I need advice, maybe you can help?

Question

I know none of you are really cat experts. but i know you all know google well! my questions is does anyone know if there are health conditions that are more likely to occurr if a cat has mackeral tabby stripes? I know the stripes are caused by a mutation but i couldnt find info on if there are health problems associated with it. My cat was bred with another tabby of her breed and mackeral stripes have never occured in either's bloodlines. Does anyone know of things i need to watch for in the identical twin kittens that have this stripeing?

ps. yes my cat is purebreed and i only sell to people who will show cats. plus this is her 3rd and last litter so she will be retired after she weans these.

Answer 1

Well honestly you should not get her spayed what you should do is...... Keep Googlen Best Of Luck

Answer 2

There are no health problems with mackerel stripes.  it's just a colour. The mackerel pattern is the original ancestral pattern of our cats; it's all the other colours and patterns that are mutations.  There are several genes involved in solid and tabby patterns.

The ticked pattern (like Abyssinian) will mask any of the striped patterns.

The mackerel pattern is dominant and will mask the classic (blotched) pattern which is a recessive gene.  

All of these will mask the solid non-tabby colours.

http://www.messybeast.com/gene-loci.htm has charts showing the possible combinations and what they'll look like.

2 classic tabbies bred together can't give mackerel tabby.

2 solids (except white) bred together can't give mackerel tabby.

A classic tabby and a solid bred together can't give mackerel tabby.

A solid white cat might have the mackerel tabby gene (white masks other colours and patterns) which might then show up in its offspring if they don't inherit the solid white colour.

A ticked tabby might carry the mackerel tabby gene hidden and it might show up in offspring that don't inherit ticked.

A solid red might really be a mackerel tabby red with faint stripes (the tabby is never eradicated on reds so you can't always tell if the cat is genetically solid or tabby).

Spotted cats are a bit of an uncertainty; the spotting gene probably modifies an existing tabby pattern (which might be classic or it might be mackerel)

If there is absolutely no way the mother or father carried mackerel tabby masked by another gene there is another possibility - the mother mated with a mackerel tabby male in addition to the mating with the male you chose for her.  Because the mackerel tabby pattern is dominant over classic tabby, you'd get mac-tabbies carrying classic.

ETA:  Just seen your update that she's a spotted breed.  Spotted breeds can carry classic or mackerel patterns and these turn up as variants (it happens in other spotted breeds as well due to recessive genes).  It's nothing to worry about.  Your kittens are still purebreds, but they are just variants (a bit like tailed Manx are natural variants).  If you decide to breed her again you'll need to select a different male.  You'll also need to let the owner of the male know her cat carries mackerel. This will influence who the cats get mated to in future to avoid mackerel tabby offspring.

Answer 3

You're breeding cats and you don't know something as basic as genetics related to tabby markings?  What "breed" is this cat of yours?  Mackerel tabby is actually not that common in purebred cats - Classic Tabby is the dominant tabby pattern.  And Mackerel Tabby markings are not a "mutation" they're a recessive coat pattern found in just about every domestic cat.

Edit: odds are one of the cats you're breeding with ISN'T a full Eqyptian Mau which would account for the Mackerel Tabby pattern showing up in the kittens.  So stop breeding them.  There - case closed.