Southeast Asia - Torties were created from the blood of a young goddess.United States - Called money cats, torties bring fortune to the home, have psychic abilities and can see into the future.English Folklore - Rub a tortie’s tail on a wart to make it go away.Ireland and Scotland - A male tortie entering the home is seen as good luck.Here are a few beliefs from around the world: However, there is research that supports the idea that male cats are more laid back than females. While many people say their torties have a fair amount of attitude, there isn’t research to back it up. Just like calicos, most feedback is anecdotal and not based on research. How long do torties live?Īs mentioned earlier, the rare male might have a shorter lifespan, but female indoor torties live an average of 14 years. This is all still up for debate, but split faces in tortie females are most likely not the sign of a chimera, and is just a normal tortie pattern variation. They do agree, however, that it is possible male torties are the result of chimera, and their coloring is more from a combo of two sets of genetics than just the extra chromosome. What causes this?Īlthough there is a lot of discussion around this being from chimera, when two fertilized eggs combine into one organism in utero, some scientists dispute this because the split face is actually most often the result of a normal tortoiseshell pattern. Some tortoiseshell cats have what looks like a split face down the middle. They can be patched with patches of color, or if the colors look woven together, it’s called brindled. These males often suffer from Klinefelter’s Syndrome, which can lead to medical issues like cognitive and developmental issues frail bones higher body fat leading to heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes and a shorter lifespan. It’s the same as females where one X says “Go orange!” and the other “Go black!” This is more of a genetic oopsie which makes the male tortie (or calico) always sterile. In the rare case a male is a tortie, he has an extra chromosome, carrying XXY.

If a male has the orange gene on the X chromosome, the gene tells the cells, “Go orange!” If he has the non-orange gene, that gene says, “Go black!” The color gene is not connected to the Y, so the male can only have the color on the X chromosome of orange or black, not both.īecause females have XX, they can carry orange on one X and non-orange on the other X, meaning they will present with orange and black fur and be a tortie. What it basically means is the gene tells cells, “Go orange!” or “Go black!” The orange color gene is only on the X chromosome, and it can present two ways: orange or non-orange which is black. What genetically determines a cat will be a tortie?įemales carry XX chromosomes, and males XY. Common breeds with torties include American Shorthair, British Shorthair, Persian, Cornish Rex, Ragamuffin, and Maine Coons. What’s the difference between a tortie and a calico?Ĭalicos have orange and black with white. If the colors display with a tabby pattern, the cat is called a torbie. Tortie cats are black/brown with orange/red.

They’re also said to be full of attitude, fiercely independent, and total divas but is tortitude an actual thing? What makes them different from calicos?Īre they always female? You’re about to learn why there’s so much to love about torties. Tortoiseshell cats or torties have gorgeous orange and black coats that demand attention.

Tortoiseshell vs calico cats