Toyhouse

Basic Genetics Overview

Felivia domestica use a mix of pigeon and cat genetics to determine coat colours and patterns. There are a mix of "sex-linked" genes, meaning that males can have two copies of a gene and females can have one (like birds--think like torties but reverse the gender.) "Autosomal" genes are those that are not linked to sex, so both females and males can have two copies of a gene. Terms you will see include "homozygous", meaning a cat can have two copies of the same gene, "heterozygous" meaning that the cat will have one copy of the gene in question and another on the same allele, and "hemizygous", meaning that a female cat only has the one gene. An "allele" is the place where two genes are located that determine a certain colour or pattern, and are ranked by dominance. Some alleles only have an "on/off" switch, while others can show various colours or pattern variations. If you'd like to learn more about how cat genetics work, I would recommend reading the colour and pattern chart explanations written by Sarah Hartwell.

Phenotypes vs Genotypes

Phenotype: This is the coat colour you will see described in words, explaining the colour and pattern(s) on a cat's body. "Chocolate Ticked Tabby" is an example.
Genotype: A series of letters and symbols that determine the exact representation of the pattern. They can look quite complex! Autosomal genes come in pairs for both males and females. Sex-linked genes are ones in which males can have two copies (allowing them to sometimes show a neat mix of patterns, like tortie cats) while females have one copy, allowing them to only show the colour or pattern of the one gene. For cat and genetic fanciers, the reasons that sex-linked genes are reversed from cat genetics is because Felivia domestica were originally based entirely off of avians--and sex-linked chromosomes are the opposite between birds and mammals!

Base Colours (Sex-Linked Gene)

Every winged cat has a base colour, the coat on which all other patterns and modifiers operate, and this base colour is divided into two variants. "Coarse Distribution Pigments" come in the following colours: "Ash Red" (B^A), "Blue" (B⁺) and "Brown" (b). Coarse Distribution Pigments mean that the cat will have a darker head and tail, while the rest of its body is a much paler colour. "Smooth Distribution Pigments" are the second variant, and come in the following colours: "Red" (O), "Black" (B), "Smooth Brown" (b^S) and "Light Brown" (b^l). Smooth distribution pigments give the cat the same colour over the entire body and wings. Orange (O) is a special case: it is co-dominant, meaning that males with an Orange and another gene (say, Black,) will show both orange and black patches on their coats. Because females can only display one gene, they can only be Orange or another colour.

Because these colours are sex-linked, males receive two of these genes in a pair, and females receive one. For example, a male 'homozygous' (meaning possessing two of the same gene) for Ash Red would be described as B^A//B^A. A female 'hemizygous' (meaning possessing the single sex-linked gene needed to express the colour) would be described as B^A/-. The '-' symbol is what we use for all sex-linked genes in females of the winged cat species.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Orange	O	Orange is the most dominant gene. When paired with any other base colour, O allows others to show through, similar to a Tortie. Because Orange is a Smooth Distribution Pigment, it will show up all over the Cat's body, but if paired with a Coarse Distribution Pigment, the other colour will only show through in the areas that it usually does (for Ash Red, in the head, and for Blue and Brown, at head and tail.)
Ash Red	B^A	The second most dominant base colour. When males are paired with a 'B⁺', 'B', 'b^S', 'b' or 'bl', 'B^A' will always be expressed. Ash Red is a Coarse Distribution Pigment, displaying a rusty reddish colour in the head and neck, with a buff, pale reddish-brown colour across the rest of the body. Some darker flecking may occur in the wings and tail, while the tail bar is very faint.
Black	B^B	Black is the third most dominant of the base colour series, and is a Smooth Distribution Pigment, meaning that the cat is black all over. Because patterns on a black cat are also usually black, they don't show through very well unless other modifiers are in play. The symbol for Black is B^B, which is recessive to Ash Red and Orange, but dominant over all the other base colours.
Blue	B⁺	Blue is known as 'wild type' (as denoted by the '⁺' symbol) because it is the most common in wild populations. It is dominant over 'B', 'b^S', 'b' and 'b^l' but recessive to 'B^A' and 'B^B'. It is a Coarse Distribution Pigment, so generally the head, neck and tail are a darker greyed blue, while the body is a paler shade of the same. Sometimes wing feathers will be flecked with darker blue as well. Think of wild pigeons for an example of this shade.
Smooth Brown	b^S	Smooth Brown is a Smooth Distribution Pigment, meaning that it covers the entire body with a chocolate brown hue. It is dominant over 'b' and 'b^l', but the more dominant colours ('B^A', 'B⁺', and 'B') will mask it.
Brown	b	Brown is the second most recessive of the base colours, meaning that in males, it must be paired with itself (homozygous) or with 'b^l' to be shown. It is a Coarse Distribution Pigment, meaning that it is mostly greyed brown colour in the head, neck and tail, with a paler, silvered dun colour across the rest of the body. The brown pigment is composed in such a way that it fades faster than Blue or Ash Red, so wings tend to fade and eventually fray as the winged cat ages.
Light Brown	b^l	Light Brown is the most recessive base colour, meaning that all other colours (with the exception of Orange -- see above!) will mask it. In order for Light Brown to show in a cat, it must be the only gene carried (in females) and homozygous (in males). Light Brown is a Smooth Distribution Pigment, meaning that the cat is evenly coloured a warm terra cotta brown colour across the entire body.

Pattern Series (Autosomal Gene)

The Pattern Series determines how heavily the cat is patterned, and across which part of the body. There are Wing Patterns and Body Patterns, and while each shows its own order of dominance, if the cat carries one of each, it will show the appropriate patterns across its entire body. For example, a cat showing C^T//t^b will show Velvet Checker markings on its wings, and Classic Tabby markings across its body. Note that Agouti works differently in Winged Cats than it does in real ones: Agouti ('T^A') is equivalent to 'barless ('c') because it's on the same allele as the rest of the tabby patterns. 'T^A', however, will mask all patterns, including those shown on the wings. It also masks the Coarse Distribution Pigment so that only the paler version of the pigment is shown across the entire cat.

While other genes may affect the base colour or the patterns, this series is common to all winged cats. Because it is 'autosomal', both males and females receive two of each gene. 'Autosomal' means that the genes are not located on the same gene that determine sex.

For all winged cats, the base colour affects the pattern colour. In Orange cats, the pattern colour becomes a darker, richer red. Ash Red winged cats show a darker, greyed-out brick red. In Blue winged cats, it tends to be a darker grey-blue. Black cats tend to have black patterns and slightly paler brown bodies. Smooth Brown cats will often show a much darker brown, almost black colour to their patterns. In Brown winged cats, the colour takes on a darker greyed brown. Lastly, in Light Brown winged cats, the pattern area tends to be a rich, dark brown.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Agouti	T^A	The most dominant of the body pattern genes, Agouti will mask any other pattern gene, even those shown on the wings. It will also cause Coarse Distribution Pigment cats (Ash Red, Blue and Brown) to display only the pale portions of their colours across their entire bodies. Smooth Distribution Pigment cats will simply look a solid colour (or in special cases, like Torties with orange mixed with another colour.)
Ticked Tabby	T^Ti	Ticked Tabby is the second most dominant body pattern gene. Agouti will mask it, but if paired with Mackerel Tabby ('T^Ma') or Classic Tabby ('t^cl') it will show through. Ticked tabby patterns give the appearance of a flecked or freckled appearance across the body of the cat. In Coarse Distribution Pigment cats, the ticking tends to be quite dark at the head and sometimes tail, and lighter across the paler part of the body.
Spotted Tabby	T^Sp	Spotted Tabby is really a variation on Mackerel Tabby and Classic Tabby, merely breaking those original patterns. Agouti and Ticked Tabby mask this gene, but when displayed with Mackerel or Classic Tabby, Spotted will break the pattern up into spots or even rosettes. Spotted Tabby appears to create freckles when displayed homozygously. When paired with wing-patterns it appears to extend those effects (barred, checkered, etc.) out into the body in broken spots or rosettes.
Mackerel Tabby	T^Ma	Mackerel Tabby is dominant to Classic Tabby ('t^cl'), but recessive to Ticked Tabby ('T^Ti'). This pattern gives darker, tiger-like stripes across the cats body. In Coarse Distribution Pigment cats, the colour tends to be much darker over the darker pigment, and much paler across the rest of the body.
Classic Tabby	t^cl	Classic Tabby gives heavily whorled patterns across the body, with thicker stripes across the legs and patterns like bulls-eyes or spirals on the sides. It is the most recessive body pattern gene, meaning that a cat has to have either two Classic Tabby genes (t^cl//t^cl) or share the Classic Tabby gene with a wing pattern gene. On Coarse Distribution Pigment cats, this pattern is much paler across the body than at the head and other darkly pigmented areas.
Velvet Checker	C^T	The most dominant of the wing pattern series, Velvet or 'T-Pattern' causes a heavy spread of darker colour across the top of the wings, leaving paler specks of undercolour along the tips of each feather. It may darken the head and neck as well. It can display at the same time as any but the Agouti body pattern.
Dark Checker	C^D	The second most dominant wing pattern, Dark Checker heavily marks each feather, much like the Velvet gene, though more undercolour shows through at the tips. This pattern may extend a bit across the body even without the help of the body pattern series, generally showing up at the shoulders and haunches.
Checker	C	The third-most dominant wing pattern, Checker produces bars of darker colour along the middle of the wing, and marks the tips of each feather with darker colour as well. The very tips of each feather may be fainter in colour. This pattern may also extend across haunches and shoulders.
Light Checker	C^L	The fourth-most dominant pattern, Light Checker marks the tips of each feather with darker colour (more on the flight feathers than the back-most feathers), creates two bars along the middle of the wings, and ensures a darkening of the tail. It may also extend across shoulders and haunches, though only faintly.
Barred	C⁺	While it is the fifth-most dominant wing pattern, Barred is the most common pattern in feral winged cats, so it is denoted with the wild-type '⁺' symbol. It produces two bar-like markings across the middle of the wing, and ensures a darkening of the tail.
Barless	c	The most recessive of the wing pattern series, this gene removes bar-markings from the winged cat, though it appears that it will still cause the tail to darken. It does not have any affect on the body pattern series if the cat also carries one of those genes.

Dilutions (Sex-Linked Gene)

This series dilutes the entire body, both pattern and base colour. Since it is sex-linked, males can receive two of each gene, while females will receive only one. Because of this, males with homozygous dilution genes can wind up even paler than their hemizygous dilute female siblings. Because all dilution family genes are recessive, when this gene is not present, we often do not bother listing "D⁺" in the cat's code. We only use this when a male cat has one copy of the dilute gene (or is "heterozygous") in which case the gene is hidden, only to be revealed when brought out through breeding in later generations.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Full Colour	D⁺	The most dominant level of dilution is also the one most commonly found in the wild, hence its '⁺' symbol. In this case, if a cat does not display a 'D' gene then it is assumed to be homozygous for Full Colour. When D⁺ or just a '+' symbol is paired with any of its more recessive genes, it will mask that level of dilution. It's easier to breed dilute females than males because the female only has one of the gene to show!
Pale	d^P	Recessive to Full Colour, but dominant over the rest, 'Pale' does not have much effect on most winged cats. It works most noticeably on Orange, Red and Bronze genes where it changes these colours to a rich gold.
Dilute	d	Dilute changes Ash Red and Recessive Red to 'yellow', which looks more like a dark cream colour. It turns Blue into 'silver dun', which looks pale greyish brown. It turns Brown into 'khaki', which looks like a pale greyed-cream. For the Smooth Distribution Pigment series, it turns Orange into 'Cream', which is a pale, warm beige colour. Black becomes 'blue', which is a richer, blue-grey colour than Blue in the Coarse Distribution series. Smooth Brown turns to 'lilac', which is a light, warm, purplish grey hue. Light Brown becomes 'fawn', which looks warm, light brown like toffee or coffee-and-cream. Dilute also gives winged cats 'false pearl'-coloured irises -- that is, white-coloured eyes. Note that the Dilute gene affects base colour, but not the colour of the cat's pattern.
Extreme Dilute (Lemon)	d^ex	Extreme Dilute turns the winged cat mostly white, with patterns that are very faint in colour. Ash Reds turn very pale cream, while Blues turn very pale warm brown. Browns turn a very pale shade of warm grey. Orange cats turn nearly white, Black cats turn very pale blue-grey, Smooth brown cats turn very pale warm grey, and Light Browns turn very pale warm brown, richer than a Blue would be. Extreme Dilute also causes 'false pearl'-coloured irises, or rather, white-coloured eyes. Note that as the most recessive gene, only those cats not showing any other version of the Dilution series can express this level of paleness.

Colour Reductions (Sex-Linked Gene)

This series affects patterns and base colours not by diluting them, but by reducing the intensity of the pigment. Since it is also sex-linked, males receive two of each gene and females receive one.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Full Colour	R⁺	This dominant gene has no effect on the cat, and is most commonly found in the wild, hence the '⁺' symbol. If this gene is present in males that have two copies, it masks any other colour reduction genes. If no 'R' gene is present in the cat's code, assume that it is R⁺ or +, as it essentially translates to 'no mutation here.'
Reduced	r	This gene reduces the intensity of the pigment in the winged cat. It is most noticeable in Blue cats, where it turns the base colour cream. In Blue cats, the darker patterns in the wings, and/or body turns various shades of pink and rust, while the tail, head and neck fade to grey. Any iridescent luster in the neck takes on a more pastel pink-to-green cast. Similar reductions happen with Ash Red and Brown winged cats, though they are not as pronounced. In the Smooth Distribution Pigment series, Blacks will fade to grey with patterns turning various hues of rust and pink. Changes to cats who show Orange, Smooth Brown and Light Brown are less pronounced but generally faintly paler, with faintly redder patterns.
Rubella	r^ru	While Rubella lightens the winged cat all over, it is most noticeable in the pattern area. Markings become noticeably reddish-brown, with some being reddish-brown towards the center and full-colour on the outer edges. In its hemizygous state in females it lightens the tail, but in its homozygous state in males it turns the tail almost white. Rubella causes primary wing feathers to lighten considerably while leaving the tips at full colour. On Smooth Brown, Brown and Light Brown winged cats, the pattern area becomes more rust-coloured.

"Almond Family" Masking Effect (Sex-Linked Gene)

This series masks portions of the body with white, leaving bits of colour to show through dependent upon the level of dominance. It's another sex-linked gene, so males will receive two of each gene while females will receive only one. The Almond Family series can affect males slightly differently than females, with males showing more white if they are homozygous for the Almond gene.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Almond	St	Homozygous 'St' genes are lethal! Beware breeding an Almond male to an Almond female, as there is a chance that some of the offspring will not survive!Almond creates a mask of white across the winged cat with flecks of colour at random across its entire body. This pattern is most visible in darker-patterned winged cats such as Classic Tabbies, Velvet Checkers and Spreads. Almond possesses incomplete dominance with the Recessive Red gene, meaning that in winged cats that also have Recessive Red genes, more Recessive Red will show through than on the average Almond.
Hickory	St^H	Very much like Almond, though homozygous males are safe from Almond's lethal effects. Hickory leaves the tail free of white, and if the winged cat carries one of the pattern genes that shows bars, these will also show through.
Qualmond	St^Q	Qualmond creates a mask of a more greyed white than Almond. In addition, the flecks of colour are smaller, fewer and further between than an Almond's coloured flecks. Homozygous males are paler with even fewer flecks than heterozygous males and hemizygous females.
Frosty	St^Fr	Frosty only really affects homozygous males, though it is more dominant than the genes listed below it. It slightly lightens the long flight feathers of the cat's wings toward the shaft of each feather.
Faded	St^F	Faded causes the cat to become partially faded or bleached in colour, with very little if any flecking of colour. Homozygous males are whitish with a sandy effect on the tail, tips of the flight feathers, and neck.
Chalky	St^C	Chalky affects the base colours of the cat, making Ash Red look orange-ish, Blue look more like a chalky blue-grey, and Brown look chalky-brown. In Smooth Distribution Pigment cats, this change is more pronounced: Orange becomes a greyer, lighter shade, Black looks blue-grey (richer than Blue and more evenly distributed across the body), Smooth Brown looks chalky, but richer than Brown, and Light Brown looks more buff, almost cream.
Sandy	St^sa	Sandy works similarly to Faded, producing slight flecking bits of colour, though the flecks are more commonly spread and each fleck is generally smaller.
Full Colour	st⁺	The most recessive but also the most common in the wild, this gene codes for regular colour and pattern, or 'no mutation'. If no 'St' genes show up in the cat, it's presumed that it is homozygous or hemizygous for wild type at this locus.

Spread (Autosomal Gene)

Spread causes the pigment in Coarse Distribution Pigment cats to become evenly spread across its body. Because the kind of pigment in a cat varies between its wings and its body, the colours of the spread may appear slightly different. In the wings, pigment is distributed in such a way that various mutations of wing-colours tend to be more reddish in colour in Blue cats. On the body, pigment that is reduced might allow reddish-coloured wings and then have pale grey tails, heads and necks. The way that light reflects from the distribution of the feather or fur causes a slight change in colour! Smooth Distribution Pigment cats (Black, Smooth Brown, Light Brown and Orange) are unaffected by the Spread gene, as their pigmentation is already smoothly distributed.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Spread	S	More dominant than the non-spread gene, Spread causes the entire cat to look Ash Red, or Black ('Blue' is actually caused by Black pigment, and is given its colour due to the way it is distributed on hairs and feathers!), or Brown. Spread is itself masked by whitening effects as well as Recessive Red. In the case of whitening (such as dilution, or the various Almond effects), the body will be diluted or covered with white. All feathers and fur beneath this effect will be an evenly spread base colour. Recessive Red will evenly distribute a brick red colour across the body, regardless of the cat's base colour.
Non-Spread	s⁺	Non-Spread allows the usual medley of colours and patterns to show through. Its '⁺' symbol marks it as 'wild-type', so if a cat does not carry any 'S' genes, assume that is is homozygous for s⁺.

Opal Effects (Autosomal Gene)

Despite its name, 'opal' is not as vibrant or exciting in winged cats as in Nexus dragons. Because it is autosomal, both males and females receive two copies of this gene. Opal tends to cause wing markings to gain various levels of rusty red depending on the cat.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Dominant Opal	O^d	Homozygous 'O^d' genes are lethal! Beware breeding two Dominant Opal cats together, as there is a chance that some of the offspring will not survive!This gene does not show up very well in 'Barred' or 'Barless' patterned cats. Dominant Opal washes out the flight feathers and tail, and causes darker banding along the tail instead of the usual dark point that is common to most cats. Dominant Opal will sometimes cause wing bar patterns to look pinkish, or to have pinkish coloured edges. It may even turn wing-bars white! In the various checker patterns, it turns the pattern areas various shades of cream, pink and orange.
Non-Opal	O⁺	This wild-type gene simply indicates that no opal modifiers are in effect. Assume that if it is shown with one of the recessive opal genes, it is masking their effect.
Recessive Opal	o	Recessive Opal was once said to have a 'red phase' and a 'blue phase', but 'red phase' has now been identified as 'cherry', an allele of blue phase. In Spreads (including Smooth Distribution Pigment -- Orange, Black, Smooth Brown and Light Brown), Recessive Opal causes a very metallic looking pastel colour. The feathers of Recessive Opal cats may take on black or dark edging. 'Blue phase' Recessive Opal affects the pattern series of the cat, and the effects can range from very pale metallic to very dark; differentiating in Spread or Velvet patterns as being very metallic looking. The tail of a Recessive Opal cat is usually washed out grey with some barring along its length. Longer fur and the cats feathers are often laced with a darker outline.
Cherry	o^ch	Cherry is an allele of its 'blue phase' form, and refers to the 'red phase' of recessive opal. In Velvet (also known as T-pattern) cats, cherry is a pastel red sheen on a metallic grey body, with a maroon to green luster at the neck. In its barred form, cherry looks similar to an Ash Red Bar: dark rusty red bars on a warm metallic body. Blue cats with the Velvet or Checker phenotypes produce a lot of pastel reddish pink on a metallic body.

Recessive Red (Autosomal Gene)

Recessive Red seems to affect the base colour of a cat, while Ember, its locus-mate, affects the pattern area as well as the base colour. Both are recessive to wild-type, and are affected by (or affect) other genes in a number of interesting ways.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Non-Red Effects	E⁺	Wild-type is dominant to Recessive Red, so if the cat does not show any 'E' genes, one can assume that it is homozygous for E⁺, and has no mutation at this allele.
Ember	e^Em	Ember cats start out life looking very much like Recessive Red cats: their base colours replaced with a brownish red colour. However, by the time that an Ember cat reaches maturity, most of its body loses the red colour to show whatever its base colours were, with a few exceptions. A reddish 'glow' marks the center of its flight feathers and pattern areas (for example, on a Blue cat the center of each bar would be a reddish colour while the outer edges would be black.) Its neck also retains a more red colour than non-Ember littermates. When combined with dilution genes, Ember becomes a golden yellow or golden cream colour and seems to warm the entire body. In combination with 'Sooty' Ember appears to remain more mahogany red with a stronger distribution across the pattern. Ember will affect body patterns such as tabby markings, though in Smooth Distribution Pigment cats (Orange, Black, Smooth Brown and Light Brown,) the reddish hue often seen in the necks of Ash Red, Blue or Brown cats is more evenly distributed across the body.
Recessive Red	e	Recessive Red blocks the original base colour, replacing all Orange, Ash Red, Black, Blue, Smooth Brown, Brown and Light Brown with a rich, dark reddish colour. When combined with dilution it pales to a rich gold. The only difference here is in the Smooth vs. Coarse Distribution pigments: Ash Red, Blue and Brown cats will have red heads, necks (and in Blue and Brown cats, tails as well), and pale bodies. The rest will be an even shade of rusty red.

Grizzle Family (Autosomal Gene)

The Grizzle Family works to cause white pigment in feathers in different ways, some within the same feather, and some on feathers that are side by side. It also affects the hairs of the rest of the body.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
White Grizzle	G^W	White Grizzle makes a cat nearly white in its heterozygous state with a frosting of pigment at feather-tips, while homozygous White Grizzle turns a cat nearly pure white.
Tiger Grizzle	G^T	This form of Grizzle causes white feathers to appear beside regularly pigmented feathers. There are generally more white feathers than pigmented ones. Tiger Grizzle is co-dominant with Grizzle, meaning that if a cat has 'G^T//G,' both effects will show through. This gene does not affect the patterns or colour of the wings and tail, just includes white feathers throughout.
Grizzle	G	Grizzle works to whiten the center of each feather, so that while the part of the feather near the shaft is white, colour fades in around the edges. In its homozygous state, Grizzle causes the cat to become mostly white, with pigmented wing-tips and tail. Thicker patterns and Spread will mask this gene, causing more colour to show through. In Ash Red cats, Grizzle works the opposite: the feathers are white towards the edges and coloured towards the shaft. Homozygous Grizzled Ash Reds are nearly completely white.
Non-Grizzle	G⁺	The typical wild-type gene on the Grizzle allele. If a cat possesses this gene it means 'no mutation for grizzle'; assume that the cat is homozygous for this gene if there is no mention of a 'G' gene!

Albino Series (Autosomal Gene)

The Albino series describes a masking of colour in the body (and to a certain extent, the wings) of a cat. This series includes alleles for causing the paling of the body colour and patterns in both Coarse and Smooth Distribution coats.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Full Colour	C⁺
Sepia	c^b
Pointed	c^s
Blue-Eyed Albino	c^a
Pink-Eyed Albino	c

White Spotting (Autosomal Gene)

White Spotting genes are similar to those of Grizzle, but tend to affect the cat more across the entire body. These particular White Spotting genes will cause blue or odd-coloured eyes if the white reaches that area of the face. White spotting that develops because of this gene will often cause deafness if the white covers the ears. The alleles of the White Spotting genes are all co-dominant, meaning that if one gene displays with another, the effects of both will show through.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Dominant White	Z^W
Van	Z^V
Bicolour	Z^B	The third most dominant of the White Spotting genes: A cat who carries both Z^V and Z^B will show a pattern known as 'Harlequin'. That is, the ears and tail-tip will be coloured, but patches of fur and feathers along the body will display colour as well. The rest of the body is white. When not paired with Z^V, Bicolour leaves patches of white across the body, usually on the legs, belly and neck. These patterns appear to be random.
Undergrizzle	Z^Ug
No White Spotting	Z⁺
Gazzi	z	Gazzi whitens the body and neck of the cat, leaving the head, wings and tail their original colours.
Pencilled	z^pc
Frill Stencil	z^fs
Recessive White	z^wh

Shading (Autosomal Gene)

The Shading Series causes pigment in each hair of the cat to be blocked at a certain point, so that depending on how much of the hair is blocked, only the tips might show colour, or the patterns, leaving the rest of the hair either white ('silvered') or golden ('rufoused'.) Though the genes that cause this effect in real life have not been determined to a science, in Winged Cats, they are as follows:

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Golden	Go
Silver	+
Chinchilla	Sh^Ch
Shaded Silver	Sh^Si
Silver Tabby	Sh^Ta
Smoke	Sh^Sm
Full Colour	Sh⁺

Dominant Autosomal Mutations

The following genes do not come in a series like the genes above, but possess individual niches on a cat's chromosomes. When paired with wild type (⁺), they will show in a heterozygous state.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Archangel Bronze	Ar
Baldhead Pattern	Bh
Bleached	Bl
Drizzle	Drz
Gimpel	Gp
Indigo	In
Kite Bronze	K
Sooty	So
Toy Stencil	Ts
Dirty	V
White Tailed	Wt

Recessive Autosomal Mutations

The following genes do not come in a series like the genes above, but possess individual niches on a cat's chromosomes. They need to be homozygous in order to show through on the cat. When paired with wild-type (⁺) they will not show through.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Ice	ic
Iridescence	ir
Mahogany	ma
Milky	my
Pink-Eyed Dilute	pd
Platinum	pl
Smoky	sy
Pearl Iris	tr

Trait Scales

Trait Scales measure two opposing traits in each cat, and run a scale from 0 to 100. A trait at either end of the spectrum means that a cat has proclivities more towards that trait (being noisy versus being quiet, for example). A trait that is about half-way along the spectrum shows a cat that is balanced. Breeding two cats with similar traits (two somewhat noisy cats) will occasionally lead to an offspring that is even noisier. Breeding two cats with opposing traits will generally lead to more balanced offspring, but not always.

Phenotype	Genotype	Description
Size	Small 0 <-> 100 Large
Domestication	Semi-Feral 0 <-> 100 Indoor Cat
Friendliness	Aloof 0 <-> 100 Cuddly
Noisiness	Silent 0 <-> 100 Yowly