Smallpaws Wiki:Breeding/Genetics

WIP

Anyone is able to contribute.

Trait Index Body Types cobby - flat face, compact stocky build (exotic shorthair, persian, manx)

semi-cobby - short face, burly build (british shorthair, american wirehair, scottish fold)

semi-foreign - average face and build, an even mix of both cobby and foreign (egyptian mau, havana brown, snowshoe)

foreign - defined face, lithe build (abyssinian, russian blue, turkish angora)

oriental - long face, tall slender build (modern siamese, balinese, cornish rex)

substantial - large and bulky face and build (maine coon, norwegian forest cat, turkish van)

Fur Lengths short - short fur everywhere

medium - long fur in cheeks, neck, underbelly, tail and haunches; short fur elsewhere

long - long fur everywhere

Physical Mutations fur:

furless (sphynx) - cat appears to have no fur at all (but usually just has a very thin, invisible coat of underhairs)

sparse fur (lykoi) - fur is very thin and not tightly packed, giving it a sparse and "werewolf-like" look

wiry fur (wirehair) - the cat's fur is thick, coarse and appears "gnarled" (not unlike a carpet); normally short (american wirehair), but may also be long

curly fur (laperm) - the cat's fur forms tight curls instead of being straight; normally long (laperm), but can also be medium/short (selkirk)

wavy fur (rex) - the cat's fur is soft and forms ripples close to the skin; can appear sleek or fluffy, depending on breed; normally short, but may also be long

ear shape:

>curled ears (dominant; AcAc or Acac) - ears curl back (american curl)

>folded ears (dominant; Sfsf only, SfSf is lethal) - ears fold forward like the top of an envelope (scottish fold)

eyes:

>crossed eyes - pupils are "crossed" inwardly instead of looking straight ahead (certain thai siamese)

tail:

>short tail (manx) - tail is naturally shorter than usual. comes in 3 main forms; half-length, stub, and tailless

>ringtail - tail is limper than usual and curls loosely over the back

>corkscrew tail - tail is more tightly curled over the back into a spiral pattern

>bobbed tail - like a pug, the tail is short and corkscrewed (tightly curled)

>kinked tail - tail is "kinked" or crooked/bent naturally at at least one point, normally at the tip (but can also be further up the tail). whether from injury or genetics, a kinked tail is usually much stiffer than a normal one because of the bone structure, which may get in the way of communication with clanmates

legs:

>short legs (munchkin) - dwarfism in cats. normally the only effect is making the legs freakishly short (leaving the rest of the body intact like an adult cat), but it can also affect the facial structure too (giving a "grumpy" face; see also tardar sauce)

paws:

>extra toes (polydactyl) - one or more paws have more toes than usual (can be as little as a dewclaw on a hind leg or a 6th toe on the front paw, or as extreme as 8 toes on each paw). normally benign, but with too many toes (ie pattyfoot) it may make walking or maneuvering with the paws difficult

Fur Colors

dominance order of colors:

black > brown > russet

grey > taupe > fawn

dilute colors (grey, taupe, fawn) are recessive to dense colors (dense colors will overrule them)

black - black (black-based color, dense form of grey) (parallel to black)

grey - grey (black-based color, dilute form of black) (parallel to blue)

brown - chocolate brown (black-based color, dense form of taupe) (parallel to chocolate)

taupe - pale muddied grey (black-based color, dilute form of brown) (parallel to lilac)

russet - dark cinnamon-y red (black-based color, dense form of fawn) (parallel to cinnamon)

tan - light brown, like dark tan kinda (black-based color, dilute form of russet) (parallel to fawn)

ginger - orange (red-based color, dense form of cream) (parallel to red)

cream - creamy golden beige (red-based color, dilute form of ginger) (parallel to cream)

>mahogany (recessive) - very dark reddish brown color (modifier of dense colors) (parallel to "barrington brown")

>caramel (dominant) - creamy golden tan, like caramel color (modifier of dilute colors) (parallel to "caramelization")

Eye Colors copper - bronze to muddy crimson

orange - pale dusk orange to fiery orange to dark orange

amber - muddy mix of orange and yellow

yellow - pale sunny yellow to brilliant gold to dark honey yellow

hazel - olive green to chestnut brown (usually a muddy mix of green and yellow)

green - pale minty green to sea green to lime green to emerald green to dark pine green

turquoise - pale cyan to normal turquoise to teal

blue - pale icy blue to bright sky blue to intense royal blue

indigo - deep rich blue color w/ purple tint

black - very very dark night-sky blue; comes from russian topaz. sometimes has red pupils

Markings

tabby (dominant) - aka agouti; instead of being a solid color, the hairs are banded which gives the fur a specific pattern (usually resembling spots, stripes, or similar). the base color is used for the stripes, and the rest of the body is a lighter color - the "tabby color". all tabbies have some kind of M-like marking on their forehead no matter how faint or broken, and most tabbies have very pale fur on their muzzle and around the eyes. usually the neck and underbelly are somewhat paler than the tabby color also

>mackerel (dominant) - the type of tabby most people think of as tabby; stripes are all fairly straight and even bar-like, flowing down the sides from the spine and reminding some of the mackerel fish

>braided - resembles tiger stripes (some stripes resemble candle flames or holes in trees, forming random "bubbles" that flow together); this is a modified mackerel tabby that stems from the the toyger, a wildcat hybrid

>pinstripe - similar to mackerel tabbies, except the stripes are "bumpier" (not as smooth in shape), more tightly packed, and "broken" less often. the stripes themselves are not unlike the "lines" in pinpoint art. this is a modified mackerel tabbies.

>blotched (recessive) - aka classic tabby; instead of having clear "stripes", there are thick bands of color that form swirly markings, specifically a bulky mirrored spiral on each flank

>marbled - blotched tabby, except a lighter semi-metallic color fills the "inside" of the markings, making it resemble a marble cake; typically stems from wildcat hybrid breeds

>spotted (dominant) - spots (can be round, square or "irregular" in shape) cover the coat in a semi-organized pattern along the flanks, with (usually broken) stripes along the face, legs and tail where the spots fade out

>rosetted - a subset of spotted tabbies where the spots resemble those of a leopard (globby "rings" of the base color with a slightly lighter color inside and the normal pale "tabby" color surrounding it); typically stems from wildcat hybrid breeds

>ticked (dominant) - tiny flecks of the base color are spread out into a gradient-like pattern across the back, fading into the paler "tabby" color. this effect resembles sand. most (non-purebred/moggy) ticked tabbies have "residual" stripes on the face, legs and latter half of the tail

tortie/torbie (not dominant or recessive) - mosaicism in female cats; when a black-based color (black, brown, russet) on one x chromosome is combined with a red-based color (ginger) on the other, the two colors get scattered around the fur in random bits and pieces, forming a tortie/torbie. tortie is "solid" (solid black-based + red-based), while torbie is "tabby" (tabby black-based x red-based). ginger cannot be solid, so it is tabby by default

>all tabby types apply

calico/caliby (not dominant or recessive) - calico is tortoiseshell with distinct patches and white spotting; caliby is torbie with distinct patches and white spotting

>all tabby types apply

point (recessive) - aka temperature-sensitive albinism; the cat is born a pale creamy white, but their extremities (ears, face, legs and tail) get darker over time because they're the coldest areas of the body. body temperature determines how "dark" a point is (ie how much of the base color shows beneath the paler "overlay" color). note: this marking type is temperature sensitive, but it DOES NOT CHANGE OVER TIME. if a cat is raised for the first few months of its life in a very hot environment, they will stay very pale even if they live in the snow the rest of their life, and vice versa

lynx point (recessive) - point, but with tabby instead of solid color; the tabby stripes are "hidden" by the point (meaning they don't show up unless that part of the body is cold enough during kithood), so they don't show anywhere except the parts of the extremities with color

>all tabby types apply

merle (???) - technically a hypothetical/nonexistent gene, merle is the patching of dense color onto an otherwise dilute cat (ie black patches on grey, or ginger patches on cream), presumably in the same vein as tortoiseshells/calicos

bicolor (dominant) - a cat is composed primarily of a single color/pattern and white spotting (certain parts are colored white). note that many of the types listed below can be combined to make the cat's pattern more interesting. also note that these marking patterns aren't always set in stone; there can be miscellaneous patches of white or patches of color on a cat's coat even if they otherwise fall into one of these types

note about bicolors/white-spotting: 0% = ww, 1%-50% = Ww, 51%-100% = WW

>locket - whole cat is colored, save for a small white locket on the chest (or other small white spots around the body; typically only one or two)

>mitted - whole cat is colored, save for the paws (which have white "mitts" or "socks" depending on how far up they go)

>tail rings - rare; whole cat is colored, save for one or more rings around the tail

>monocles - rare; whole cat is colored, save for spots around one or both eyes

>tuxedo - whole cat is colored, save for (part of) the face, the chest, the underbelly, the paws and sometimes the tail tip; sometimes will have "buttons" of color along the belly

>hood & cape - whole cat is white, save for a "cape" across the back (normally including the tail) and a "hood" over the head and face (not unlike batman's mask)

>cap & saddle - whole cat is white, save for a "cap" on the head (including ears and top of head, but normally only the tops of the eyes if any eye at all) and a "saddle" on the back (a large colored patch centered around the lower spine/haunches; normally includes the tail)

>van - whole cat is white save for the ears and tail

>white masking - entire cat's body is covered in white, and no base color shows through; when the kit is born, a spot of the original color may appear on the forehead, but it goes away over time. when paired with blue eyes, this gene can cause deafness

>speckled legs - when a cat's paws or legs are white, sometimes they will be "speckled" with the base color. normally this never happens on van or white masked cats, but cats with lower-grade (less) white can sometimes be found w/ these freckles. the speckles may also appear on the tail or face if those areas have white

>banded - rare; irregular white spotting pattern that features a thin "belt" or "band" of white around an otherwise normally-colored cat

>blanket - rare; irregular white spotting pattern that features a thick "blanket" of white wrapping around the entire middle torso from elbow to knee

>skunk stripe - rare; irregular white spotting pattern that features a thick stripe of white going from the scruff down the spine, either striping or engulfing the tail. may also whiten the neck, underbelly, paws or muzzle

>karpati - rare; temperature-based gene that causes the extremities (coldest areas) to become white, while the rest of the cat keeps its base color. somewhat like a reverse point.

>roan - rare; a type of white that "sprinkles" evenly on the pelt, kind of like smoke (seen below). connected to the lykoi breed and genes (sparse fur), but not necessarily the same gene as the fur texture

>brindled - rare; caused when a tortie's red color fails to produce color, so the red parts are white instead

>russian topaz - rare; irregular white spotting, may have unusual patches on the face and paws, and may even spread to cover the front half of the cat (leaving the back half their normal color); connected to the black-eyed gene, but not necessarily the same gene

>finnish - rare; legs, underbelly, tail and part of face are white, and the body has white spots in a pattern resembling a spotted tabby. the main body color is also dusted with white (making it appear paler). the remainder of the face (that isn't marked w/ white) is the normal color, as is the scruff and base of the tail

>moscow - rare; resembles a silver blotched or marbled tabby, except the markings have much starker contrast, are unusual/non-tabby-like, and are caused by the white spotting gene instead of a tabby gene

smoke (dominant) - "dusts" the pelt with a light "metallic" color; normally lightest at neck, underbelly and sometimes tail and weakest at face and legs. when seen in a tabby (as opposed to a solid color), the smoke color replaces most of the paler "tabby" color on the cat, but leaves the base color for the stripes (turning it into a "silver/golden tabby")

>silver - silvery white; forms silver tabby

>gold - pale golden beige; forms golden tabby

chinchilla (dominant) - smoke, except the metallic effect is much more noticeable/takes up a majority of the pelt

>both smoke colors apply, forming a silver chinchilla and golden chinchilla respectively

other notes:

scars - when a cat is injured, and it leaves a scar, any fur that grows over the scarred area will be white. this is because the injury damages the skin enough to prevent it from producing any color like it's supposed to, so the fur that grows from it will be 'without color' (ie white)

>technically, most white spotting on cats is actually just leftover scar tissue from the colored skin of the kitten cracking while it's an embryo, although the process doesn't hurt

Trait Hierarchies

Body Types if 2 cats of the same body type mix, the kits will be that body type

if 2 cats of differing body types mix, the kits will be a clear mix of those two body types, normally resembling the half-way point between them

note that this only applies to cobby thru oriental. if a substantial-bodied cat breeds w/ another type, their kits will resemble a cross between substantial and whatever the other cat's body type is - including an increase in size

Fur Colors because of chromosomes, male kittens' base colors are determined by their mother, and female kits are affected by both their mother and father, taking a copy of the color from each.

alleles:

key:

XX or XyXy = Homozygous dominant

xx or Xyxy = Heterozygous

xx or xyxy = Homozygous recessive

base color:

BB > Bb = Black

bb > bb1 = Chocolate

b1 = Cinnamon

dilution:

DD > Dd = Dense

dd = Dilute

dense modifier (mahogany):

BaBa > Baba = Mahogany

baba = Not mahogany

dilution modifier (caramel):

DmDm > Dmdm = Caramel

dmdm = Not caramel

red (males):

XoY = Not red

XOY = Red

red (females):

XoXo = Not red

XOXo = Tortoiseshell

XOXO = Red

tabby:

AA > Aa = Tabby

aa = Solid

tabby types:

McMc > Mcmc = Mackerel

mcmc = Classic

SpSp > Spsp = Spotted (overrides mackerel + classic)

spsp = Not spotted

TaTa > Tata = Ticked (overrides mackerel + classic)

tata = Not ticked

smoke:

II > Ii = Silver/Golden Smoke

ii = Not smoke

chinchilla:

WbWb > Wbwb = Chinchilla

wbwb = Not chinchilla

"norwegian forest cat" amber:

EE > Ee = Not amber

ee = Amber

temperature-sensitive albinism:

CC > Ccs > Ccb = Not pointed

cscs = Colorpointed

cscb = Mink

cbcb = Sepia

white spotting:

WW = 50%-100% white

Ww = 0%-50% white

ww = No white

fur length:

LL > Ll = Shorthaired

ll = Longhaired

"cornish rex" wavy fur:

RR > Rr = Cornish Rex fur

rr = Normal fur

"selkirk rex" curly fur + "devon rex" curly fur + "sphynx" hairless:

ReRe > Rere > Rehr = Normal fur

SReSRe > SReRe = Selkirk Rex fur

rere = Devon Rex fur

hrhr = Hairless

"laperm" curly fur:

LpLp > Lplp = LaPerm fur

lplp = Normal fur

wirehair:

WhWh > Whwh = Wirehair

whwh = Normal fur

lykoi:

LyLy > Lyly = Normal fur

lyly = Lykoi fur

curled ears:

AcAc > Acac = Curled ears (American Curl)

acac = Normal ears

folded ears:

SfSf > Sfsf = Folded Ears (Scottish Fold)

sfsf = Normal ears

indigo eyes:

OaOa = Fatal

Oaoa = "Indigo" blue eyes (Ojos Azules)

oaoa = Normal eyes

short tail:

MM = Fatal

Mm = Short tail (Manx)

mm = Normal tail

bobbed tail:

JbJb > Jbjb = Normal tail

jbjb = Bobbed tail

short legs:

MkMk = Fatal

Mkmk = Short legs (Munchkin)

mkmk = Normal legs

extra toes:

PdPd > Pdpd = Extra toes (polydactyl)

pdpd = Normal toes