My tortie cat had solid kittens. Why aren't they tortie like her?

Question

My Tortie cat just had kittens but they are all solid color. How does that work?

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

That's a great question! Color genetics in cats can be somewhat complicated, but essentially, tortie cats carry two separate genes for coat color - orange and black. Color genes are carried on the X-chromosome in cats, so only females can have both orange and black coloration - females have two X chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y. This is why torties and calicos are always female :) Each of her kittens will inherit one color gene, either orange or black. Depending on the color of the father, and whether the kittens are male or female, each kitten could easily end up with a gene for just one color. For example - a boy might get the "orange" gene from mom and nothing from dad (since males have one X and Y chromosome, so only one color). A girl might get the "orange" or "black" gene from mom, but not both - so whether or not she is a tortie would depend on the gene she gets from dad. So, in simple terms, it depends on the color of the father and the sex of the kittens - but can easily happen!

My tortie cat had solid kittens. Why aren't they tortie like her?

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