Calico Cats Personality - Part 2

Calico cats have tri coloured beautiful coat on them. But a million dollar question is what makes a cat a Calico cat? One has to understand first that it’s not a breed it’s the coloration in them which gives them a name.

A true calico cat's coat must have mostly white, which is the predominant color, and then it must have patches of red or orange and black fur. Calico is really just a color pattern that can be found across many different breeds of cats.


Calicos are generally females. The X chromosomes contain the code responsible for fur coloring in cats where as the Y chromosome contains no code associated with color. Two X chromosomes are needed to produce a calico. Male cats have a set of XY while female cats have a set of XX, so most calicos happen to be female. The male cats are usually the genetic anomalies with XXY chromosomes. They are usually sterile and rare. Another interesting fact about these calico cats is that the color pattern is due to the sex-linked genetics and epigenetics, which is the inheritance of characteristics. Several veterinarians around the world have studied and came to the conclusion that only one in three thousand calico cats actually turns out to be a male.

A calico cat personality is independent and quirky. Calico cat’s temperament is usually quiet. There are many breeds of cats such as Persian, Himalayan, Manx, etc but among all these cat breeds, calico cat is loveliest among all. The breed of cat and the temperament of the parents add into a cat's personality as it is said exceptions are always there so one cannot just rely on a cat's personality being what is conventional for the breed. Some Calico cats have high temperaments and finicky attitudes which is why the Calico in Cats world is even termed as red heads. Calicos are shy initially, and they are harmless. Due to the unique features of calico’s such as they are quirky, independent, little stubborn and they are usually a fun to be with and looks, it is declared as the official state cat of the state of Maryland in October 1, 2001. They own personality that is as astonishing as they are very playful and responsive.