White Kittens: Cute Photos

White cats in various countries have been regarded as bringing either good or bad luck. Many people, however, see white cats as beautiful animals. Although all kittens start out with blue eyes, this eye color is more significant in white cats than others because there is a genetic connection between blue-eyed cats and deafness. Amazingly, even if a blue-eyed white cat has just a couple of colored hairs, its hearing is likely to be normal. Not all white cats have blue eyes. Some have orange eyes, and some are even odd colored - one blue, one orange. If one of the eyes is orange, then hearing should be okay. They're all simply beautiful.

Photo above by Katesheet

Photo above by ClatieK

Silver Kittens: Cute Photos

What do people call their silver kitten? Smokey is an obvious one. Nickel, Ashes, Sylvia, Misty, Bullet, Charcoal, Raindrop, Stormy, Shadow, Dusty...

Many of these beautiful kittens show tabby markings. You can find out more about tabbies and see beautiful pictures of mature cats on our tabby page.

Tuxedo kittens: Photos, Pictures, Information

We also have lots of hilarious cat videos and animations for your enjoyment. We have kittens playing with a tissue box and kittens making a mess with toilet paper. One of my favorites is the kitten giving its litter-mate a massage.

Orange Kittens: Cute Photos

The orange kittens featured on this page have a tabby pattern, sometimes called "red" or "ginger". Even if a cat appears to have a solid orange coat, it will usually have faint tabby markings on closer inspection. More male than female kittens are born with orange coloring.

All of these kittens have tabby markings. You can find out more about tabbies and see more photos of cute kittens and beautiful mature cats at our tabby cats page.

Tortoiseshell cats: Photos and Information

Tortoiseshell is a color pattern, often confused with calico. Tortoiseshell patterns have no white in their coats, just black and brown or red. Calico coats usually have large patches of the three colors, whereas you can see that these tortoiseshell cats have a more blended or flecked appearance.

The coloring is caused by a combination of certain genetic traits that mostly occur in females.

Markings are not symmetrical and can sometimes include areas of tabby-like pattern. Tortoiseshells are also called "calimanco" and "clouded tiger" in North America.

Calico Kittens: Cute Photos

Aren't these beautiful calico kittens? Do you know the difference between calico and tortoiseshell markings? Are calico cats male or female - can they be both? You can find out more about calico markings and see beautiful pictures of more kittens as well as mature cats on our calico cat page. Common names for calico cats are Biscuit and Cookie.

Photo above by William McCamment

Photo above by tanakawho

Photo above by Karin Dalziel

Photo above by William McCamment

Calico cats:

Calico cats are not a breed of cat; calico is a color pattern. To be called "calico", a cat must have black, white and orange in its coat. Variations of these colors include gray, cream and ginger. True calicos have large patches of these three colors, whereas a tortoiseshells or "torties" have a mix of these colors often blended or swirled together, rather than separate blocks of color. The size of the patches can vary from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of colour. Typically, the more white a cat has, the more solid the patches of color. In the UK, these cats are called "tortoiseshell and white". We have more photos of very cute calico kittens.

Many people are surprised to learn that most cats with this coat pattern are female. This is due to genetics. Coat color in cats is a physical characteristic related to gender. Female animals have two X chromosomes (XX), males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome (XY). The genetic coding for black or orange coat color is found on the X chromosome. The coding for white is a completely separate gene.

Since females have two X chromosomes, they can show two colors (orange and black, or variations of these) and white; creating the 3-color calico mix. Since males have only one X chromosome, they can only be orange OR black. The complex process of dominant and non-dominant genes comes into it too, but that is the basis for coat color in these cats.

I did say that most calicos are female. They can be male in rare instances. In this case, the cat will have two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome (XXY). Cats with this chromosomal composition are usually sterile...is similar to a human condition called Klinefelter's syndrome.

Interesting fact: on October 1, 2001, the calico cat became the official cat of the state of Maryland in the United States.