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Splits is a Tortoiseshell!
The colors of a cats' hair is produced by skin cells that form into patch shapes during the fetus's development and control the feeding of pigment into the hair shafts. A gene called the inhibitor gene allows pigment to fill only the first part of the hair to grow. This produces a variety of subtle patterns that appear to change as the cat moves. Different degrees of shading give us shaded and silver colors and silver tabbies, which have appreciable colors, and "frosted" coats.
The original coat color and pattern of our modern cats came from the native African wildcat -- a striped tabby that utilized its coat color to hide from larger predators and to creep upon unaware prey.
Modern cats come in four basic marking patterns -- striped (also called mackerel), blotched or classic, Abyssinian or ticked, and spotted. All are mutations of the original coat color and markings.
The term Tortoiseshell simply means "mingled colors". Some standards call for a complete mingling or brindling of the colors; while other standards prefer that the colors be distinct. The color combinations usually consist of black with red, grey, blue, cream, brown, or orange and are usually distributed asymmetrically over the cat's body.
Most breeds are capable of producing a Tortie and they can have long or short hair. This is a difficult color to breed. Most are females because the color genes reside on the X chromosome & females have 2 X chromosomes. The few male torties born are usually sterile because their color is caused by a genetic mutation in the color producing genes during the embryonic stage of growth.
We are pleased to welcome Splits to our practice!
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