The calico cat is always female, or almost, because it is tricolor and there cannot be male tricolor cats for genetic reasons, with some very rare exceptions. The male calico cat brings good luck, there is the Japanese Maneki-neko lucky charm that portrays one, but otherwise it is always female, a female who has three-colored fur: white, orange and black.
Female calico cat
Only the female can possess the genes that allow her to show off a hair with shades linked to three different genes, that of red, that of white and that of black. It is not the only variety of tricolor cat, that of the calico, it is perhaps one of the most talked about and linked to even ancient legends.
Depending on the arrangement of the colors in their coat, the cats with three colors on them if they are not a calico can be tortie, or tortoiseshell or tortoiseshell, or torbie. The only times a male cat shows three colors are in the case of a genetic anomaly, somatic mutation, chimera or hermaphroditism. To learn more about how colors respond to genetic laws, I suggest you read “Colors of cats and genetics“.
Calico cat: price
Today there is no fixed price for the calico cat also because it can belong to different breeds and therefore follow different “quotations” depending on the value of the breed itself, beyond the hair. What is certain is that the calico has a considerable historical value, because since ancient times it has been attributed magical powers, even in the times of ancient Egypt, but not only.
The Japanese sailors were convinced that on ships they would chase away ghosts and ward off storms, still in Ireland it is rumored that if during the month of May a calico cat rubs its tail on a wart, it will fall off within a few minutes.
Persian calico cat
Compared to other tricolor cat varieties, the calico displays a significant amount of white with distinct patches of red and black. This happens in numerous races including that of the Persian. We find cats like this also among the Manx, the American Shorthair, the British Shorthair, the Japanese Bobtail, the Exotic Shorthair, the Siberian, the Turkish Van and the Turkish Angora and among the Norwegian forest cats. Not among Burmese cats.
Calico cat: character
It is not yet clear whether this is true or just a malignancy that other cats have spread out of envy but it seems that calico cats are not too docile. Then it depends from specimen to specimen and probably there is little genetic this time, but let’s hear what emerges from those who own a calico. It would be a cat, a little cat, a little nervous and that tends to aggression if you disturb it. It must be said that she is a very intelligent and lively strain.
Calico cat torbie
The Torbie, also called patched tabby, always tricolor, has a tortoiseshell-like hair with very evident brindle spots, while in the calico they can appear but never in a pronounced way.
There is the tabby-calico cat, however, which is a further variant, with white-tipped paws but shaded colors on the body, with slight streaks of the marbled tabby. Other “tabby” that we can meet, and that will make us confuse a little, are the Abyssinian tabby, with a salt-pepper effect coat with some dark stripes on the paws, on the muzzle, the spotted tabby, with rounded spots, the tabby brindle, with its vertical streaks on the sides and darker horizontal streaks on the paws and cheeks, and the marbled tabby, the most common.
Aggressive calico cat
Research has been carried out on the belief that the calico cat is more aggressive than others, and others, which has partially confirmed this rumor. The recent study is titled “The Relationship Between Coat Color and Aggressive Behaviors in the Domestic Cat“.
A team of veterinarians did it to understand any relationship between fur color and aggressive behavior in domestic cats. It must be said that the results are based on an Internet survey of cat owners who judged their cats by coat.
Calico cats were actually found to be more nervous and aggressive, but even white and black and gray and white cats are often animals that tend to attack humans both in daily interactions and during handling and veterinary visits. In fact, it seems proven that in felines “the dress makes the monk” and that the tricolor calico cats are “significantly more often aggressive towards people” than other cats.
In fact we are not faced with small violent tigers but with animals that more than others like them want to be left in peace. Even black and white cats are not so tame, especially with vets, if we want to be sure, or almost, that we have an affectionate cat, it is better to choose one color only – white, black, gray – or brindle.
