Question

A male grey-coloured cat is mated with a female cat of the same phenotype. among their offspring are 15 grey, 6 black and 8 white kittens. QUESTION: GIVE A SIMPLE EXPLANATION FOR THE INHERITANCES OF THESE COLOURS IN CATS?

Answer 1

The color of a cat’s coat is closely linked to its gender. As you may recall from high school biology, mammals have two chromosomes that determine their sex—XX for females and XY for males. But a number of additional chromosomes are present and vary depending upon species, says Dr. Robert Grahn, a forensic analyst at the veterinary genetics laboratory at the University of California in Davis.

“These other chromosomes contain genes that affect hair color, pattern, shape and length,” Grahn says. “Since the genes for sex and hair colors are on different chromosomes, they are inherited independently of each other. Thus, no color is associated with a particular sex, except in cats and hamsters.”