A Rare … Cat?
The cat fancy is no different. Many of our breeds are preserved or created based on a defect – the tailless Manx, the curly coated Rexes, the sparsely coated Lykoi, the naked Sphynx. People love Scottish Folds and American Curls for their uniquely folding ears, and American or Japanese Bobtails for their cute, poofy tails. Rare and flashy colors are popular, too. Lilacs, chocolates, cinnamon, goldens, bi-colors, and patched or calico males are very popular. Though we don’t like to think of these charming variants as defects, that’s what they are. Whether we call them variants, mutations, or defects, from a genetic point of view they are the same thing. Just like the rare coin created from a flaw in its minting process, genetic variants are created in much the same way – something goes awry in a cell’s duplication process, causing an error in the sequence of the nucleic acids that make up an organism’s DNA. Since genes come in pairs, nature has a backup system, and if one copy of an allele (one of two or more versions of a genetic sequence at a particular location on a chromosome) is defective, the other likely is not.
Time Will Tell …
Denne historien er fra April 2024-utgaven av Cat Talk.
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Denne historien er fra April 2024-utgaven av Cat Talk.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Checklist For What to Look For in Your Club's Next Show Venue
Show Manager To Ring One, Please
Tonkinese
When You're Well and Truly Tonked
AVOIDING The Kitten Fear Period
Young kittens seem fearless.4 As soon as those eyes open and they can get their legs under them, they are off to see the world if their mama and humans let them.
No Milk For You!
Milk Issues and Kittens
Fostering Kittens
When asked if I would be interested in fostering a queen and her eight newborn kittens, I volunteered without question.
Do You present ? Polish! OR DO YOU
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS!
No Kitten! Cats Are Part of the Military!
Felines have graced the decks of boats and ships back nearly to the beginning of time, roaming freely on passenger ships, war vessels, and merchant schooners, keeping vermin at bay.
Feline Summer Movie Fun!
School is almost OUT! Huzzah! But raindrops are plunking against the window, the amusement and water parks haven’t opened yet, camping is out, and roasted hot dogs and S’mores are another month away.
Kittens Are Special...
...and so are some of the show rules for them:
Genetic Pleiotropy and the Risks in Breeding Recessive Mutations
Nearly everyone loves what’s rare and unique. A slight defect in the minting process of a coin can create a demand and a value well beyond the face value of the coin. The coin is functionally no different than its perfectly minted counterpart, but its scarcity and uniqueness alone make it more desirable than the rest.