Fixing the genetics of Gray Wing’s family tree by Ravenpaw

Raven fixes the genetics of Gray Wing’s family tree.

Hello there, it’s Raven! (why can’t I introduce myself formally?) Since I am bored and probably still remember a sliver of genetics, I have decided to fix the genetics of Gray Wing’s family tree, because frankly, I don’t think I saw too many articles about the genetics of DoTC, and because Gray Wing’s tree is less chaotic than Firestar’s.

So, before we get into the fun stuff, I’ll explain a few things about genetics to fresh up my memory and so you don’t get confused either.
First up, dominant and recessive genes. Dominant genes, such as black, usually dominate over the recessive genes, pushing the recessive genes away. However, if two cats carry two copies of the recessive gene, or both cats physically show that recessive gene, or one cat shows that recessive gene while the other carries it, then the cat can physically display that recessive gene.
Next, fur length. Short (LL or Ll) is dominant, while long (ll) is recessive.
Next, the genes for coat color. In genetics, the base coats are black, chocolate (brown), and cinnamon (light reddish brown). Black is dominant over chocolate and cinnamon, and chocolate is dominant over cinnamon. The genes for Black are BB, Bb, or Bb1, the genes for Chocolate are bb or bb1, and the genes for cinnamon are b1b1.
To create blue (gray), lilac (light grayish-brown), or fawn (cream, but slightly more brownish and saturated), we have the dilute gene (dd). Blue is a dilution of black, lilac is a dilution of chocolate, and fawn is a dilution of cinnamon. We will talk about cream fur a little later. The dilute gene is recessive. There are also dilute modifiers, like caramel, but lets not talk about that for now.
For tabbies, there are two genes, agouti (tabby) and non-agouti (solid). Agouti also branches into three other genes, mackerel (mcmc) spotted (spsp) and ticked (tata). However, before we delve into the inner workings of these genes, I’ll explain how they look like. Mackerel tabbies have that classic tiger-like stripe pattern and the distinctive “M” on the forehead. Classic tabbies have thick swirls on their pelts. Spotted tabbies also have stripes, however they are broken up into little spots. Take Spotfur for example. Ticked tabbies for some reason aren’t too common in the books, but they appear mostly solid with very faint bands. Mackerel (McMc) is dominant, while classic (mcmc) is recessive. Spotted is semi-recessive, as SpSp is the only gene to create a spotted tabby, however Spsp will not create a normal tabby, rather a broken tabby. A broken tabby is similar to spotted tabby, but the spots are longer and more stripe-like, but it’s still not full like the normal tabby. Ticked (TaTa and Tata) is dominant.
Now, for the reds (ginger) and creams. So lets talk about chromosomes. Like XX, XY, or XXY. The XX chromosomes signify a she-cat, XY a tom, and XXY Klinefelter’s syndrome. The X chromosomes carry the gene on whether you’re red (XO) or not (Xo). Tortoiseshell cats are a combination of ginger and black, so that means toms cannot have this coat unless they have Klinefelter’s syndrome or is trans. The red gene itself is dominant, however toms only inherit their red genes from their mother while she-cats inherits the red genes from both parents. Cream is a dilution of red.
Lets talk about white cats for a moment. There is no white (ww), 50-100% white (WsWs), and dominant white (WdWd). The Wd gene is dominant, while the Ws gene is semi-dominant, with Wsw being equivalent to 0-50% white.
Now, how about silver and golden cats? That is covered as well. Silver (ii) is a dominant gene and can overcoat another coat. For example, silver and black or silver and chocolate. Golden tabbies are created when someone inherbits both the silver and wide band gene (wbwb). Wide band is dominant.
And finally, colorpoint, to deal with cats like Sasha who will not even be included in this article. Colorpoint (cc) is recessive, and they look like siamese cats.
For simplicity’s sake, I will not be smuggling any unnoticeable white spots or hidden tortoiseshell patches to make these cats work.

Now lets get into the fun stuff.
First up, Gray Wing himself. Gray Wing’s only confirmed parent is Quiet Rain, and his siblings are Clear Sky, Jagged Peak, and Fluttering Bird.
Quiet Rain is a speckled gray she-cat with an unknown fur length. Gray Wing is a dark gray tom with an unknown fur length, Clear Sky is a pale gray tom with most likely long fur, Jagged Peak is a gray unknown tabby type tom with most likely long fur, and Fluttering Bird is a brown she-cat with an unknown fur length. Gray Wing’s father is unknown. “Speckled” doesn’t really have a gene, so lets say Quiet Rain is a spotted tabby for simplicity’s sake.
Since 3/4 of her kits are gray, Quiet Rain’s mate must be dilute or carry a dilute gene. And since Fluttering Bird is non-dilute chocolate, then Gray Wing’s father only carries the dilute gene. In order for Fluttering Bird to be brown, Quiet Rain and her mate must carry the chocolate gene. And since Clear Sky and Jagged Peak most likely have long fur, both Quiet Rain and her mate must carry this gene as well. Jagged Peak’s tabby type is unknown, and all tabbies born must be broken mackerels, Jagged Peak is a broken mackerel tabby.

Clear Sky then has kits with Storm, a silver-gray unknown tabby type she-cat with an unknown fur length. Their surviving and relevant kit is Thunder, a ginger tom with white paws and an unknown fur length.
Since Storm’s undercoat is gray, Thunder cannot be ginger. And none his parents have white on them, Thunder cannot have white paws either. So since Thunder’s coloring is impossible anyway, I’ll just go with genetics and make him a silver-gray unknown tabby type with an unknown fur length.

Now, Turtle Tail’s and Tom’s kits. Wait, neither Turtle Tail or is directly related to Gray Wing. Well, I don’t care. Turtle Tail’s kits are more of Gray Wing’s than Tom’s. Change my mind. Gray Wing’s and Turtle Tail’s kits are Sparrow Fur, Pebble Heart, and Owl Eyes.
Turtle Tail is a calico she-cat with a bobtail, while Tom is a copper-colored tom with an extremely thick and floofy pelt. Sparrow Fur is a tortoiseshell with white paws and belly, Owl Eyes is a dark gray tom, and Pebble Heart is a dark gray tabby with a white chest. “Copper-colored” could mean either dark ginger or dark cinnamon. Who knows.
Now, lets get off of kits for a while to talk about the bobtail gene. According to the cat coat calculator, the bobtail (jbjb) gene is recessive, and since none of her kits have bobtails, it’s safe to say she’s the only one with this gene.
Since Turtle Tail is a calico (WsWs) and Tom has no white (ww), then all of their kits will have to have 0-50% white (Wsw). So that means Sparrow Fur and Pebble Heart can have their white markings, but Owl Eyes cannot be just gray. Turtle Tail is a calico, but her other coat color is unknown. Since Owl Eyes and Pebble Heart are both gray, then Turtle Tail’s other color must be black. Even though Turtle Tail is a calico, there is still a chance that Owl Eyes and Pebble Heart can keep their gray coats. If Tom is ginger or cinnamon, either way works as cinnamon is recessive, toms don’t inherit their father’s coats, and Sparrow Fur could still be a tortoiseshell either way. In order for Owl Eyes and Pebble Heart to be both gray, Turtle Tail and Tom must both carry the gene. Turtle Tail and Tom are both solid (from what I know), so Pebble Heart cannot be a tabby.

Jagged Peak has kits with Holly, and their kits are Storm Pelt, Dew Nose, and Eagle Feather.
Holly is a black she-cat, Storm Pelt is a mottled gray tom, Dew Nose is a brown tabby she-cat with a white nose and tail tip and black splotches, and Eagle Feather is a brown tom with a striped tail. “Mottled” is basically the same thing as spotted tabby, and brown striped tail could signify ticked tabby.
Ah yes, tabby issues. Since Jagged Peak is broken mackerel and Holly is solid, Storm Pelt cannot be spotted. According to my brain, all cats should just be mackerel tabby, but according to the cat coat calculator, kits have a 25% chance of being a broken mackerel tabby, so I’m just going to take the calculator’s word and make him a broken mackerel tabby. If Holly carries dilute, then he can be gray as well. Dew Nose’s appearance itself is already unrealistic, because unless she is a chimera, she cannot have brown and black on the same coat. And for simplicity’s sake, we’re not making her a chimera. Dew Nose also has white, which none of her parents have, so she just has to remain a brown tabby. Jagged Peak already carries brown, as Fluttering Bird is brown, and Holly could carry it as well. So that means Dew Nose can be brown. She can also be a mackerel or broken mackerel tabby as her tabby type is not confirmed. None of his parents are ticked tabbies, so Eagle Feather cannot be one either. However, like Dew Nose, he could be brown.

Next, Gray Wing finds a mate, Slate, and their kits are Black Ear, White Tail, and Silver Stripe.
Slate is a dark gray she-cat, Black Ear is a black and white tom with an unknown amount of white, White Tail is a dark gray tom with white patches, and Silver Stripe is a pale gray tabby.
We already have some problems. Neither Gray Wing or Slate have white, and both of them are gray. So that means Black Ear and White Tail cannot have white on them, and Black Ear cannot be black, but maybe he can be a dark gray. Both Gray Wing and Slate are solid, so Silver Stripe cannot be a tabby either.

Clear Sky then becomes his son’s ex’s new mate, Star Flower, and they have three kits, Tiny Branch, Dew Petal, and Flower Foot. Star Flower’s only confirmed parent is One Eye.
One Eye is a mottled pale ginger tom, Star Flower is a golden tabby with white paws, Tiny Branch is a tan and silver tom, Dew Petal is a silver and white she-cat, and Flower Foot is a she-cat with tan stripes. I guess “tan” could be cinnamon, but it could also mean lilac. Lilac is a higher possibility as cats can’t carry both the cinnamon and chocolate gene at the same time. “Pale ginger” could mean cream.
If Star Flower’s mother is golden, then Star Flower could be golden as well. Since Star Flower’s tabby type is not confirmed, she can be a broken mackerel tabby. One Eye is cream, so Star Flower could have a ginger, tortoiseshell, cream, or dilute tortoiseshell undercoat. Star Flower also carries the non-wide band and non-silver gene from One Eye.
Tiny Branch cannot be silver and lilac at the same time, but he can be just silver with a lilac undercoat, as Star Flower carries non-wide band. Dew Petal’s white is unspecified, so she can be silver and white, as long as the white remains under 50%. Since Clear Sky carries brown and is dilute, if Star Flower carries brown and dilute or has them in her undercoat, then Flower Foot can be a lilac tabby. Case solved.

Finally, Thunder has kits with Violet Dawn and has Lightning Stripe, Shell Claw, Sleek Fur, and Feather Ear.
Violet Dawn is a dark gray she-cat with black fur on her paws, Lightning Stripe is a ginger tabby she-cat with a lightning-like stripe on her belly, Sleek Fur is a gray tom, and Feather Ear and Shell Claw have unknown appearances, so we’ll ignore them. Cats cannot be dilute and non-dilute at the same time, but Violet Dawn could be a colorpoint. However, that does not matter as none of her kits are colorpoint.
Since Thunder cannot be ginger, Lightning Stripe cannot either. No one has white, so Lightning Stripe can’t have her distinctive stripe either. So she will just have to remain a plain silver-gray tabby. Sleek Fur is a gray tom, Thunder carries non-silver, and Violet Dawn is not silver either, so Sleek Fur can be just gray.

So, in conclusion, most of the cats get to keep their appearances, but some have to get their descriptions changed.
However, genetics in the Warriors universe is just as realistic as their religion, group, and mating systems, so I’m just being bored.