04. Designing a Kit

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Design a Kit

dictionary

Dominant Gene: This is the gene (color, design, etc) that is "stronger" than the recessive gene.

Recessive Gene: This gene is "weaker" than the dominant gene. Although it is impossible for it to appear in a cat when the gene dominant to it is present, it is possible for it to be dominant over another gene, and therefore appear in later generations.

Agouti: Ticked hairs, alternating bands of color on the hair; the agouti hairs are also found around tabby markings, making the tabby pattern visible. Controls the amount and distribution of melanin in the hairs.

Melanin: The main pigment that gives color to the skin, hair, and eyes. Melanin consits of eumelanin and phaeomelanin

Eumelanin: The black or brown-based melanin granules affecting pigmentation of hair, skin, and eyes; the granules may be dense or diluted.

Phaeomelanin: The red-and-yellow-based colors. Sex linked (this is for the code used in genetics, does not apply to this guide)

Inhibitor Gene: The gene responsible for the inhibition of color and therefore the silver, as in the chinchilla and shaded silvers, and smokes

dominant & recessive 
Color & Pattern
dominant - recessive
agouti - non-agouti
color black - color chocolate & cinnamon
full color - sepia, pointed, mink
dense pigmentation - dilution
inhibitor gene - non-inhibitor
spotting pattern - bicolor & mitted
white spotting - non white spotting
agouti/ticked tabby - mackerel & classic tabby
dominant white - no white
wide band - no wide band

For this guide I will be using the wonderful: Lightning and Eclipseclaw as examples. Based on what the color and pattern chart, here is a gene chart for Lightning and Eclipseclaw. The D at the end stands for Dominant while the r stands for recessive.

Lightning
Agouti, D
Dense pigmentation, D
Inhibitor gene, D
No white spotting, r
Mackerel tabby, r
No white, r


Eclipseclaw
Non-Agouti, r
Black, D
Full color, D
Dense Pigmentation, D
Non-inhibitor, r

From just looking at Lightning and Eclipseclaw's genetics, I can tell that this is what one of their kit's genetics might look like:

Agouti
Dense Pigmentation
Full color
Black

That's just a basic over view, what you would really notice. The kit would be a black kit, really deep and dark, full color, and black. So it would almost look exactly like Eclipseclaw (lightning is a whimp)

Of course this doesn't mean that just the dominant genes are tranfered. Normally it's just the dominate genes that take effect. So this kit will have all of Eclipseclaw's & Lighting's whimpy recessive genes, which may show up in a later generation.

Next I'm going to list other genetic charts and what all you would need to know when designing a kit or cat.

dominant & recessive 
Color & Pattern
dominant - recessive
agouti - non-agouti
color black - color chocolate & cinnamon
full color - sepia, pointed, mink
dense pigmentation - dilution
inhibitor gene - non-inhibitor
spotting pattern - bicolor & mitted
white spotting - non white spotting
agouti/ticked tabby - mackerel & classic tabby
dominant white - no white
wide band - no wide band

Body Parts
dominant - recessive
curled back ears - normal ears
normal tail length - japanese bobtail-like tail
manx-like tail or tailless - normal tail length
poludactyl
normal number of toes
folded down ears - normal ears

Hair
dominant - recessive
normail hair - hairless
short hair - long hair
la perm - no rex coat
normal coat - cornish/devon rex coat
silkirk rex coat - no selkirk rex coat
wirehair coat
no wirehair coat

Color Chart

The colors do not have to be specifically these colors. This is just to show you what the colors are for dense and dilluted. So it doesn't have to be the exact blue or lilac, they can be darker, lighter, grayer, whatever.

**note** White is not a color. White cats are false albino cats if they do not have red/pinkish eyes AND/OR do not have the agouti/inhibitor gene.

Black

Dense:

Dilluted (Blue):

Chocolate

Dense:

Dilluted (Lilac):

Cinnamon

Dense:

Dilluted (Fawn):

Red

Dense:

Dilluted (Cream):

Eye Color

Eye colors range from:

Copper, copper-orange, orange, orange-yellow, yellow, yellow-hazel, hazel, hazel-green, green, green-aqua, aqua, aqua-blue, blue

And then there can be "odd-eyes", eyes that are each different colors (ex. one copper the other hazel-green)

Eye colors can be any between those named. Only true albino cats can have red/pinkish eye color.

Pattern Types

The pattern of a cat's fur has a basic make-up. These are:

Solid,

Tortoishell,

Torbie,

Tabby

sub catagories:

Mackerel

Agouti/tipped

Classic

Sepia,

Mink,

Tipped (has agouti),

Silver,

Pointed

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information by moony from bth