Warriors Info

Who are their parents?

Sandstorm, Graystripe, and Darkstripe

Sandstorm's parents are never once mentioned in any of the books nor are they listed in the warriors wiki page. I also checked the family tree, and while Brindleface and Redtail are connected as mates, there is no line connecting them to Sandstorm. So the question remains, who are her parents?

*pause*
Quick cat science lesson to explain some of my reasoning. There are two colors of cats. One is black and its variations and dilutions, such as grey and shades of brown. The other is red and its variations and dilutions, such as orange or ginger. Brown tabbies are actually genetically black, not red. White cats are technically black or red or both, but they have a gene that basically clouds over the red or black coloring. This can be a gene that completely clouds over the red or black, resulting in an all white cat, or a white spotting gene, resulting in a white and other color cat. Cat colors are inherited on the X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes, and males have one X and one Y chromosome. Because of this, tortoiseshell cats are almost entirely female, because they inherited one black X chromosome and one red X chromosome. Male cats on the other hand can only inherit one color because they only have one X chromosome. Very occasionally however, a male cat will be born with XXY chromosomes, which will allow him to inherit both red and black, resulting in him being a tortoiseshell. These rare tortoiseshell males often have health issues, including the inability to father kits. However, some tortoiseshell males are lucky, and are still able to father kits.
This is a link about a healthy male tortie with many kits. Cat colors are also inherited from the mother first and father second. What this means is that male cats inherit their color on the X chromosome from their mother. If their mother is black, the male kittens will be black. Female cats however inherit one color from each parents, first from their mother and then from their father.
https://consciouscat.net/2017/01/11/meet-mezzomixx-unusual-male-tortie/
This is a link about cat color genetics.
https://basepaws.com/blogs/news/cat-coat-genetics
Another couple facts about cat colors, is that all cats are technically tabbies, whether or not they display that gene. Also, cat colors are inherited from their immediate parents, so it doesn't matter what colors their grandparents were, only their parents.
*resume*

Redtail and Brindleface are commonly accepted to be her parents, but there are a couple things to consider. Redtail is a male tortoiseshell cat. Male tortoiseshell cats are extremely rare, and it is even more rare for them to be capable of fathering kittens. However, because it is possible, and Redtail was clearly a healthy cat since he became deputy, this is something I'm willing to let slide. He can be that one in a million male tortoiseshell that fathered kits.
The second thing to consider is the color of these cats. Redtail is a tortoiseshell, meaning he is carrying the color genes of both red and black. Brindleface is a grey cat, meaning she is carrying two copies of the black gene. Sandstorm is an orange cat, meaning she must be carrying two copies of the red gene, the first one coming from her mother. The only way for her to have inherited both copies of the red gene is for both of her parents to have carried the red gene. Redtail does, but Brindleface... does not. If Brindleface was really her mother, then these are the color possibilities for Sandstorm.
Remember, she-cats have two X chromosomes, so they inherit two color genes. Red X chromosome from Redtail and black X chromosome from Brindleface would result in a tortoiseshell. Black X chromosome from Redtail and black X chromosome from Brindleface would result in a black cat. Sandstorm is neither tortoiseshell nor black, therefore Brindleface cannot be her mother.
So, if we agree that Redtail was indeed her father, then who could her mother be? Her mother would have to be tortoiseshell or red in order for Sandstorm to inherit two red color genes with Redtail still her father. The only possibility I can find is Goldenflower, a pale ginger she-cat. Near the end of Redtail's Debt and at the beginning of Into the Wild, Goldenflower is a queen with two kits, Swiftpaw and Lynxkit. However, we know that Sandstorm and Dustpelt began their apprenticeships before Graystripe and Ravenpaw. She-cats are also able to get pregnant pretty quickly after having a litter, so it's definitely possible that Goldenflower gave birth to Sandstorm, and then shortly after Sandstorm began her apprenticeship, Goldenflower gave birth to Swiftpaw and Lynxkit. By the time we see the Clan at the end of Redtail's Debt and the beginning of Into the Wild, Graystripe and Ravenpaw are also apprentices, meaning there was likely at least six moons in between Goldenflower giving birth to Sandstorm and then to Swiftpaw and Lynxkit. Maybe not ideal, but certainly possible.
It could also explain why Sandstorm's mother is never mentioned; Goldenflower had another litter as soon as Sandstorm left the nursery. She could have felt abandoned or replaced by her mother, especially since Goldenflower would probably be spending the majority of her time watching her newest kits. Maybe this is why Sandstorm is so prickly? Goldenflower also does not seem to have a life mate, a partner. In the books, we see her have kits with both Patchpelt and Tigerclaw. Why not Redtail? Speaking of Redtail, who knows whether he even planned on having a daughter? He was also deputy at the time. He probably loved Sandstorm and was proud of her, but he might not have treated her as a daughter, instead just treated her more like another kit and then apprentice. So perhaps she never had a close relationship with him, and instead saw him as her deputy, not her father. I do however like the idea that Redtail and Whitestorm were good friends, and that Redtail specifically asked Bluestar for Whitestorm to be her mentor. In my mind, Redtail didn't know how to interact with his daughter, but still did his best to look out for her.