• Trait: an inheritable characteristic

• Heredity: passing of traits to offspring from its parents or ancestor

• Allele: an alternative form of a gene

• Phenotype: an organism’s observable characteristics or traits

• Dominant: the expressed allele

• Recessive: the unexpressed allele

• Genotype: the genetic makeup of an organism

• Homozygous: having an identical pair of alleles for a trait

• Heterozygous: having two different alleles for a trait

• Complete dominance: when the dominant allele completely masks the effect of the recessive allele

• Co dominance: when two different alleles are both expressed

Cat Genetics

Agouti coat

Agouti is hair striping. Dominant alleles produce hair that are dark with light bands.

•AA or Aa = Agouti hairs

•aa – solid hairs – no agouti

Scooter

Stripes present –

AA or Aa

Miranda

No stripes = aa

Tabby

Tabby is basically the background for the striping. It can be your basic stripes or in whorls or blotches.

•TT or Tt – striped

•tt - blotched

Blitzen

Stripes

AA or Aa

Tabby –

TT or Tt

MikiAgouti –

AA or Aa

Tabby - blotched tt

Black coat

Fairly obvious, is there black in the cat’s coat.

•BB or Bb – Black pigment

•bb – brown pigment

Buddy

Agouti – AA or Aa

Tabby – TT or Tt

Black – BB or Bb

Midnight Agouti – aa

Tabby - ?

Black – BB or Bb

Havana and CubaAgouti – aa

Tabby - ?

Brown - bb

Dilute

This codes for how the hairs are packed, or the distribution of the melanin in the hair.

•DD or Dd – normal, color is not diluted

•dd – less packing, dilute color

Baby aa, ?T, B(B or b), D (D or d)

Elliot A (A or a), T (T or t), B(B or b), dd

Spotting

Spotting is when there is the absence of pigment cells. This is a co-dominant gene. The amount of white spots on the body is determined by the presence of the spotting gene.

•SS – white spots on more than ½ the body

•Ss – white spots on less than ½ the body

•ss – no white spots

Cricket and Bliss

Cricket:

AA or Aa

TT or Tt

?B

dd

SS

Bliss: AA or Aa, tt, ?B, dd, Ss

Furball AA or Aa, TT or Tt, BB or Bb, dd, Ss

Donner

aa

?T

BB or Bb

DD or Dd

ss

Silver and White gene

The silver gene makes it so that there is only pigment at the tips of hair, resulting in silver coloring.

The white gene removes all melanin from a coat, reduces the pigment in the eyes – yellow or blue, and can even cause deafness.

•II or Ii – silver

•ii – normal coloring

•WW or Ww – white

•ww - nonwhite

JasperA(A or a)

tt

B(B or b)

D(D or d)

ss

I(I or i)

Albi

?A, ?B, ?D, ?S, W (W or w)

Simon ?A, ?B, ?D, ?S, W (W or w)

Tail Length

The Manx gene reduces the length of the tail.

• MM or Mm – short/no tail

• mm – long tail

Maggie

A(A or a)

T(T or t)

?B

dd

ss

ii

ww

M(M or m)

Catso - male

A(A or a)T(T or t)?BddSS

iiwwmm

Fur LengthThis is pretty self-explanatory, the length of the fur.

• LL or Ll – short hair

• ll – long hair

Murray - Kai’s other cat

A(A or a)

tt

B(B or b)

dd

ss

ii

ww

mm

ll

FizgigA(A or a)

T(T or t)

B(B or b)

D(D or d)

ss

ww

ii

mm

L(L or l)