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Furthermore, this same genetic concept explains why orange cats are usually male (however, not exclusively). The gene for orange fur is also carried on the X chromosome. As males only have one of these X chromosomes, the presence of just one orange gene (that they get from their mother) is enough for them to become orange. However, in females, you will need to have two of these genes, so both the X chromosomes need to carry this, for this colour to be expressed. Any other colour will override the orange colour, so if the dad or mum does not pass on this gene, there will be no orange female offspring. Cats add a splash of colour to all of our lives and hopefully you will now understand a little better where they get theirs from! By Giulia Pipolo
The End of the Line At a very early stage of the pandemic, the FDA in the United States released guidelines regarding domestic animals, suggesting among other things that owners keep cats inside and away from other animals or people. Although it may seem like a lifetime away at this point, one of the first reported cases of an animal being infected by the disease was a tiger at the Bronx Zoo. In turn, four more tigers and three lions all managed to test positive. Unfortunately the symptoms of COVID-19 for household cats are quite severe, including fevers, coughing, difficulty breathing, nasal congestion and discharge, vomiting and diarrhoea. It seems their poor little bodies have a particularly hard time fighting off the virus. Many readers might testify to similar experiences and lament the fact that very little can be done for your cat once it actually becomes sick. While the reaction to the virus is significantly less severe among humans - as has been well documented at this point it has led to both hospitalization and, in even worse cases, death for a large number of people. The fear of the virus along with a general exhaustion in regards to mask mandates, quarantines and social distancing rules has led to a vaccine being developed at record breaking speed. At least this is what the current narrative seems to be. These have promptly been distributed to countries around the world in a remarkably effective manner. The question that seems to be on everybody’s mind, which in many ways is a frightening and at times dangerous one to ask, is how far we ought to take the requirements of vaccination. It has become an increasingly divisive issue and has at times erupted into that social and political turmoil and violence which seems so indicative of our current age of interconnectedness. I do not doubt that some if not most of you readers have gotten at least one of your doses. Some of you might even be planning on getting a third “booster shot” in the near future. For those few of you who may have read some of my other
