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For reference, some feline coat patterns require XX chromosomes.

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[-] razorcandy@discuss.tchncs.de 51 points 3 days ago

Fun fact: while almost all calico cats (tricolor coat) are female, around 1 in 3,000 are males with an extra X chromosome, a condition known as Klinefelter syndrome. As a result, they are almost always sterile. About 1 in 10,000 male calicos are fertile.

Also, around 80% of orange cats are male.

[-] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 1 points 14 hours ago

My friend had a male calico who was very much not sterile... at least not until the parents were required to neuter...

[-] Godric@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

That's genuinely awesome stats you're claiming! I feel doubly blessed for my orange little lovely lady who ran the house.

Her bigger also orange twin brother? Dominated. The big fuckoff dog? Dominated. She ran the indoor animals.

The only animal she didn't run over was our elder statesmen cat, who was big and brilliant in equal measure. My dear boy was the largest cat I ever saw, and would understand language to a frightening degree."Go see X", "Come Here", "stop", and any mention of "Vet" was well interpreted :)

[-] Trex202@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

Are the Organge ones and Calicos of the same breed?

[-] razorcandy@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 3 days ago

Orange and calico are just some of the possible colorings of a cat’s fur and don’t determine its breed (although some breeds are known for having distinctive colors and patterns).

[-] MissJinx@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago

Most would assume my orange cat os a boy but it's a girl

[-] eletes@sh.itjust.works 14 points 3 days ago

I have a female orange as well. She has floating patellas and walks funky. Does yours have something similar?

[-] MissJinx@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

not really, she does runs funny but there is no physical problem she is just chaotic and a bit dumb lol

[-] Little8Lost@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago

It feels like in german that hats are mostly referred to as female ("she is a cutie") until proven otherwise (maybe) because the word for the species "Katze" is also the word for female cats "Katze" while males have the word "Kater"

Also a lot of cats are "Katzen" and never "Katers"

[-] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 14 points 3 days ago

There's a cat-in-the-hat joke in here somewhere, I'm just not finding it.

[-] SGG@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago

Germans gender hats? But I'm masculine and love wearing bunny ears! /s

[-] SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world 10 points 3 days ago

The German language has three forms of the word "the" - the two genders, and neutral. As a kid living in Germany for a while, this gave me fits - things like doors, tables, windows, etc. are gendered, but I'll be damned if I could ever figure out any pattern to predict which would get which gender (or neutral).

[-] Little8Lost@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

The pattern is "what souds good"
Die Tür -> sounds good
Das Boot -> souds good
Die Boot -> souds bad

[-] SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world 20 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

"Sounds good" in language is usually something you're used to hearing, so it "sounds good" because you've already heard it that way & are used to it. Doesn't help one lick for those not already deeply immersed in hearing the language routinely.

[-] iltoroargento@lemmy.sdf.org 11 points 3 days ago

This is why I love Lemmy. Linguistics from a cat post!

[-] leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

The problem is that what sounds good in German doesn't necessarily sound good in other gendered languages (romance languages, for instance), so if you know both you need to know multiple mutually incompatible lists of arbitrarily gendered words.

[-] MarieMarion@literature.cafe 4 points 3 days ago

As a French speaker, I stg your genders for LE sun and LA moon don't make a lick of sense, and sound really wrong.
DER Sonne is obviously a guy. Goes to the gym every day, lifts weights, big muscles, maybe a bandana. Picture a ladies' man from 1985 in a beach town, and that's him. And DIE Mund is the protectress of women.

[-] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 days ago

“Der Tür” sounds awful, you make a lot of sense

[-] Little8Lost@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

i invested like 2 minutes trying to make it perfect and then *a typo*

[-] Nanook@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 days ago

This is why Dutch is superior.

Poes.

/jk

[-] urheber@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 3 days ago

I call cats "it" because it sounds more cuterstersterster

[-] RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

All cats are 'baby' unless I'm told otherwise!

[-] SomethingBlack@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago

Do you want a medal for being a champion cat sexer?

[-] Asswardbackaddict@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago

I'll take one. I'll sex those cats up

[-] AlmightyDoorman@kbin.earth 12 points 3 days ago

Klinefelter cats can have the same fur patterns while phenotypical presenting as male. Very unlikely though.

[-] EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 10 points 3 days ago

Tortoiseshell and calico? Not sure of any others

[-] leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

About 80% of orange cats are male; not as clear as one in three thousand for calicos, but stilll.

[-] Balerion@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago

Yes, plus the tabby variants of those (i.e. tabby with orange splotches, tabby-and-white with orange splotches).

[-] ConstantPain@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Gender is a social construct...

[-] Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

Side point, but there's male three colour cats. Cats can be chromosomally intersex, just like humans. My family used to have a male calico. They usually have XXY chromosomes.

[-] lerba@sopuli.xyz 8 points 3 days ago

This is a proper shower thought

[-] miss_demeanour@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 days ago

I always assume a cat is a 'she' until it proves otherwise.

this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
191 points (100.0% liked)

Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

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