by kitten...the names are in the title so you can see who it is and how old they are now. They sure have changed!!

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