Cat Genetics in Warriors Explained, by Kindheart

Kindheart returns with an article on cat genetics in Warriors! Pull up a chair and read on, folks!

Hello, BlogClan! So, I was looking over some articles of other people when I realized that many of them had a few flaws or people said that genetics didn’t make sense and I thought “hmm why I don’t I try to tackle it!”, so…

Here. We. Go.

P.S. this will get confusing fast so read it carefully and if you don’t understand re-read until you understand or look it up! Or ask me in the comments below…

First off, let’s get some basic terminology out of the way: color refers to colors ONLY (Blue, cream, black, white etc.) when Pattern is used it refers to pattern ONLY (Tabby, shaded, smoke, etc.) when both are affected it will be color/pattern.

Male and Female Kittens

Male kittens will obtain both color genes from their mother. So, male kittens will always be their mother’s color (or base color for tri-colors and bi-colors) or the dilute form of their mothers color.

Female females take one color gene from EACH parents.The color of a female kitten will always be a combo of the mother and father or the dilute form of these colors.

Red and Cream in Females

So, it is actually pretty rare for some breeds to get red or cream kittens the reason? To obtain any of the red or cream color/patterns in female kittens, the father must be one of the red or cream color/patterns PLUS the mother must in some form demonstrate red or cream whether it be stripes, patches or even a paw.

Another thing that seems to confuse people is whether certain colors and patterns can be passed down from grandfather to grandson/daughter. Well, the answer is no, that is not possible. Only parents can pass down their genes so if a cat is black the parents themselves must be black. (The only exception to this rule is colourpoint gene!)

A kittens pattern can be inherited from either parents not just one.

A dominant characteristic (all dominant colors and patterns such as shaded, smoke, white, tabby, bi-color, etc.) cannot skip generations. The characteristic cannot be transmitted from one generation to the next without showing that characteristic in each generation.

A cat displaying a dominant color (black, red, torte, etc.) must have a parent which displays a dominant color, for example, Snowfur’s dominant color was white her son Whitestorm’s dominant color was also white.

Two recessive color parents (cream, blue, etc.) cannot produce an offspring of a dominant color (black, red, etc.).

Two color pointed parents cannot produce a non-color pointed offspring.

To get a color pointed kitten, both parents must be carrying the color pointed gene (even if they do not appear color pointed themselves). so lets say one cats parents had a colourpoint pattern. the cat then mated with a colourpoint and the kits can be colourpoint.

The mating of a color pointed cat and a cat with no color pointed background will produce NO color pointed offspring.

A (non-silver) tabby must have at least one parent that is either a shaded or a tabby. A silver tabby must have at least one silver tabby, shaded or smoke parent e.g Willowbreeze gave birth to silverstream both were silver tabby so it works.

All red cats will have some tabby markings. Whether or not a red can produce as a tabby will depend on whether it is a true tabby with a tabby or shaded parent or whether it is a red with ghost tabby markings and neither a tabby nor a shaded parent. A red tabby that is not a true tabby cannot produce a tabby offspring of any other color without being bred to a true tabby or a shaded.

A cat with a white undercoat (smoke or shaded) must have a parent that has a white undercoat

A shaded cat must have at least one parent that is a shaded

A shaded parent can produce a smoke offspring, but a non-shaded (smoke) parent cannot produce a shaded offspring unless bred to a shaded

A bi-color must have a bi-color parent

The list goes on and on and on, but I think you get the point. So, just apply these rules to a cat in Warriors and if it fits the rules then the genetics make sense if it doesn’t then… blame the Erins… But, to be fair, I think Warriors is more about the fun and adventure then the worry of genetics.

Also, you have to remember these cats aren’t pure-breed or pedigree they are wild and all cats whether they be pedigree or not have another little tiny detail. Mutant genes: a mutant gene is a gene that none of the parents carries the kitten has a tiny really, really tiny percent chance of getting this gene if it does then the kitten is most likely to gain a completely different color/pattern from their parents.

That is all for today! I hope I helped you understand this better!

Today’s shout-out goes to Jayie because of her amazing – and I mean amazing – work on the allegiances! She works hard and deserves it!

Until the next article!

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