A Nat Geo Moment

Very Nat Geo don't you think

This picture was taken by a fellow CG member when we were at Cameron Highlands recently. It is a male mackerel tabby cat and with the prominent M pattern on it's forehead. From the looks of it, he seems to be in his teens (approx 1 year of age), don't ask me how, I just know. He was staying with the family from which we rented our bungalows from. He seems to be very well taken care of with a sleek and shiny coat and obviously very active. Always seen jumping and pouncing around, more so during the evening when the evening crazies kick in. He seems to be very friendly with people too, my friend picked him up and he was immediately kneading on his shirt.

Our mackerel tabby in colour

He has this partner which is a female tortoise-shell which is more aloof and reserved. She is more timid and when it comes to people, and tends to shy away from any physical contact. She looks older though than her male partner, most probably in the adulthood (2-3 years of age) and seems to be more matured. And she doesn't seem to like the idea of being picked up that much compared to her friend. Don't really have a good picture of her though. Nevertheless, she's one beautiful tortoise-shell as you can see below. Her coat is absolutely shiny and vibrant. The picture below just does not do her justice :)

The tortoise-shell female

Random kitty facts
Do you know that most if not ALL tortoise-shell coat cats (like the one above) are females?
Quoted from Wikipedia

For a cat to be a tortoiseshell or calico, it must simultaneously express both of the alleles, O and o, which are two versions of the same gene, located at the same locus on the X-chromosome. Males normally cannot do this: they can have only one allele, as they have only one X-chromosome, consequently virtually all tortoiseshell or calico cats are females. Occasionally a male is born (the rate is approximately 1 in 3,000). These may have Klinefelter's Syndrome, carrying an extra X-chromosome (XXY), and will almost always be sterile or they may be a chimera resulting from the fusion of two differently coloured embryos.

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