Talk:Suzumiya Haruhi:Volume2 Chapter5

spotted cat

While the initial description as "spotted" is ambiguous, Shamisen turns out to be a tortoiseshell cat, aka tricolor or calico. This is immediately obvious in the anime. As a tricolor male, his pedigree must be in some sense unusual, as tricolor in cats is a sex linked characteristic not seen in normal males. A tricolor male would be either XXY, with an extra sex chromosome, or a chimaera formed by the fusion of two embryos. With Haruhi involved, though, it might be something else entirely...

Koizumi and Kyon appear to appreciate this anomaly immediately. Haruhi appears to overlook it, which is a bit anomalous itself.