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May 7th, 2000 Tarna has her kittens!

The proud mama and her babies 05/06/2000

The miracle of life by Tarna the barn cat: Tarna shows off her new litter of five babies born today between the remaining hay and the wall of the barn. Three kittens are gray and white; the other two are dark tiger striped kittens. Tarna suffered a serious injury last year when a horse stepped on her head, fracturing her skull. Her recovery seemed unlikely in the extreme, but she did recover after many days in a clothesbasket getting penicillin shots, sugar water, and Gefilte Fish broth. Initially paralyzed and near death, she lived and eventually got her coordination and reflexes back. Lori swears it was the Gefilte Fish broth; I think it was a blessing.

I don't know much about cat breeding (fortunately they seem to do OK on their own) but I studied Animal Genetics once, way back when. I have not handled these kittens, but I am guessing that the Gray and Whites are males, and the dark tiger stripes will be Tortoseshell females. I believe my professor said that only female cats could have three colors (except for the mutation XXY which is generally a sterile male). The color gene is carried on the X chromosome, and color is expressed as a combination of genes (some included: Black Color, Brown Color, Orange Color, Dominant White Color, Density of Color, Striping, and White Spotting). Since Tarna is a kind of three color cat with striping (called a "Tortoiseshell and White" or "Blue-Cream and White") she carries genes for Brown(one X) and Black(2nd X) with White Markings (on her face) and Striping, plus her Blacks are Dilute making Greys. Some of her babies have her low density black (grey) with lots of White Spotting giving the appearance of a white background (if Male), the other two express their fathers solid Black along with Tarnas Brown Tabby Striping.

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Last Updated 09/09/00