# different patterns in same litter



## scooterdad

Hi, I just joined the forum, it looks like a lot of fun. I have a question I can't find an answer to. What causes cats in the same litter to have different color patterns? For example, I have a classic grey tabby cat that came from a littler with a tuxedo, and some others.

Thanks,


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## mstx

Cats can have kittens that have different fathers. So basiclly its just DNA


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## scooterdad

mstx said:


> Cats can have kittens that have different fathers. So basiclly its just DNA


That's what I thought too, but I researched cats' reproductive pattern and found that once a male cat has done his thing the female will repel any subsequent attempts by other males.

??


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## mstx

another way to look at it is this. A mother and father both are blue eyed but thier child has brown, when looking back the grandmother has brown eyes it just skipped a gerneration. could be the same for cats


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## Jeanie

Color is different from some other qualities, in that it cannot be determined using a Punnett square. It's much more complicated. 

In addition, there _can_ be more than one father for a litter of kittens according to every source I've found.  That complicates matter further. 



> When female cats come into heat, if they mate with more than one male cat there can indeed be multiple fathers to the litter of kittens.
> 
> Un-neutered male cats have barbed penises (much like a fishhook), and upon withdrawal, the female cat will often scream (whether from ecstasy or pain is questionable). It is also believed that the barbed penis stimulates ovulation.
> 
> Ovulation will usually occur within 20 to 50 hours after mating, and the eggs are viable (capable of being fertilised) for approximately one day. The eggs are fertilised in the oviduct, and then make their way to the uterus via the uterine horn, implanting in the uterine lining within 10 to 12 days.
> 
> On the street, a female cat may mate with two or more tom cats over the length of the oestrus cycle - up to 21 days, with an average of seven days. Although genetics of the female cat may come into play, multi-coloured kitten litters will often vividly demonstrate multiple mating.


http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiosvPBFi3iGpO8XW_K_KeojzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20070614091525AAJnabl


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## Sol

Well, different patterns in one litter can be acheived without multiple fathers being involved. For an example: a brown tabby male with white spotting can with a completely black female produce brown tabbies, blacks, blacks with white, brown tabbies with white and if the parents both carry the dilute gene you can get blues, blues with white, blue tabbies and blue tabbies with white. :wink: 

If the mother would be black smoke you'd get even more possibilites. If she'd be white (but black smoke under the white) you could get white kittens. If she's white and a tortie under the white you can get reds and red tabbies etc.


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## doodlebug

It's a matter of genetics and which genes are dominant and which are recessive. In cats some color genes are also gender specific. For example for a female cat to be red (aka orange or ginger), she must get a red gene from both parents. But a male can be red with only one red gene passed down. I have an article on my other computer on cat color genetics, I'll look for it later tonight for you. 

Oh...and two blue eyed parents can't produce a brown eyed baby. Blue is recessive, so the parents can only pass blue genes, so the baby can only be blue eyed. But two brown eyed parents can produce a blue eyed baby if the baby has a blue eyed grandparent on each side.


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## permockable

Eye color in humans is not a single-gene trait. As such, it also cannot be predicted with 100% accuracy by a Punnett square. Due to genetic mutation and such, it's entirely possible (though I suppose not overly common) for two blue-eyed parents to produce a brown-eyed offspring. (This is a good explanation of the process.)

Cat genetics are complicated also.


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