What Defines a Calico Cat?

Calico cats are beautiful animals, but finding a true calico is uncommon. Finding a male calico is rare. A calico is not a breed of cat; it's the specific color and pattern of the cat's fur. The true calico has only three distinct colors. It also contains distinct patterns where the colors do not blend from one to the next. Cats having a coat with patterns that blend together with different shades of the same color are of the tortoiseshell variety, not a calico.

  1. Gender

    • Calico cats are largely female. This is because of genetics and the chromosomes needed to produce the proper colors. The chromosome necessary to produce the red color found in the calico pattern is also the chromosome required to produce female offspring. Male calicos do exist, but it is a genetic anomaly and in many cases, these males are sterile.

    White

    • Calico cats may have a white blaze on the nose and white cheeks.

      The basic color of a calico is white with splotches of the other two colors in a calico combination. The cat's belly is all white, and a white blaze may be present on the face from the nose to the top of the forehead with white cheeks. The calico also has one or more white legs and feet. White is one of the required colors for a calico.

    Red

    • The red found on a calico's coat is not a true red but more of a brown-orange or cinnamon color. It is one of the required colors for a true calico. This color should appear in patches throughout the body with no fading into the black or white colors. All of the patches must be the same shade and color. Cats with a darker brown coloring do not qualify as a calico, nor do cats with light cinnamon in one patch and dark cinnamon in another.

    Black

    • Black is the third required color in a true calico cat. As with the red, the black must be the same shade throughout the fur pattern with no fading from black to gray. It should not contain any gray or white hairs interspersed within the area of the black pattern. In most calicos, the black patterns are dark black, though they can be a lighter black, blue or chocolate color as long as all of the patches have the same shade.