He could be a barbet (bar-bay), the newest member of the American Kennel Club’s Sporting Group. ![]() The next time you see an unusual curly-coated dog walking down the street, don’t assume he’s a doodle blend.If you have a male calico and think you can make money breeding him, you’re probably going to be disappointed because of his likely sterility. These unusual XXY animals, typically the result of faulty cell division, are called Klinefelter males, after the doctor who first described the condition. Lee Pickett, VMD, practices companion animal medicine in North Carolina.If both X chromosomes carry the calico blueprint, you’re looking at one rare cat: a male calico. ![]() Throughout the process, reward Dolly with praise and kisses so she's always happy to have her ears cleaned. She'll shake debris from deep in her ear canal onto her ear flap, where you can easily remove it with cotton balls or tissues.ĭon't insert a cotton swab into her ear canal because it can push debris deeper into the canal and damage her eardrum. Let go of her ear flap and allow her to shake her head. Fill her canal with ear cleaner and massage the base of her ear to loosen any water, wax and other debris. Raise Dolly's ear flap to straighten her L-shaped ear canal. Medicated cleaners work well when the ear is infected, but in a healthy ear, they kill the good bacteria, allowing pathogenic bacteria and yeast to overgrow.ĭon't use alcohol, which stings, or hydrogen peroxide, which breaks down to oxygen and water, leaving the ear canal moist. But that doesn't work for swimming, so when she returns home from a swim, you'll need to clean her ears to remove the water.įor routine cleaning, it's best to use an unmedicated ear cleaner recommended by your veterinarian. ![]() You can prevent water entry during bathing by occluding Dolly's ear canals with cotton balls. Water that enters the canals while the dog is swimming or being bathed settles at the bottom of the L, where it's dark, warm and moist, perfect conditions for bacteria and yeast to proliferate. What's your advice?Ī: Dogs' ear canals are L-shaped internally. My veterinarian suggested I clean her ears after swimming to prevent infections, but I didn't think to ask how. Q: Whenever my dog Dolly swims, her ears become infected. Fortunately, XXY cats are healthy and not at risk of medical or behavioral problems. This XXY condition is rare in cats, which explains why your veterinarian was so surprised to see Joseph's coat of many colors. ![]() So, a cat with black and orange fur must have two X chromosomes and therefore be a female.Ī male cat may be either black or orange, but not both - unless he has a chromosomal abnormality.Ī calico or tortie will be a male if he has two X chromosomes, which give rise to the black and orange fur, plus a Y chromosome that produces male genitalia. The gene for black fur sits on an X chromosome the gene for orange fur also resides on an X chromosome, but not the same one. Other colors are modifications of the two basic colors for example, gray is the dilute version of black. The two basic colors are black and orange, sometimes called red. Males have one X and one Y chromosome and are called XY.Īpproximately 20 genes determine coat color in cats. Females have two X chromosomes and are referred to as XX. Because of the genes that code for coat color, both types of cats are almost always female.ĭomestic cats have approximately 20,000 genes on 38 chromosomes, two of which are the sex chromosomes X and Y. Why is that?Ī: Calico cats have orange, black and white fur, while tortoiseshell cats - "torties" - sport orange and black fur. My veterinarian was surprised when she examined him and confirmed he was a male, because she said calico cats are almost always female. Q: I adopted a calico cat from a shelter that named him Joseph for his coat of many colors.
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