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Gray tabby cat with white paws10/13/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() There are many variations of the tabby pattern and tabby cats can be found with stripes, spots, ticks and swirls, and in various colors – brown tabbies, silver tabbies, ginger or orange tabbies, gray or blue tabbies and red tabbies Although there are many variations of each, the tabby pattern falls into four basic classes. The tabby pattern is so popular that it can be found in many pedigreed cats today, and is accepted in a number of breeds by the most popular registries. And have you ever seen a solid red or orange or cream cat without the familiar tabby markings? You won’t, because the gene that makes a cat red or cream also makes the tabby markings visible. Look at a “solid” black cat in the sun some day and see if you can find the hidden tabby markings. The gene for the tabby pattern can be found in all domestic cats. Natural selection made the tabby gene more dominant because the tabby coat is better camouflage than solid or bicolor coats, and thus an individual with a tabby coat would have better chances of survival because it could hunt and avoid predators more easily. This is one of the reasons most second or third generation feral cats are tabbies. The tabby gene is more dominate than any other coat color gene. Tabby cats are often mistakenly thought of as being a particular breed of cat, but it is the coat pattern that is known as “tabby.” Today’s house cats originated from the African wildcat which has similar markings to those we see on tabby cats, an effective form of camouflage. Although if you try telling the cat that, it will probably just look at you quizzically before sauntering away.Southern African wildcat, Leonemanuel, CC BY-SA 4.0 So, the next time you see a kitty wearing white socks, you'll know that this signature feature is a result of genetic mutations, domestication and developmental biology. Felines develop white feet, faces, chests and bellies when these cells don't quite make it all the way. If those waves of cells move far enough to meet each other on the cat's front side, the embryo will be born a solid-colored kitten, such as an all-black or all-orange cat. Then, those cells slowly migrate down and around the body. The cells that give cat fur its color first appear as neural crest cells, which are located along what will become the back, Lyons said. These distinctive fur colors and markings emerge while a cat embryo is developing. It's true of horses, pigs, mice, cows and rats. Behavioral traits seem unrelated to coat color, but for reasons that scientists don't fully understand, white spots tend to appear when the tamest individuals are selected and bred. Humans probably also selected for cats who were calm and comfortable around humans, Lyons said. Let's make sure it survives,'" Lyons said. "There were probably people saying, 'I particularly like that kitten because it has white feet. When humans started taking an interest in cats, these white paws would have stood out to them, too. In its native mixed forest or scrub desert environment, a cat with stark white paws would have stood out to predators and prey. There isn't much evidence to indicate why early cat people chose the individuals they did, but Lyons said the range of coats seen on modern domestic cats shows that our agrarian ancestors favored cats with markings that would have interfered with their camouflage. ![]()
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