Shiverpaw brings real genetics to Gray Wing’s family.
Meoooooooow! Snowy here! Today I’m going to discuss the family of the well loved POV—Gray Wing! (And I’m taking a break from the WoF series)It’s going to be about genetics, so please tell me if I’m wrong! Deal? Alright, let’s start!
Cat pelts have two main colors: red and black. Cream, brown, ginger, orange, and dusty red are all shades of red, whereas lilac, gray, silver, smoke, and black all belong to black. Torties and calicoes have both. White is a masking color, because it hides—that is, masks—the other colors. I think the rarest of all eye colors in Warriors are orange and copper, but maybe there aren’t any orange/copper eyes. I mean in real life, because obviously there aren’t cats with differently colored eyes in Warriors(what is the term for that?). Blue eyes and white fur mean a high risk of being deaf, so we can agree dear Cloudtail is very lucky(Snowkit, in TPB, on the other paw, was not). Blue is an overused eye color! It shouldn’t be that common, and since blue eyes darken as the cat gets older, ice-blue shouldn’t be in the list.
She-cats inherit their pelt colors from both parents, whilst toms only inherit it from their mother. Eye color isn’t exactly genetics-related, but it can play a part. Partially white cats receive a gene that causes “white spotting”to happen. If the mother is pure black, the son cannot be ginger with white patches. If the father and mother are both ginger tabbies, the daughter can be a tabby with any variation of red, but no white. I think you all know but I’m going to add a fact here. Torties and calicoes are both more common in she cats because they have two chromosomes but toms only have one. Also, there are no torties in Warriors! A tortoiseshell is bicolored, with ginger and black. A calico is tricolored, with white, ginger, and black. Both may have tabby markings.
This family tree starts with Quiet Rain, who is a pale gray she-cat with dark gray flecks and blue eyes(she looks like Ashfur lol). What I really think is wrong is her blue eyes. Blue is actually a rare eye color(rarity equals 6 out of 10) , and she doesn’t have a specific breed, but we know she’s not a seal lynx point snow bengal, Siamese cat, Balinese cat, or ragdoll cat. So it’s maybe impossible-ish, but I can’t just change it. It is possible, but she has to have no melanin in her eyes, and I think her eyes are ice-blue, so it’s not real but Warriors is fiction so I’m leaving it that way. I don’t know about her parents, so no changing. We don’t know who her mate was, as he was never even directly mentioned. Oh wait I think I forgot to say that she is probably a spotted tabby?
Clear Sky is completely possible. He gets his pale gray pelt from his mother, and his blue eyes. Toms inherit their pelt color from their mother, and he can also have no melanin in his eyes if his mother doesn’t, because they’re related. So no doubts that he is right.
Gray Wing gets his dark gray pelt from Quiet Rain, and since gold is a fairly common eye color, being a shade of yellow, it’s completely possible, but it may have to do with his dad, because of his mother’s eyes are ice-blue, not amber or yellow or hazel. Even if his dad isn’t amber-eyed, he is still possible.
Jagged Peak can’t be a classic tabby, ticked tabby, or spotted tabby, because he has normal stripes, clear markings, and no swirls. So that leaves mackerel tabby, which fits him. He could be impossible or possible, depending on the father. His eye and pelt colors are possible, but the pattern isn’t clear. Quiet Rain isn’t a mackerel tabby.
Fluttering Bird is impossible if the father is any color other than cream, red, ginger, or brown. She is brown with yellow eyes, which is possible because, guess what, Gray Wing! She should be more like her brothers, but since she inherits her traits from both parents, she could be possible.
I think now we can safely say that if all of these cats are possible, Gray Wing’s father is a brown/ginger/cream/lightish red mackerel tabby with amber/hazel/copper eyes. Quiet Rain never took another mate, so he must be very close to her.
Now onto the kits! Thunder is IMPOSSIBLE. He can’t have white OR ginger, since Storm is a variation of black and he is a variation of red. Also his amber eyes are kind of impossible, since both green and blue eyes are results of low-level melanin. What he should be is a shade of pure gray/blue or a gray tabby, with low-melanin eyes.
Tiny Branch is tan and silver, but Star Flower is golden, or red. So he can’t have silver, which leaves him as a pure tan tom. We don’t know about his eyes, but it doesn’t matter to me since any color is possible for him—because Star Flower has been described with both amber and green eyes.
Dew Petal is silver and white, which is possible because the white is most likely masking silver, and Clear Sky is pale gray. I don’t care the least about her eyes, because it simply doesn’t matter. As I said before, Star Flower has been described with both amber and green eyes, so her eye color is possible. DEFINITELY.
Flower Foot is described as a she-cat with tan stripes, which is completely possible. It’s most likely that she’s a mackerel tabby, like her mother, but in a duller shade that’s closer to brown than gold. Simple! Flower Foot and Dew Petal are both possible yay. So again, her whole body is possible, from eyes to tail tip!(for the third time)
I don’t care about Lighting Stripe and *covers her ears* LALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOU I WILL IGNORE THE SHELL SOMETHING(ear?). Well, sorry, but I BARELY KNOW WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. *dodges tomatoes thrown by furious kittypets and warriors*
Silver Stripe is a pale gray tabby with blue eyes. Gray Wing has the gene for tabby(is that how it works?) so she is possible, and her blue eyes are also possible because I think about one quarter of the cats have blue eyes in Warriors, also you probably already know about the pale gray part.
White Tail is a white tom with gray patches. Completely possible. The white is masking gray, which is possible because his mother is dark gray. As for his eyes, I don’t care, but they’re PROBABLY possible, because amber and golden eyes! Ugh. Possible AGAIN.
Black Ear is a black-and-white tom. I don’t know about his eyes, but black and white cats usually have yellow or amber eyes—when their coloring isn’t black with bits of white! Which is possible, by the way. His pelt color is also possible because of slate-colored Slate (lol that’s true!)
I won’t be doing Jagged Peak’s kits because I don’t know what they look like. I only know that Storm Pelt is possible because he’s a gray tabby. Wait a sec…TABBY?! No! Holly is solid black! Whatever, Jagged Peak is a tabby. Eagle Feather isn’t possible. I think he’s brown, but Holly is black. Dew Nose is possible from what I remember. Her white tips are just the white spotting gene.
Okay seriously that took a week to finish! :p Aaah, well, finally Im FREEEEEE yay! Have a good day/night/whatever and bye! Thanks for reading and whatever and BUDGIES(the parrot) ARE CUTE MAINE COONS ARE THE BEST SO ARE BENGALS AND BALINESES AND SIAMESES. That was totally random.
Snowy out!
Great article Snowy/Shivs!
You can still call me Snowy😛I don’t mind
amazing article! I can’t believe you spent this much time on it :0
Ahhh thanks Dawny! I actually thought you were Hazy carouse if your pfp, but then I read your name lol
*cause
Wait…you ARE Hazy, right? I saw Dawny’s pfp and I went like, is this a trick? Ignore this if I’m talking nonsense 😛
Okay now I’m sure this is you not Hazy. Did you use her email?
Nup they have matching pfps
When she first commented, her pfp matched Hazy’s, but when I checked her other comments, her pfp didn’t match Hazy’s….strange…
Great article!!! This is really interesting (First?)
Great article!!! Very interesting! (First?🙏)
Thanks for doing this research. It is obvious that the authors don’t know or care about cat color/pattern genetics, and many cats in the series are impossible. I am particularly disturbed by the number of calico or tortie males in the series. (For some reason the authors never use the term “calico,” they say tortoiseshell & white—maybe that’s a Brit thing?) In our world, they’re extremely rare, about 1/3000, but they’re much more common in Warriors. Also, they’re usually infertile (can’t sire kits). I have not gone through the allegiances in all the books to see how many of these guys there are or whether any of them are fathers.
True! Also, due to interbreeding, every Clan should share characteristics and even colors😛
Great article!
cool article! the tabby polygenetics are a little inaccurate but I really don’t feel like explaining them because they make my head ache (also I haven’t studied cat genetics in a looong while so I might be wrong)
iirc the ticked tabby is the most dominant, and the spotted tabby is the second most dominant, then the mackerel tabby, and then the classic tabby? and those are all affected by the agouti gene??? I don’t remember 😭
Idk about that, I haven’t studied genetics in school yet, tbh. I did them myself so I expected inaccuracy😛.
GReAT ARTICLE, SHIV!
Great article! I love Maine coons to!
great article! i love how you took the time to write about the eye colours!
Great article!
I’ve always been captivated by the beauty and uniqueness of Grey Wing’s family. From Grey Wing’s sleek and silver tabby fur to Turtle Tail’s striking tortoiseshell coat, their physical appearances perfectly reflect their individual personalities. I imagine Grey Wing with bright, intelligent amber eyes that reflect his wisdom and compassion, while Turtle Tail’s eyes would be a warm, gentle green, mirroring her nurturing nature. As for their kits, I envision them inheriting a mix of their parents’ stunning colors and patterns, creating a visually diverse and captivating litter. Each kit would have their own distinct markings, allowing them to stand out as individuals while still carrying the undeniable resemblance to their extraordinary parents. Grey Wing’s family is a true testament to the beauty and diversity found within ThunderClan, and I can’t help but be in awe of their striking appearances.