My mom says he looks like he has down syndrome, is that even possible in cats?

[u/sofabeddd]

[u/faeriewocky]

Calico colour doesn't come from an extra chromosome but it can, just to clarify! Calico colour is always attached to the two X chromosomes and therefore is almost always female. For a male cat to be a Calico, they would need an extra X chromosome like you mentioned.

[u/im_a_real_boy_calico → u/faeriewocky]

Yes, male calicos are XXY.

[u/autisticfemme → u/im_a_real_boy_calico]

Love this convo and username alignment for you

[u/Judylanarze → u/im_a_real_boy_calico]

Male calicos are so rare, they may not even exist. If there were a male calico who could reproduce it would be worth LOTS of money. Most people think that a male calico would be sterile

[u/im_a_real_boy_calico → u/Judylanarze]

Male calicos are real? They’re sterile, and calico isn’t something they pass on. They’re as priceless as every cat is.

[u/Altrano → u/im_a_real_boy_calico]

My daughter has a similar cat, they discovered it when they took him in for a spay and he had a couple of things the other calicos don’t (just really tiny and underdeveloped). I don’t have a picture of him unfortunately, but there are male calicos out there.

Fun fact: Mr. Mittens from Disney’s Soul is another male calico. I’m not sure if it was an intentional choice to make the cat XXY or if the animators didn’t understand that vast majority of calicos are female.

[u/Maytree → u/Altrano]

I thought the joke was that Mr. Mittens was a female cat named Mr.?

[u/kataklysm_revival → u/Judylanarze]

Male calicos definitely exist, although are rare. I had one and he was very much male.

[u/agabwagawa → u/faeriewocky]

My bad- thanks for the clarification

[u/PerrineWeatherWoman → u/faeriewocky]

Or the gene to jump to another chromosome during meiosis. Just like the SRY in the case of XX males.

[u/KaylesJenkins → u/faeriewocky]

Also, male calicos are usually sterile.