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Das Geheimnis der dreifarbigen Katzen: Oder dem genetischen Mosaik auf der Spur
The Vets Turn Pale. . . George, a male calico, was a genetic anomaly, a manifestation of something that isn't supposed to happen, a creature so rare that even most veterinarians have never seen one. His curious existence sparked Laura Gould's long search through the archives of genetics to unearth the charming and valiant roles played by early cat geneticists, as well as cats themselves, in the study of genes and how they work. For everyone with an interest in cats and cat breeding, this is an unforgettable and often hilarious account of the intersecting lives of cats and geneticists.
The field of genetics has exploded since 1992, when the first edition of Cats Are Not Peas was completed. Thus a lengthy Addendum is included in this new edition, providing the reader with the terminology and concepts needed to understand two burgeoning new areas in which cats have again had significant roles to play-the sequencing of genomes and the production of clones. In fact, just last month scientists reported that they have sequenced the genome of the domestic cat (Felis catus), an advance they say will lead to health benefits for the popular pets and provide an excellent model for human disease. These descriptions allow you to view with increasing wonder the world around you and to think seriously about whether you would like to have your personal genome mapped or your cat cloned, both of which are now possible (if you can afford it).
The chance acquisition of George, a very rare male calico kitten, sent Laura Gould on an unexpected and lengthy odyssey into the history of genetics. She thought she remembered that all calico cats were female. But why was that? And how did the rareexceptions like George occur? Gould's curiosity about her new cat's existence caused her to learn some basic genetics, to examine its history, and to explore cat folklore. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable and not too technical book narrated with inimitable grace and wit.
The field of genetics has exploded since 1992, when the first edition of Cats Are Not Peas was completed. Thus a lengthy Addendum is included in this new edition, providing the reader with the terminology and concepts needed to understand two burgeoning new areas in which cats have again had significant roles to play-the sequencing of genomes and the production of clones. In fact, just last month scientists reported that they have sequenced the genome of the domestic cat (Felis catus), an advance they say will lead to health benefits for the popular pets and provide an excellent model for human disease. These descriptions allow you to view with increasing wonder the world around you and to think seriously about whether you would like to have your personal genome mapped or your cat cloned, both of which are now possible (if you can afford it).
The chance acquisition of George, a very rare male calico kitten, sent Laura Gould on an unexpected and lengthy odyssey into the history of genetics. She thought she remembered that all calico cats were female. But why was that? And how did the rareexceptions like George occur? Gould's curiosity about her new cat's existence caused her to learn some basic genetics, to examine its history, and to explore cat folklore. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable and not too technical book narrated with inimitable grace and wit.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1996
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August 29, 2017
I’m the proud owner of a long-haired Calico Tortie cat (with a Maine Coon bloodline). By “proud owner”; I actually mean that this cat is my soul mate, life, Queen, child, etc. It’s her world and I’m just living in it. Calicos are a special case of genetics, one which I am naturally curious to learn more about so that I can view my baby on an even higher pedestal. Laura Gould, the owner of a male calico (super rare!) comes to save the day by exploring calico genetics in, “Calicos Are Not Peas: A Calico History of Genetics”.
In college, I took a genetics course in which we had to predict the offspring litter outcome (fur coloration and eyes) of various cat parent duos. For this reason, I figured “Calicos Are Not Peas” wouldn’t be above my head. Luckily, Gould’s piece isn’t not aboveanyone’s head and is accessible to the average cat-lover reader. “Cats Are Not Peas” combines elements of a memoir, scholarly scientific piece, and exploration/thesis covering the subjects of cat and human genetics in general, plus that of calicos.
“Calicos Are Not Peas” begins on a highly-captivating note diving into cat and calico genetics. So much so, that cat-lovers or calico owners will find themselves taking notes immediately in order to retain and repeat the enthralling information. Gould’s writing is professional and academic yet mixed with an accessible, casual tone making “Calicos Are Not Peas” fast-paced and suitable to all readers rather than being bogged down by scientific jargon.
Gould warns readers that “Calicos Are Not Peas” will follow a structure that is “all over the place” and simply is on the path of her own line of thinking instead of a linear journey which is indeed the case. Unfortunately, “Calicos Are Not Peas” is choppy, disjointed, and lacks seamless flow from one topic to the other with many subjects not even making any sense and could have easily been omitted from the final piece. However, even though these tangents and inconsistencies exist; even these moments are both entertaining and informative and therefore readable.
One can argue that not enough of “Calicos Are Not Peas” focuses on actual cats/calicos. If the other information was edited out and deleted; the book would be half the size in length and volume. However, as already stated, the writing is still interesting and therefore not a complete frustration. Basically, Gould’s work suffers from some execution errors but the spirit is there.
One of the strengths of “Calicos Are Not Peas” includes Gould’s effort to explain the material in layman’s terms and make it easy-to-understand which she is very successful at imparting into “Calicos Are Not Peas”. Gould also infuses the pages with various images and graphical supplements to further illustrate scientific concepts.
The concluding chapters of “Cats Are Not Peas” re-engage the cat genetics topic and ends with a final conclusion of why (genetically-speaking) Gould’s male cat, George, is a calico. Although a climatic ending in some way, in others, it feels somewhat abrupt and missing something.
Gould supplements “Cats Are Not Peas” with an ‘Afterword’, informal glossary, a timeline of major genetic breakthroughs, a meticulously organized and compartmentalized reference list, and an index of the questions posed throughout the text.
“Cats Are Not Peas” begins with a strong, informative, and entertaining beginning that works well to enthrall the reader; but sadly, this weakens throughout the text due to Gould’s presentation style and jumbled material. That being said, “Cats Are Not Peas” is certainly an asset to the lives of those who own calico cats (or have an interest in cat genetics). Gould’s work is a valuable introduction to the topic and provides food for thought. Although “Cats Are Not Peas” isn’t perfect; it is worth a read by the calico and cat lovers.
In college, I took a genetics course in which we had to predict the offspring litter outcome (fur coloration and eyes) of various cat parent duos. For this reason, I figured “Calicos Are Not Peas” wouldn’t be above my head. Luckily, Gould’s piece isn’t not aboveanyone’s head and is accessible to the average cat-lover reader. “Cats Are Not Peas” combines elements of a memoir, scholarly scientific piece, and exploration/thesis covering the subjects of cat and human genetics in general, plus that of calicos.
“Calicos Are Not Peas” begins on a highly-captivating note diving into cat and calico genetics. So much so, that cat-lovers or calico owners will find themselves taking notes immediately in order to retain and repeat the enthralling information. Gould’s writing is professional and academic yet mixed with an accessible, casual tone making “Calicos Are Not Peas” fast-paced and suitable to all readers rather than being bogged down by scientific jargon.
Gould warns readers that “Calicos Are Not Peas” will follow a structure that is “all over the place” and simply is on the path of her own line of thinking instead of a linear journey which is indeed the case. Unfortunately, “Calicos Are Not Peas” is choppy, disjointed, and lacks seamless flow from one topic to the other with many subjects not even making any sense and could have easily been omitted from the final piece. However, even though these tangents and inconsistencies exist; even these moments are both entertaining and informative and therefore readable.
One can argue that not enough of “Calicos Are Not Peas” focuses on actual cats/calicos. If the other information was edited out and deleted; the book would be half the size in length and volume. However, as already stated, the writing is still interesting and therefore not a complete frustration. Basically, Gould’s work suffers from some execution errors but the spirit is there.
One of the strengths of “Calicos Are Not Peas” includes Gould’s effort to explain the material in layman’s terms and make it easy-to-understand which she is very successful at imparting into “Calicos Are Not Peas”. Gould also infuses the pages with various images and graphical supplements to further illustrate scientific concepts.
The concluding chapters of “Cats Are Not Peas” re-engage the cat genetics topic and ends with a final conclusion of why (genetically-speaking) Gould’s male cat, George, is a calico. Although a climatic ending in some way, in others, it feels somewhat abrupt and missing something.
Gould supplements “Cats Are Not Peas” with an ‘Afterword’, informal glossary, a timeline of major genetic breakthroughs, a meticulously organized and compartmentalized reference list, and an index of the questions posed throughout the text.
“Cats Are Not Peas” begins with a strong, informative, and entertaining beginning that works well to enthrall the reader; but sadly, this weakens throughout the text due to Gould’s presentation style and jumbled material. That being said, “Cats Are Not Peas” is certainly an asset to the lives of those who own calico cats (or have an interest in cat genetics). Gould’s work is a valuable introduction to the topic and provides food for thought. Although “Cats Are Not Peas” isn’t perfect; it is worth a read by the calico and cat lovers.
August 30, 2009
The author, Laura Gould, has a male calico cat named George. She knows this is rare because the color genes are sex-linked, so she sets out on her research into male calicos, including paying a lab to map George's karyotype. She provides a nice review of Mendelian genetics--perhaps we learned it in high school then promptly forgot it. But it is not just a study of cat genetics; the science is made more memorable and appealing by being part of the saga of her research and her life with George and their other cat, Max.
April 21, 2017
How could I possibly not love this book? It combines genetics and cats---two of my favorite topics---and is especially about calico cats, the kind of cat I had growing up! Lots of stories about two beloved cats and a lot about cat genetics. Wonderful!
October 4, 2018
Cats are not peas; but neither are they humans, nor are they in any way bound by arbitrary human social behaviors. Wondering if your male black cat thinks your male calico cat is actually female/feminine because he is bigger, heavier and "developed a protective air toward" the smaller calico is absolute drivel.
Also, you just went through the effort of explaining what the scientific term "non-disjunction" means. Why would you decide it is too "hard to remember" and introduce your own made up term "reluctance" in its stead?
I appreciate trying to speak with a non-science audience about scientific topics in an engaging and approachable way, but this goes a bit far for my taste.
Also, you just went through the effort of explaining what the scientific term "non-disjunction" means. Why would you decide it is too "hard to remember" and introduce your own made up term "reluctance" in its stead?
I appreciate trying to speak with a non-science audience about scientific topics in an engaging and approachable way, but this goes a bit far for my taste.
August 27, 2013
good book and easy to read
July 2, 2019
I read this because my mother has always had calico cats and always said they were all female, and because I'm always looking for more evidence to argue against gender/sex binaries. The author did a nice job of making the information about karyotypes and chromosomes accessible, though it was unclear why she felt she had to use her own terminology for some of the processes (especially when she reverted back to standard nomenclature for these processes later in the text). It was a nice refresher to my college microbiology courses, and I learned some new things about sex chromosome distribution that I either never knew or forgot at some point. I also thought it was great that she went into detail about chimera and mosaic genetic outcomes- I often forget these options. So my ammo pile for my gender/sex diversity arguments has grown.
The stories about her own cats were kind of cute, but didn't really make sense with where they were placed in the discussions of genetics- nothing in them led to further explication of concepts. Also, as a person who keeps my cats indoors (granted I don't live in a wooded area but rather next to a highway that would end them quickly, however it seems there are other dangers in rural areas), I was horrified that her cats (despite her persistent belief that George was really something special) were not allowed in the house, and were in no way contained even when there were coyotes or mountain lions in the area- they were always free to come and go as they pleased. This really felt like the author had little regard for their safety, despite middle-of-the-night searches for the cats when one didn't show up as expected (again... let your cats INSIDE and keep them there if there are known predator animals in the area and this panic won't occur). Her seeming obsession with her cats in conjunction with the carelessness with which they were kept rang discordant to me. So because of the distress over this, I rated this book a little lower than I might have otherwise.
The stories about her own cats were kind of cute, but didn't really make sense with where they were placed in the discussions of genetics- nothing in them led to further explication of concepts. Also, as a person who keeps my cats indoors (granted I don't live in a wooded area but rather next to a highway that would end them quickly, however it seems there are other dangers in rural areas), I was horrified that her cats (despite her persistent belief that George was really something special) were not allowed in the house, and were in no way contained even when there were coyotes or mountain lions in the area- they were always free to come and go as they pleased. This really felt like the author had little regard for their safety, despite middle-of-the-night searches for the cats when one didn't show up as expected (again... let your cats INSIDE and keep them there if there are known predator animals in the area and this panic won't occur). Her seeming obsession with her cats in conjunction with the carelessness with which they were kept rang discordant to me. So because of the distress over this, I rated this book a little lower than I might have otherwise.
April 26, 2024
I am a lover of cats and genetics and the history of genetics, and this book was a winner for me on all the levels. It is written for people who love cats but who may no know anything about genetics. It is also written in a "freely organized" way (I just made up that term - I don't know how to name this!). Gould follows her own trains of thought, and sometimes they do go off onto tangents for a while. But as a geneticist I appreciated how she made things fairly clear for the non-expert and connected the genetics to the love and interest in cats. She focuses on chromosomal genetics and also explains some of the history of how sex determination was unraveled. In the update at the end of her later edition she writes about some of the molecular and genomic progress that has been made. And even there she successfully stays at the level that most people can understand.
The only reason I gave this a 4 is that her rambling narrative sometimes lost me. So don't read this if you want a textbook explanation. But if you want a story that includes information about genetics - and a great explanation of why calico cats are usually females and how they arise - then I recommend this one!
The only reason I gave this a 4 is that her rambling narrative sometimes lost me. So don't read this if you want a textbook explanation. But if you want a story that includes information about genetics - and a great explanation of why calico cats are usually females and how they arise - then I recommend this one!
September 7, 2025
Fun read but as with all older scientific books it's a bit outdated
But it explains genetics from a cat-centric perspective and is simple to understand! And encourages further research since it's just an overview
But it explains genetics from a cat-centric perspective and is simple to understand! And encourages further research since it's just an overview
to-read-later
July 24, 2021Recommended at https://twitter.com/epicdemiologist/s...
March 23, 2016
George, a male calico, was a genetic anomaly, a manifestation of something that isn't supposed to happen, a creature so rare that even most veterinarians have never seen one. His curious existence sparked Laura Gould's long search through the archives of genetics to unearth the charming and valiant roles played by early cat geneticists, as well as cats themselves, in the study of genes and how they work. For everyone with an interest in cats and cat breeding, this is an unforgettable and often hilarious account of the intersecting lives of cats and geneticists.
Laura Gould has written a fascinating layperson's guide to genetics, which is a good starting point for those who forgot their GCSE Science *cough*. her journey through the history of genetics is interspersed with anecdotes about George & Max and her own observations - which makes the academia less dry :)
however, the cats are almost incidental - used primarily as a focus, to keep Ms Gould following her original question - so non-cat-lovers should not be put off by this.
as this is the second edition, it helpfully includes an addendum covering 1996-2007 but mainly focuses on genome sequencing and cloning (whereas i'd have preferred a wider update on (mammalian/cat) genetics as a whole). obviously there is no information post-07.
Laura Gould has written a fascinating layperson's guide to genetics, which is a good starting point for those who forgot their GCSE Science *cough*. her journey through the history of genetics is interspersed with anecdotes about George & Max and her own observations - which makes the academia less dry :)
however, the cats are almost incidental - used primarily as a focus, to keep Ms Gould following her original question - so non-cat-lovers should not be put off by this.
as this is the second edition, it helpfully includes an addendum covering 1996-2007 but mainly focuses on genome sequencing and cloning (whereas i'd have preferred a wider update on (mammalian/cat) genetics as a whole). obviously there is no information post-07.
February 6, 2017
I had to keep reminding myself as I read this book that it was published in 1996 because as I was reading it I was constantly thinking, "Why is this a book? Why is this not a series of blog posts?"
This book is a curious mix of trying not to go too in depth into genetics (don't want to scare off the science folks), trying to discuss genetics enough so that the science folks will be satisfied, trying to tell funny stories about what the author's cats are doing, and trying to fill an entire book with information that really only needed a magazine article length piece to describe what was going on. As a result it came across as somewhat scattered.
At the same time, I appreciate the fascination that the author had with exactly what was going on genetically with her cat. I recently read a blog post that pretty much summarized the sorts of things she mentioned in her book (that male calicos are basically XXY), but it was interesting to get some more in depth information. And the history that she gave about genetic exploration was mostly interesting, if a little surface level.
So for a book written in 1996, I felt like it was pretty decent. Not perfect, but not bad either.
This book is a curious mix of trying not to go too in depth into genetics (don't want to scare off the science folks), trying to discuss genetics enough so that the science folks will be satisfied, trying to tell funny stories about what the author's cats are doing, and trying to fill an entire book with information that really only needed a magazine article length piece to describe what was going on. As a result it came across as somewhat scattered.
At the same time, I appreciate the fascination that the author had with exactly what was going on genetically with her cat. I recently read a blog post that pretty much summarized the sorts of things she mentioned in her book (that male calicos are basically XXY), but it was interesting to get some more in depth information. And the history that she gave about genetic exploration was mostly interesting, if a little surface level.
So for a book written in 1996, I felt like it was pretty decent. Not perfect, but not bad either.
August 22, 2012
A hard to find book! I had to order a copy on Half.com because it is apparently out of print, and Amazon wants a small fortune for theirs. There's also no copy at the library, which is a shame as it's a very interesting book.
I was curious about what made my cats the colors they are- one is a tortoiseshell female, and the other is a orange tabby male. This book takes the case of the author's cat George - a rare calico male - and follows the author's exploration of what genetics made him that way. Along the way she (and the reader) learn a lot about cat genetics, and what makes kitties the colors they are.
I was curious about what made my cats the colors they are- one is a tortoiseshell female, and the other is a orange tabby male. This book takes the case of the author's cat George - a rare calico male - and follows the author's exploration of what genetics made him that way. Along the way she (and the reader) learn a lot about cat genetics, and what makes kitties the colors they are.
November 5, 2014
The author uses her caleco tom cat (an extremely rare animal) as a starting position for a study of the genetics of inheritance, its history and study.
I really liked the interspersion of everyday life snippets and cameos of her cat George. The day to day diary moments provide light entertainment and break up the serious science enough to counter the potentially dry subject to make a very readable book.
It is a good entry book for anyone interested in the subject, though she does get a bit tangled every now and again. A proof reader that really understood the subject could have picked up a few very confusing typos.
I really liked the interspersion of everyday life snippets and cameos of her cat George. The day to day diary moments provide light entertainment and break up the serious science enough to counter the potentially dry subject to make a very readable book.
It is a good entry book for anyone interested in the subject, though she does get a bit tangled every now and again. A proof reader that really understood the subject could have picked up a few very confusing typos.
March 1, 2013
Genetics thrills me, for no really good reason. A lot of the books that I read about genetics are really sad because they are about families with genetic disorders . So reading Cats Are Not Peas: A Calico History of Genetics by Laura Gould was really nice. The author writes about cat genetics because she had a male calico cat. I will not spoil it for you by telling you how that happened.
This is also the only book I've read that really really talked about mosaic genotypes (not counting barr body mosaicism). I love genetics and stories and sex and cats and that's what this is all about.
This is also the only book I've read that really really talked about mosaic genotypes (not counting barr body mosaicism). I love genetics and stories and sex and cats and that's what this is all about.
February 22, 2010
This reads like a book adapted from blog postings, in that it's amateurly written, meandering and dull. Also, for someone who claims to be an outstanding researcher, she has a poor eye for detail (e.g., referencing Beverly Cleary's character Ramona Beasley?).
May 12, 2012
I borrowed this book through our library's Interlibrary Loan system and it was worth the wait. A fantastic, entertaining jaunt through the genetics that make up feline coloration, it gave me new appreciation for our own long-haired calico and a greater fondness for all of the color.
August 30, 2016
The whiplash between deep whimsy and in - depth science finally proved too much for me. The book's organization also fought against progression. Perhaps another time, but for now the will to continue reading this has left me.
April 17, 2011
Excellent review of the genetics and the history of the science coupled with the personality of the calico tom.
July 29, 2008
Very cool book. This was the only time I understood the science of genetics.
September 22, 2012
Good primer on genetics and Klinefelter cats.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews