This is the first in a series of Q&As with The Author himself…
Are you now or have you ever been owned by a cat? If not, how the heck do you know so much about them, particularly the Abyssinian and Burmese varieties?
Back in the early 60s I had a cat. Seymour Cat, named for my first wife’s obstetrician, Seymour Katz. Seymour was a girl cat, it turned out. I can’t remember what became of her. Then some years later I had two seal-point Siamese, Tanner and Tuppence, and Tuppence had Bonnie and Clyde. Tanner got run over by a car, and Clyde died, so that left us with two cats with names that no longer made any sense. Tanner tended to mate with both Tuppence, his mate, and Bonnie, his daughter, which was difficult to explain to the children. Then there were innumerable outdoor cats—we lived in the country then—and most of them were forgettable, but there was one I named Vectra because all he wanted in the world was to come into the house, which made him a sort of indoor-outdoor cat, and Vectra was a brand of what they insisted was indoor-outdoor carpeting. Never mind. It seemed to make sense then, but so did lots of things, including living in the country and having cats.
I know a little about cat genetics. I know that all calico cats are female, which lots of people know, and I know that all white cats with blue eyes are deaf. Not as many people know that. I wonder if it’s truly true…
Not all blue-eyed white cats will be deaf. Not all albino animals are deaf. We had a litter of Harlequin puppies (beautiful black and white). We were told to “cull” any puppies born completely white because they would be deaf. Our vet said that wasn’t always the case. We learned that the puppies were deaf (they wouldn’t wake up as quickly as the others), but found wonderful/safe homes for them. They were “giants” compared to the other puppies when full grown. Just butting in….
Reading this with my black cat, Mr Jake Bowers purring away in my lap.
“It seemed to make sense then”…yeah, I hope so. LOL.
No doubt you’re going to get feedback on this but I can’t help myself. Not all – but definitely most – calico cats are female. And while most white cats who have blue eyes are deaf, not all of them turn out deaf. It’s a high percentage but no guarantee. How do I know this crap? My Abyssinian does a lot of reading in her spare time.
Here name is Miss Lucy. She’s a black long hair mongrel of some sort. Mean as all get-out! Old broad as we have had her for nearly a dozen years. Smart as hell. It shows when she does wrong. Cat Love is a remnants of my Mom saying they bring good luck. Ha!
As for calicos – not quite. It’s true that calico requires two X chromosomes to manifest. But cats with two X chromosomes aren’t *always* females — sometimes they’re males with an extra chromosome (which makes them sterile, sickly, and mildly retarded).
As for blue-eyed white cats being deaf – again, not quite. There are a few different genetic ways for cats to manifest “all white fur”, and only the most prevalent of those ways is known to be linked to deafness when co-occurring with blue eyes. We don’t know *how* it’s linked to deafness, only that it is — and even then, it’s just “extremely common”, not ubiquitous. (If you have an all-white cat with one blue eye and one green eye, it will probably be deaf on the side with the blue eye.)
Good to know. So no cats in the present?
Nope. Animals of all sorts in the past. None in the present.
Cute story – thanks 🙂 We had a pure white blue-eyed cat named Scruffy a few years ago. He wasn’t deaf, which we realized was unusual. Somewhere in his background there must have been a Siamese, because Scruffy had the same “exotic” body shape – long legs and wedge-shaped head. Luckily though, he did not have the annoying Siamese meow.
Reminds me. When we traveled, we’d board our Siamese at a—well, not a kennel. A cattery? Whatever. After we picked them up, for a couple of days they’d say “meow”. I guess it was a sort of verbal equivalent of kennel cough. Then they would remember who they were, and yowl properly again.
Larry,
I too had a pair of Seal Point Siamese…brother and sister…named Subadai and Bortai (Subadai was Genghis Khan’s leading general and Bortai was G.K.’s wife). Being strictly indoor cats, when Bortai became pregnant I used my highly developed detective skills — learned from reading all of those Scudder novels over the years — to ascertain the culprit. As Bortai’s pregnancy developed (I was told that the first litter would be safe, even from this incestuous relationship), Subodai began repeatedly pouncing on her stomach (not something he ever did before or after), which caused a miscarriage! The vet had never heard of such behavior during his many years of practice. I’ve often wondered about what drove him to this behavior. After he — or they, I can’t remember now — were ‘fixed’, they went on with their sibling relationship for a total of 15 years.
Norman
I love cats.
My neighbour once had a Russian Blue that i found to be incredibly loyal, affectionate and intelligent.
I never knew his name but i called him Four Legs (!).
He is still in my heart as i am sure he has passed on now.
*
It is 2.08 am here
I cant sleep
I am thinking of a dead cat.
Meow!
I had a beautiful grey cat for 21 years. Her mother was a farm cat from where i grew up. She even moved with me from Minnesota to Seattle. Even though she was a girl I named her Willis, after a Martian. Figure that one out.
Cats rule. Just ask Bernie.