Have you ever stopped to think about how many colors of cats there are out there? In addition to solid tones, it is also possible to find animals with the most different combinations of coats, as is the case of the tricolor cat. Yes, that's right: there is a cat of three colors, and it is practically impossible not to fall in love with cats like this. With a docile, attached and fun personality, the 3-color cat is really charming. But?did you know that there is a theory that every tricolor cat is female? To better understand how this coat pattern works and what defines a "3 color" cat, we went after more information on the subject. Check out the possible explanation below!

Tricolor cat: what defines this coat pattern?

Chances are you've already bumped into a three-colored cat and didn't realize it. These furry little guys are fascinating, but sometimes they go unnoticed. When it comes to this cat's coat, three common colors are black, orange and white, which are usually mixed together in the form of spots scattered across the body. These spots don't follow a single pattern, so eachkitten can have a different coat.

But how is the hair color of tricolour cats formed anyway? Let's go: the animal organism has a protein called melanin that has the function of pigmentation of the skin and hair. Melanin, in turn, is divided into eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin is responsible for dark colors, such as black and brown; while pheomelanin produces reddish and orange tones. Oresult of other colors, such as gray and gold, for example, is derived from mixing these tones in greater or lesser proportions.

White, which is the last color that makes up the coat of the tricolor cat, can present itself in three ways: from the white color gene, the albinism gene or the white spot gene. In the case of a cat with three colors, what manifests itself is the spot gene.

Why do they say the 3-colored cat is female? Understand!

Before answering this question, how about remembering a few biology concepts? This will make it much easier to understand the theory that the cat with three colors is always female! To begin with, it is necessary to remember that coat color is directly linked to the sex chromosomes X and Y. In the case of females, the chromosomes will always be XX; and in the case of males, always XY. During theThus, the female will always send X, and the male has the possibility of sending X or Y - if he sends X, the result is a kitten; and if he sends Y, a kitten.

But what does this have to do with the coat of the tricolor cat? It's simple: both the black and the orange color are contained in the X chromosome. In practice, this means that the male, theoretically, cannot present orange and black simultaneously, since he has only one X chromosome.This is why whenever you see a tricolor kitten, many people already deduce that it is female - and the same goes for the scaled cat, which is a coat pattern with only orange and black colors.

Some breeds that show this color variation are:

• Persian cat
• Angora Cat
• Van Turco
• Maine Coon

Male cat with 3 colors is rare but not impossible to find

Many people think that there are only tri-colored cats, but that's not entirely true. Remember the story of the male's XY chromosomes and the female's XX, which is what allows for the three-colored coat? So, there is a genetic anomaly that can cause males to be born with an extra chromosome of type X. This anomaly is known as Klinefelter Syndrome, and animals born with ithave three genes: XXY. In such cases, three-colored cats are a possibility.