this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2026
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The X-inactivation originally happens in individual cells, but it happens during embryonic development and is maintained through cell division. The cells divide many, many times after that point, leading to the regions of shared inactivation you see in the black/orange patterning of tortoiseshell cats. There’s another gene (not X-linked) that can add white spotting to the mix, combined they make calico cats.