How to Spot a Calico Cat
Often confused as a breed of cat, a calico is better defined as a color pattern found on felines. The idea that all calicos are female represents another myth. While this is most often the case, there are rare instances when a calico turns out to be a sterile male. Distinguishing the color patterns is the easiest way to spot a calico cat. The calico may not come with any purebred papers, since it isn't technically a breed. Since calicos aren't purebred, they're most often part domestic shorthair, part Persian and part Marx.
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Instructions
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Examine the cat's color markings. To be called a calico, three colors must be present: black, white and orange. Gray, cream and ginger are variations of these colors.
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Determine if the cat is a true calico or a tortoise shell. True callicos have large blocks of the three prime colors. Calicos also display more white on their bodies than tortoise-shelled cats. If you spot the three colors swirled and blended together, then you have a tortoise-shelled cat. The markings on tortoise-shelled cats are asymmetrical.
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Figure out if your cat is female or male. Only 1 in every 3,000 calico cats born is male. The XXY chromosomes give the cats their colorful markings, yet usually make the male cat sterile. Only one in 10,000 of the tricolored male cats is fertile.
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Tips & Warnings
In 2001, Maryland adopted the calico cat as its state feline. Its colors of white, black and orange are shared with the state bird (Baltimore oriole) and insect (Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly).
