Cat breeding

tabby cat

A pedigree cat has a recorded family tree which shows thal its ancestors have been purebred for at least three generations.
Like all animals, cats inherit their shape, color and other characteristics from their parents. It is impossible to tell how many kittens a cat will have or what sex they will be, bul most characteristics can be predicted if the family tree of both parents is known.
Some characteristics are dominant, that is, their presence masks the presence of other characteristics. If parents have different characteristics, most oí their kittens will show the ones that are dominant. Tabby markings are a dominant characteristic, which is why there are so many Tabbies and cats with some tabby markings.
Some characteristics are only carried by one sex. For example, Tortoiseshell cats are nearly always female.
Ocassionally, a kitten is born wilh a completely new characteristic. The curly coat of the Rex cats is an example of this. The first Rex cat was born in a litter of ordinary kittens produced by a shorthaired farm cat.