Tortoiseshell is a cat coat coloring named for its similarity to tortoiseshell pattern. Like tortoiseshell-and-white or calico cats, tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female.[1][2][3][4] Male tortoiseshells are rare and are usually sterile.[a][6][4]
Tortoiseshell cats, or torties, combine two colors other than white, either closely mixed or in larger patches.[2] The colors are often described as red and black, but the "red" patches can instead be orange, yellow, or cream,[2] and the "black" can instead be chocolate, gray, tabby, or blue.[2] Tortoiseshell cats with the tabby pattern as one of their colors are sometimes referred to as torbies or torbie cats.[7]
"Tortoiseshell" is typically reserved for multicolored cats with relatively small or no white markings. Those that are predominantly white with tortoiseshell patches are described as tricolor,[2] tortoiseshell-and-white, or calico (in Canada and the United States).[8]
Tortoiseshell markings appear in many different breeds, as well as in non-purebred domestic cats.[8] This pattern is especially preferred in the Japanese Bobtail breed,[9] and exists in the Cornish Rex group.[10]
^Centerwall, W. R.; Benirschke, K. (1975). "An animal model for the XXY Klinefelter's syndrome in man: Tortoiseshell and calico male cats". American Journal of Veterinary Research. 36 (9): 1275–1280. PMID 1163864.
^ abcdeCenterwall, W. R.; Benirschke, K. (1973). "Male Tortoiseshell and Calico (T-C) Cats: Animal models of sex chromosome mosaics, aneuploids, polyploids, and chimerics". Journal of Heredity. 64 (5): 272–278. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a108410. PMID 4798734.
^Carver, Leslie. "Characteristics of Tortoiseshell Cats". The Nest. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
^Atkins (2003), p.105
^"Torbie Cat Breed Facts and Information". Pet Haver. 25 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
^ abSyufy, Franny. "More Cat Color Patterns: Calicos, Tortoiseshell, Tuxedo Cats". Retrieved 22 January 2009.
^"Breed Profile: Japanese Bobtail". Cat Fancier's Association. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
^Atkins (2003), p. 90
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Tortoiseshell is a cat coat coloring named for its similarity to tortoiseshell pattern. Like tortoiseshell-and-white or calico cats, tortoiseshell cats...
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(KB) and other cells express a different allele (ky), a little like tortoiseshellcats. This makes it very difficult to test for, and there are currently...
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The Manx cat (/ˈmæŋks/, in earlier times often spelled Manks) is a breed of domestic cat (Felis catus) originating on the Isle of Man, with a mutation...
black tortoiseshell and white male Red tabby kitten with large paws 8-month-old cream silver tabby Red blotched tabby Cats portal List of cat breeds...
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various shades of orange and cream resembling that of a really good tortoiseshellcat." Another very pale leopard was reported in The Field in 1953 regarding...
combinations are in development, including the "torbie", in which a patched tortoiseshell pattern in any of these colors is visible under the tabby banding. The...
as tortoiseshell (or "tortie" for short) in non-pedigreed cats by CFA, and this alternative term is used by GCCF and organizations for pedigreed cats as...
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