I am sorry to hear that there is confusion in the concept of “hidden” traits. A picture is worth a thousand words and so I hope that this picture may help you to understand.
((To make things easier, just focus on the eye colour of the three Foxie-Auburn kitties.))
![[Image: 13284060694_98aa572e59_b.jpg]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7115/13284060694_98aa572e59_b.jpg)
Please look at the eye colour of Holly. She has Canary eyes and, when you look at her parents, it is clear that the gene came from her father, Oak. Canary is more dominant than Rainbow Prism and so you can be 100% certain that her mother, Ash, did not contain this gene.
Therefore, the next question to ask is this: Can we deduce what Holly’s recessive gene is? The answer is categorically, “No.” Some inexperienced breeders may place Holly out to sale and promote her sale by claiming that she has hidden “Rainbow Prism” genes from her mother, Ash.
Indeed, if you were to check the pedigree of Holly, you could even be mistaken for believing this, as the pedigree chart of Holly does actually verify that her mother, Ash, bears Rainbow Prism eyes.
The problem with all this is that you cannot be sure that Ash is pure in her Rainbow Prism eye gene. There is a chance that there is a second (more recessive) gene hidden beneath her Rainbow Prism eyes; a gene that has not yet shown itself. Even if the mother Ash came from a long line of parents and grandparents, all bearing Rainbow Prism eyes, it is not unknown for a gene to be masked and laying hidden beneath.
Therefore, when a breeder sells a box and claims that the hidden gene for a specific trait is “X” ~ it is often misleading. It would only be after many months of breeding (if you manage to pull the hidden gene out) that you can verify this. Just imagine your frustration if you were to buy a box under the false hope that it contained the gene that you wanted, as a hidden gene, only to discover two or three months later that you were duped. You would have wasted your purchase Lindens but, more important, you would have wasted some three months of breeding time.
((Incidentally, as stated above, dominant traits can never hide behind recessive traits. Also, the sex of a parent does not have any bearing on which trait is passed or hidden.))
