cat genetics – Michael Broad

Black-and-white cat genetics. Infographic.

March 16, 2025 by Michael Broad

Black-and-white cat genetics by Michael Broad

Tortoiseshell cat coat formation. Infographic.

January 29, 2025January 29, 2025 by Michael Broad

Details: The tortoiseshell cat coat pattern is formed due to a combination of genetic and developmental factors involving X-linked genes and random X-chromosome inactivation. Genetic Basis Developmental Mosaicism Modifying Factors Male Tortoiseshells In summary, the tortoiseshell coat is a striking example of how genetics and epigenetic processes like X-chromosome inactivation interact to produce complex …

2 ways an injury can change Siamese cat coat patterning (infographic)

July 25, 2024 by Michael Broad

I have employed the visually more interesting technique of an infographic to explain why an injury to a Siamese cat might cause the coat pattern to be temporarily altered as the Siamese cat pointed coat is heat sensitive. In fact, to study the sealpoint Siamese coat pattern is to observe what amounts to a …

The genetic reason why cats can’t taste sweetness

December 12, 2023 by Michael Broad

This is about the science – which is about the genetics of all the cat species – behind the failure of cats to detect sweetness in their food. We know that cats can’t detect the taste of sweetness in their food but what happened? It is a bit strange when you think about it …

Small cat hair colour and pattern is determined by genes and their presence is determined by natural or artificial selection

December 9, 2023December 9, 2023 by Michael Broad

Natural and artificial selection influences the genes that create coat type and colour

In discussing small cat hair colour, I think we have to divide the world of the small cats into two groups: the purebred cats and the non-purebred cats. Purebred cats These are created through artificial selection a.k.a. selective breeding. Selective breeding determines the genes that the cats carry and these genes determine the coat …

How Siamese cats change their colours

November 1, 2023 by Michael Broad

Siamese cats should have vivid blue eyes as per the cat associations' breed standards

First a short introduction. Although the history of the Siamese cat in the West is somewhat vague, it would seem with some certainty that a certain Mrs Vyvyan of Dover, UK acquired some of the first Siamese cats in the West. Of course, they came from Siam (now Thailand) ostensibly from the King’s Palace …

The classic blotched tabby (infographic)

February 9, 2024September 12, 2023 by Michael Broad

Silver classic tabby Scottish Fold kitten with a WOW appearance

Scroll down for an infographic on the classic tabby cat coat which is also referred to as the blotched tabby. Of the three types of tabby coat: the mackerel, spotted and classic, as stated in the infographic, the classic is believed to have evolved the last in the Elizabethan era due to a genetic mutation. But domestic cat tabby coats have evolved from the original domesticated cats which were all stripped/spotted tabbies as they were domesticated wildcats. Back in the day there was only one type of tabby.

Agouti tabby (infographic)

Click the link above for an infographic on the agouti gene which is responsible for the tabby coat.

‘Chinchilla’, its meaning in the cat world (infographic)

September 10, 2023 by Michael Broad

The word ‘chinchilla’ is used a lot in the cat fancy and it is associated with Persian cats. Usually not the extreme bred, flat-faced variety but the traditional doll-faced types. But there appears to be a certain flexibility in the meaning and use of the word which I have illustrated in the infographic. In essence ‘chinchilla’ refers to a type of coat in the cat world, specifically the cat fancy. The name has been taken from the name of a South American rodent with the same coat.

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