Free Tool

Kitten Coat Colour Predictor

Enter both parents' coat colour and pattern to see the probability of each kitten colour, split by sex.

About 80% of orange cats are male because the orange gene sits on the X chromosome — and that single fact drives a lot of kitten-colour maths. This free predictor uses 8 well-characterised feline coat-colour genes (ARHGAP36, TYRP1, MLPH, ASIP, Taqpep, DKK4, KIT, TYR) to estimate the odds of each kitten colour and pattern from your two cats. It shows probability ranges, not guarantees — because cats carry hidden recessive genes you cannot see.

Parent 1

Parent 2

The Genes Behind Cat Coat Colour

This predictor evaluates these loci in epistatic order (upstream genes can mask downstream ones). Each is backed by peer-reviewed research.

LocusGeneAllelesEffect
Orange (X-linked)ARHGAP36O > oOn the X chromosome. Switches black/brown to orange. Heterozygous females (O/o) are tortoiseshell or calico. Why most orange cats are male.
BrownTYRP1B > b > blEumelanin shade: black (B) > chocolate (b) > cinnamon (bl).
DilutionMLPHD > dDilute (d/d) lightens: black→blue, chocolate→lilac, cinnamon→fawn, red→cream.
AgoutiASIPA > aAgouti (A) shows tabby; non-agouti (a/a) is solid. Affects black/brown only — orange always shows tabby.
Tabby patternTaqpep / LVRNMc > mcMackerel (thin stripes) is dominant over classic/blotched (swirls).
TickedDKK4Ti > tiTicked (Abyssinian) overrides the tabby pattern, leaving finely banded agouti hairs.
White / White spottingKITW > Ws > wDominant white (W) masks ALL colour and is linked to deafness. White spotting (Ws) gives tuxedo/bicolour/Van patterns.
ColourpointTYRC > cb = cs > cTemperature-sensitive: Siamese point (cs/cs), Burmese sepia (cb/cb), Tonkinese mink (cb/cs), true albino (c/c).

How the Predictor Works

Each parent's visible coat is translated into the most likely genotype across 8 genes. The tool then runs a Punnett-square cross for each gene, combines them by independent assortment (multiplying the per-gene odds), and applies the epistatic order — white masks everything, orange overrides black/brown, non-agouti hides the tabby pattern, and ticked overrides other tabby patterns. The orange gene is handled with a sex-linked cross because it sits on the X chromosome.

Because a cat shows only its dominant genes, two black cats can both secretly carry chocolate and dilute — so we split results into the most likely outcomes and the extra colours that become possible if both parents are hidden carriers. There is no such thing as a solid (non-tabby) orange cat: orange (phaeomelanin) pigment does not respond to the agouti 'off' signal, so the tabby pattern always shows through, even in a genetically non-agouti orange cat. This v1 does not model the silver/smoke inhibitor gene, longhair, or breed-specific shade modifiers.

Sources: Sasaki & Toh et al. 2025, Current Biology 35(12):2816–2825; Kaelin & Barsh et al. 2025, Current Biology (Stanford); Lyons et al. 2005, Mammalian Genome 16(5):356–366 (TYRP1); Ishida et al. 2006, Genomics 88(6):698–705 (MLPH); Kaelin et al. 2012, Science 337:1536–1541 (Taqpep); Kaelin et al. 2021, Nature Communications 12:5127 (DKK4); David et al. 2014, G3 4(10):1881–1891 (KIT); UC Davis VGL; OMIA 001201/001249/001429/001484.

Frequently Asked Questions

The orange gene (ARHGAP36) sits on the X chromosome. Males have only one X, so a single orange allele makes the whole cat orange. Females have two X chromosomes and usually need orange on both to be fully orange — far less likely. A female with orange on just one X becomes tortoiseshell or calico instead. This is why roughly 80% of orange cats are male, confirmed by 2025 research from Stanford and Kyushu University.
Coloured kittens — yes; a calico — no. Two black cats can secretly carry hidden recessive genes: if both carry dilute (d), about 25% of kittens can be blue; if both carry chocolate (b), some can be chocolate; carrying both can even give lilac. But a calico or tortoiseshell needs the orange gene, which a plain black cat does not have — so two black parents can never produce a calico. (A black father plus a tortie/calico mother, however, can give calico daughters.)
Male calicos are extremely rare — about 1 in 3,000 — because a male normally has only one X chromosome and needs two (one orange, one non-orange) to show the pattern. Almost all male torties have an extra X (XXY, like Klinefelter syndrome) or are chimeras, and the vast majority are sterile. They are a biological curiosity rather than a breeding asset, and the rarity does not translate into real monetary value.
White spotting (the KIT gene) decides that white will appear, but not where. During development, pigment cells migrate from the back across the embryo, and white areas form wherever they fail to arrive — a process driven by random cellular timing. That's why two identical tuxedo cats can produce a kitten with a tiny chest locket or one that is 80% white. The predictor says 'white in varying amounts' and never promises a specific pattern.
It depends on the sexes. A black father and orange mother typically give black daughters (who carry orange) and orange sons — but if the mother is the orange one, daughters often become tortoiseshell. An orange father and black mother give tortoiseshell daughters and black sons. Orange is sex-linked, so the parents' sexes matter as much as their colours. Use the predictor above to see the exact split for your two cats.
A tortoiseshell female has one orange and one non-orange X chromosome. Early in development, each cell randomly switches off one X forever (X-inactivation). The orange and black patches you see are clonal patches of cells that happened to keep one X active. Because this is random in millions of cells, no two torties — not even cloned cats with identical DNA — ever have the same pattern.
Yes. 'Black' only tells you the cat's dominant genes. A black cat can invisibly carry the dilute gene (d) and/or the chocolate gene (b). If both parents carry dilute, roughly 25% of kittens can be blue (diluted black). If both carry chocolate, some kittens can be chocolate; if both carry chocolate AND dilute, you can even get lilac. This is exactly why the predictor separates 'most likely' from 'possible if carrier'.
Dominant white (the W allele of the KIT gene) stops pigment cells from migrating, producing an all-white cat that masks whatever colour it genetically is. The same KIT gene also helps build the inner ear, so dominant-white cats — especially blue-eyed ones — have a high risk of congenital deafness. This is a welfare issue, not a cosmetic one, so DNA testing and responsible breeding are strongly recommended. Note this differs from albino (a separate recessive gene with no deafness link).
Every orange cat shows a tabby pattern, even ones that are genetically 'solid' (non-agouti). That's because orange pigment (phaeomelanin) does not respond to the agouti signal that normally switches off the tabby pattern in black/brown cats. So while a non-agouti black cat is solid, a non-agouti orange cat still shows faint stripes or spots. 'Solid orange' simply cannot exist — a useful clue that orange follows different rules from other colours.

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