Why you almost never see male calico cats. Only about 1 in every 3,000 calico cats is male. If you know anything about calico cats, it’s that they’re especially cute. If you know two things about them, the second might be that only about 1 in every 3,000 of them is male. The tricolor kitties — which are most often but not always white, orange, and black — get their distinct coat from their chromosomal makeup. Female cats have two X chromosomes, which carry the coding gene for black and orange coloration, and the only way for calico coloring to occur is for a kitten to get one black-coded X and one orange-coded X. The same is also true of tortoiseshell (tortie) cats, which are predominantly black and orange — and known for their “tortitude.” (The white patches in calicos, meanwhile, happen through a separate genetic process called piebalding, which produces areas of skin and fur without any pigment.) Though extremely rare, male calicos and torties do exist. This is usually the result of one of two conditions: chimerism or Klinefelter’s syndrome. The former occurs when two embryos fuse early in pregnancy, resulting in two different sets of DNA, while Klinefelter’s is the result of a male inheriting an extra X chromosome and therefore having XXY chromosomes. Making them even rarer is the fact that male calicos are almost always sterile, meaning it’s all but impossible to breed calicos — every one you see is an anomaly, and all the more special for it. Calicos are considered good luck. There’s a reason that maneki-neko are so often depicted as calicos: They’re considered good luck. The “beckoning cat” figurines found throughout Japan and at Japanese and Chinese establishments around the world are intended as tokens of good fortune, with one of their paws raised high in a waving motion. This dates back to the tradition of Japanese sailors traveling with calicos to bring about safe passage — the multicolored cats were believed to be able to chase away storms and ancestral ghosts. In the United States and England, meanwhile, male calicos are considered especially lucky because of their rarity. #Animals, #Cats, #Calico,

Why cats were in WWI trenches. The Great War was such a difficult time, some soldiers sought out the assistance and comfort of four-legged friends — including cats, who were used in the trenches to boost morale. Dogs, homing pigeons, foxes, goats, lion cubs, and even raccoons also served their countries as pets and mascots throughout the “war to end all wars,” and some even carried out official duties. Cats did a bit of both: Though most kitties simply kept their compatriots in good spirits by providing them with loyal companionship (and fending off rats), some also used their heightened sense of atmospheric pressure to detect bombs in advance. Not all feline soldiers’ deeds have gone unnoticed. Among the 75 animals who have received the PDSA Dickin Medal, which was established in 1943 to honor the military service of animals, is a cat named Simon. He served aboard the HMS Amethyst from 1948 to 1949 and received the medal for “disposing of many rats though wounded by shell blast. Throughout the incident his behavior was of the highest order, although the blast was capable of making a hole over a foot in diameter in a steel plate.” In a newsreel of the ship returning home, Simon is rightly referred to as “a hero in his own right.” Cats who served in World War I 500,000 Animals who served in World War I 16 million Kittens produced by Dusty, a tabby cat born in 1935 420 Age of Creme Puff, the oldest known cat 38 Did you know? Calico cats are considered good luck. That’s the reason maneki-neko are so often depicted as calicos. The “beckoning cat” figurines found throughout Japan and at Japanese and Chinese establishments around the world are intended as tokens of good fortune, with one of their paws raised high in a waving motion. This dates back to the tradition of Japanese sailors traveling with calicos to bring about safe passage — the multicolored cats were believed to be able to chase away storms and ancestral ghosts. In the United States and England, meanwhile, male calicos are considered especially lucky because of their rarity.