Cat colour genetics - question for Sam

[Fran]

Sam, how does the blue gene work in cat colour genetics? For example if you had a blue tom and a blue queen, what odds would there be of the kittens being blue and what other colours could be produced? Is blue a recessive gene like chocolate is in labs? Thanks Sam, I find colour genetics so fascinating

Oh and out of interest what determines eye colour - amber eyes x with green eyes would produce?

[shonedek]

Oh PK i love questions like this,thank you sooooooooooo much.
Right here goes,its actually quite easy and i will try to explain the best i can from Persian breeding.
Heres the basics
First Blue is a Dilute of Black
Cream is Dilute of Red
White is Dominante
If you put 2 blues together you only get Blue 50%of kits will be boys
If you put a Blue with Black you will get Black only and 50% will be boys,
However if the Black was bred from a Blue parent then you get Black and Blue,25%will be blue and boys ,25%will be Black and boys and the same for the girls.
The only other way to breed for Blue is to use a Torti Dominant and Dilute and these will produce Blue as well as Red and Cream.
Just to throw a liitle confussion in this to if one parent is a Colourpoint carrier they can have solid blue kitts and Colourpoint in same litter.

Eyes is even simple as Persians only have Copper eyes so that all you get the only colour to have different eye colour is White which can have Blue eyes,copper eyes or odd eyes(one of each)There is no way of telling when these colours for eyes will be as its basicly down to luck .
Putting to Blue eyed Whites together(which by the way im totally against and have never done this)dosnt mean you get Blue eyed White babies
I dont know what AmberXGreen would produce as its somthing in persians that doesnt apply but a lot of that depends on what coat colour the kitten is

Hope this has helped a little,but there are so many factors to take into account,this is the basics,when you start going onto Bi-colour breeding thats a different thing

[PaulaB]

I have a tabby (brown and cream) she the 2 kittens that came with her are black with a white tip on her tail, but she has the elegant body and face of a siamese. Socks is a stocky black and white boy mostly black but a white patch under his nose and a flash under his chin that goes to his stomach and all the way down that, with white socks on his back paws. How come Queenie had such different kittens

[shonedek]

First question are they pedigree?If not then mum/dad can and will throw anything because of whats behind her,this is the joys of genetics and you can only roughly predict from pedigree lines.
Black is a dominate colour and tabby genetics i know nothing about.
I have a white girl who has had 2 litters,she was put to the same stud both times.First litter were all Blue and second litter were all white.I know she can have ,white,blue ,cream but they may not be from one mating
its very un predictable ,as you know what colours you can have but it dosnt mean you will get them in every litter,its down to luck that the colour you want is born

[Moli]

I didn't realise so much went into breeding cats..Its amazing how you can remember all that..

[Mags]

I found it very interesting reading (as always from Sam) but I find it very difficult to understand all that.......I'm better off sticking to one cat and no breeding

[PaulaB]

Mine are not pure breeds just moggies, but Tippy has the look of a siamese the chattyness and the wallpaper ripping habit. She can't do that ow because the dogs snitches on her. Mind you has anyone else got a sock hunting cat?

[shonedek]

Thank Mags but this is really just part of breeding.i love it as im not a pureist.some breeders will only breed blue to blue and black to black.I did when i started but you knew exactly what colour you would get every time and wanted somthing more interesting which is why i have Bi-clour and solid
well as you know i have bred for years but this year im doing a first which i have no clue what i will get.This is what im doing and why.
I have a Blue colourpoint girl who will be put to a Black/white van,resulting offspring no idea.The reson why im doing this is i would love an odd eyed Bi-colour.Because all colourpoints have Blue eyes this gene will hopfully be passed on to kitten.The idea would be to keep a Bi-colour kitten from this breeding and put it back to a white who would carry gene for Blue eyes and Odd eyes.You are talking quite a few years down the line and an awful lot of luck but this is the start.They are not recongnised in this country and if i was to ever bred one would have to go on a special register.
They have them in American and they are awsome


PaulaB that explains why your kittens were so different being moggy parents they could carry everything including the kitchen sink

[Mags]

That sounds like it's going to be an exciting venture Sam......and imagine what you would be like waiting and wondering for the birth. I wish you all the best and hope it comes off for you.

[shonedek]

well as i said this is going to be a long time work but its exciting as not quite knowing what we will get.I talk a lot to a cattery in America who are a big insperation and help and were looking at bringing one over end of this year or begining of next.