Final answer:
The inactivation pattern in creating CC, a cloned cat, could be either an activated black gene and an inactivated orange gene or the other way around, as the inactivation of the X chromosome is random in tortoiseshell cats.
Step-by-step explanation:
If one assumes that the somatic ovarian cell engaged in X chromosome inactivation, in creating CC (a cloned cat based on the reference to tortoiseshell cats and the X-linked coat color genes), the inactivation pattern could either be an activated black gene and an inactivated orange gene or vice versa. Since the inactivation is random, it is equally possible for either option 1) or 2) to occur in the ovarian somatic cell donated by Rainbow. The pattern observed will depend on which X chromosome (carrying either the black or orange coat color gene) remains active.
In tortoiseshell cats, females are commonly heterozygous for an X-linked coat color gene, which means they have one allele for the black color and one allele for the orange color. The variegated pattern of coat colors in these cats is due to X chromosome inactivation during embryonic development. Each cell randomly inactivates one of the X chromosomes, and this cell's descendant cells maintain the same inactivation pattern. Therefore, some patches of fur will express black color (if the X chromosome with the orange gene is inactivated), and other patches will express orange color (if the X chromosome with the black gene is inactivated).