Genetically accurate explanation in warriors by Wavekit

Wavekit explains real cat genetics and how they can explain some mysteries in the Warriors series.

So hi Wavekit here! And I know that lots of people are aware that Warriors, written by Erin Hunter, is not genetically accurate. But there are some things that I can clarify today in this article! I’m going to make a list of my rules and I’ll explain how things make warrior cats have some perhaps accidental genetic accuracy! And if I make a part two I’ll make it about why it’s not accurate most of the time. Anyways, here’s the rules:

1. No mutations that aren’t shown in the characters (basically I won’t talk abt mutations and stuff that a cat doesn’t have on them)

2. Keep as accurate as possible to the real genetics.

3. No changing the character design until I make a article about genetically accurate designs

Anyways, let’s get into it!

Dovewing’s eye drama

Dovewing is in an argument back and forth about the color of her eyes. One side says she has green eyes, the other says she has blue eyes. And my explanation, the conflict and confusion is about to be easily explained. Cats have pigments in their eyes that make their eyes start as blue, and can change colors with their age. Which means that if at one point it says her eyes are blue and then it describes her with green eyes like a moon later, it could be the pigment solidifying the color of her eyes as cats eye colors can change with their age. So my explanation: her eyes can be genetically explained by the pigment, since cat’s eye colors can change slowly or quickly, depending on the age. So her eyes are not that big a deal, because though the Erin Hunters probably didn’t mean it like that, it is actually genetically possible.

Redtail and Sol, the male torties and calicos

So let me give a quick explanation. Female cats carry two X cells, so their genetic cells are XX, and male cats only carry one X cell, and a Y cell. And there is two colors, Orange and Black, those are the starters. Both Orange and Black are dominant, and each take one X cell up. Which means that for a tom to be ginger, they HAVE to inherit it from their mom, and that’s how they become ginger. Whereas a shecat needs BOTH of her parents to be ginger, so it takes up both of the X cells, so they can be ginger. But if a shecat’s mom is ginger, and her dad is black, neither rule the other out so they each take up one X cell. This results in torties, meaning only female cats can be torties. And calicos are the same as torties but with white. I won’t explain anymore until I make a part two explaining all the cat genetics, but white is not actually a coat color, but is in fact a spotting genetic, which is called the Tuxedo Genetic Reaction. Or TGR for short. And it masks the cats actual color, so for example a black cat with white spotting has TGR in their genetics, and that means that if they have it most commonly it means that they have a bit of white on their muzzle, chest, paws, and tail tip. It’s harder but it is possible to get a cat that’s whole underbelly, chest, and legs are white. And in the most uncommon case, a cat’s spotting can cover them entirely. Albino cats are different, so I’ll explain that in part two. So calicos have TGR in their genes, even if it is the lightest bit. But sometimes, though very uncommon, a male cat can have a genetic mutation and hold two X cells, meaning their cells look like this: XXY. So it is possible for male cats to be torties and calicos, but it’s a 1 out of 300,000 male cats that can have it, and it actually gives them inability to have kits, due to lack of genetic cells and breeding ability. It also gives them cancer and diabetes, and it shortens their lifespan by a lot. Meaning these cats can usually only survive from 1-39 months in the books. So Redtail is possible, and so is Sol, but I have a theory. If the books were more genetically accurate, we can say Sol died from the sicknesses. And while they will almost definitely get diagnosed with cancer or diabetes, they are also very prone to sicknesses. And in the books Redtail is said to gain many sicknesses when his clanmates don’t, is actually sort of accurate to what you can expect in real cat genetics. And I think that I prefer Redtail being murdered over suffering a long long time. Also, I didn’t mention this yet, but Tawnyspots, Sunstar’s first deputy, was also described as a tortie, and he died of unknown sickness, and he suffered a long time. It was seeming to me that he had diabetes and died. Which is surprisingly accurate in my opinion. So I can say, that those Tom’s had pretty accurate results to genetics, and if it’s any more accurate, Sol probably would’ve died by now. So it does contain lots of more complications than what I explained, but yes so far the books are seeming to be a little accurate!

So that’s all for now, but I will make an article explaining cat genetics and a part two! So if this gets published, I hope u enjoyed. – Wavekit