1. All cats have two traits for fur, eyes, shade, tail, ears, whisker shape, whisker color. All cats will show the most dominant of any they have. So whatever is shown they have and they will have the same or more recessive hidden depending on their parents.
With starter cats, they will show a genesis trait and hide a more recessive non-genesis trait.
Some caveats: Confetti cats have 4 furs. The latest tiger collection starter cats had 3 furs.
2. You only breed like to like if you want to have that fur or eye or whatever. For example do you like the Bandit II fur? Yes, no? If no, breed the Bandit II starter cat to a nonstarter cat with a recessive fur to pop the hidden fur from the Bandit II starter cat. Don't just breed like to like just because it's fashionable -- you will not be able to custom design your own cats with the traits you want them to have. People buy "ready made" cats to breed like to like because some people buy pairs to breed together and don't really get into the whole breeding thing -- they are more into the whole selling thing and don't care if their cats are copycats rather than custom-designed/couture cats. It's faster to buy two alike cats and put them together to sell as the likelihood of babies being the same as mom and pop is higher.
But it's a game (remember that!) so whether you are into breeding or selling, remember to have fun.
If you like some traits but not other traits, for example you like the Bandit II fur but not the Genesis Evergreen eyes, then breed your Bandit II fur to a cat with the eyes you want. It's important to remember only breed like to like if you want to keep that trait. Breeding like to like only makes you more money if people want that trait -- which honestly most people aren't likely to buy an all genesis cat so it's not sellable if that's what you're into. They do make great giveaway cats to friends who just want a cat in their home.
2B. If you breed a starter cat Aa to starter cat Bb, it is very difficult to find the hids as they both have to throw hids for you to find what it is.
A is the shown fur of Cat Aa = genesis fur
a is the hidden fur of Cat Aa
B is the shown fur of Cat Bb = genesis fur
b is the hidden fur of Cat Bb
If you pair those two, their possible babies are:
AB = baby gets both genesis furs
Ab = baby gets genesis fur from mom and hidden fur from dad. Baby shows genesis fur because genesis fur is most dominant
aB = baby gets hidden fur from mom and shown fur from dad. Baby shows genesis fur because genesis fur is most dominant
ab = baby gets hidden fur from mom and hidden fur from dad. You will see the most dominant of the two hidden furs. Neither fur is genesis on a starter cat.
As you can see each scenario is 25% chance. If you want to find out if you have a new fur or eye or whatever hidden on the starter cat, you have to breed it to a cat with more recessive traits to pop the hids.
However if you breed a starter cat to a starter cat, then the baby might have genesis shown and genesis hid and it'll take a few generations to take off two genesis shown and hid fur if you want to change the fur. I did a post on what happens if you get stuck with a genesis shown and genesis hid, how long it took me to get it off. I was pretty new to KC back then. You might like it. The rules haven't changed for most cats (Confetti cats have four furs so they hare different)
https://kittycats.ws/forum/showthread.ph...8#pid71648
3. If you are tracking cats on a
spreadsheet you need to
track the shown and the hid. That way on their babies you will know their likely hid depending on which parent gives them the shown.
This is my spreadsheet
You can see the shown and right under it, the hid. You can see the parents, their shown and their hids. As you can see, I have Erich a starter cat showing and I know all of his hids except his fur. The other hids were revealed because I bred him to something more recessive. But I don't have anything more recessive than a Toyger Caramel so once I got back the caramel, I made a daughter with a more dominant fur. Now I am breeding his daughter to him hoping to get an ab child -- both hiddens thrown. Once both hiddens are thrown, I 'll know if he has caramel or something more recessive which would be a new fur for me.
For me it's more fun to find a new trait than to just buy it. As you get into Kittycats, remember the main thing is to find what is most fun for you whether it's breeding, selling, or creating roleplays like kitty hospitals on a ship (Cosmo had one of those).
Hope this helps you.