The genetics of orange cats. | IFLScience

A breakthrough in cat science - we found out what makes cats orange! Some more details about cat genetics! A male cat only needs one copy of the orange gene (from his mom) to be orange, since he has only one X. A female cat, however, needs two copies of the orange gene—one from each parent—to be fully orange. If she inherits one orange gene and one non-orange, she ends up with a mix of colors—a tortoiseshell or calico! So, if an orange tomcat mates with a black or non-orange female, he can only