Due to this, female ginger cats often cost more than males.Ī male ginger cat can come from a red, tortoiseshell or calico mother. This is why the majority of ginger cats are male, for a female cat to be ginger she needs to have the O chromosome on both X chromosomes.Īs a result of these genetics and the increased number of combinations females can be born with, very few females end up being ginger.Ī female ginger cat needs to have a fully red father and a red, calico or tortoiseshell mother. The O gene needs to be carried on the X chromosome, male cats have one X chromosome while females have two. There is another variant of this gene called “o” which does not produce the red pigment. Due to its dominance, this red pigment masks all other colours. The gene “O” is responsible for the red pigment, called phaeomelanin.
There is actually a “ginger gene” that is responsible for the ginger colour in cats.
While the size of these cats depends on the breed of cat we are specifically talking about, you can generally expect a ginger cat to weigh between 2.5 – 4.5kg. Many ginger cats have green, gold or bronze eyes. They can have short or long hair and many ginger cats also have freckles around their nose.Īlthough, the freckles don’t tend to develop until around 1-2 years so if you can’t see freckles on your ginger kitten they may develop in a year or so. Many also have some white on their chest, paws and the tip of their tail. They usually have a white belly and white legs. Ginger cats are beautiful, they come in a wide variety of shades including red, orange and cream.
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