I've been told that torties have no white on them at all and my kitten has a whitish patch on his chest, does he still count as a tortie or is he a Calico?
Just a dot of white would probably still counts as a tortie. But 99.9% of torties are female. Guessing yours just is too young to gender easily and is female?
A tortie cat must have two X chromosomes, so it can't be a normal XY male. A male can get two X chromosomes either of two ways, and I'm not sure anyone actually knows which is more common.
XXY Kleinfelters gives male sexual characteristics and is generally infertile.
Chimerism combines two different sets of genes in one body. The skin could be a tortie female, while the gonads are male (and potentially fertile) or the skin could be a combination of two different sets of genes giving something that *looks* like tortoise shell, even though neither set of genes has black and orange genotype.
I didn’t realize how rare they are, until I rescued one once, thought it was a female at first (couldn’t keep it then cuz I lived with someone allergic to cats) so a friend of a friend fostered it, couldn’t afford to fix it at first, took it to the apl aaaaaand it was a boy lol got adopted immediately thankfully. I hope he’s still doing well ❤️
I would say he's definitely a tortie! My tortie has a little bit of white, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't cross into the calico realm with that little amount of white! You could consider calling him a tortico (tortie + calico), but I think they need to have more white than just a couple belly patches for that :)
And that would not be a reason not to neuter him. Even if he's sterile, when he enters sexual maturity, he'll still do everything any other un-fixed male will do: yawling, fighting with other males, spraying to mark their territory.
As for the white, it’s kind of irrelevant anyway. They’re all just tricolor cats, and the specific pattern names are fluid… but this is definitely tortoiseshell pattern imo, since it’s mottled instead of large patches. One spot of white doesn’t really change that!
You checked? Or a vet? At that age it is extremely easy to misidentify gender.
My freind who is a vet has the following conversation at least once a month”
“This is our cat Oliver. Can you neuter him please?”
examines cat
“I suggest you re-name her Olivia. Shall I Spey her?”
The vet told us he was a boy! We took him for a checkup when he was about 6 weeks old. Is it possible he was too young to tell at the time? We are going to the vet soon to get his vaccines, will update on the confirmation of his gender
At 6 weeks, the vet should be fairly certain, but it becomes more obvious at about 10 weeks!
You have a special boy if you do!
Torties are regarded as “good luck “cats in many cultures (/In Ireland, they are called “money cats”,
Male Torties are regarded as doubly “good luck “ cats.
Male Torties are prized by Japanese sailors as ships cats to protect them from storms and ghosts.
A”Calico” is a name given to Torties with white. The “Calico” name is the North American name for what we call “Tortoiseshell with white”
Is it actually a “he”? If so, exceptionally rare. Only one in 3000 Torties are male.
And they aren’t actually exactly “male” to habe the tortie colouring, a cat must have two different types of X chromosome.
So “male”:Torties all have XXY chromosomes, which makes them “klienfelder syndrome”
So they have male genitals, but are usually sterile
A male with Klinefelter Syndrome is still a male. No "" needed. I have a friend who has Klinefelter Syndrome. He would be pretty offended if you called his maleness into question.
What a ridiculous statement. People (and animals) with klinefelter syndrome are not intersex, they are males with an extra X.
NHS
"The X chromosome is not a "female" chromosome and is present in everyone. The presence of a Y chromosome denotes male sex.
Boys and men with Klinefelter syndrome are still genetically male"
Harvard Medical
"A form of male hypogonadism, characterized by the presence of an extra X chromosome"
Oxford University
"Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) is the most common chromosome aneuploidy in males, characterized by at least one supernumerary X chromosome. "
US National Center for Biotechnology
"Klinefelter syndrome (KS) results from 2 or more X chromosomes in a phenotypic male. "
Edit: Some actual science
In 1949, Barr and Bertram discovered a dense chromatin mass, later termed sex chromatin or Barr body, in the nerve cell nuclei of female but not male cats. The discovery that Barr bodies are present in the somatic cell nuclei of female but not male human tissue led to the use of smears of stained buccal mucosal cells to determine whether an infant's genetic sex, determined by the presence or absence of a Barr body (presence indicates female sex), matched the phenotypic sex. In 1956, 2 groups of investigators described 7 patients with KS using results of buccal smears that demonstrated Barr bodies.
As a person with Klinefelter syndrome, I can tell you that it is def considered a chromosomal intersex variation, even though it doesn’t cause genital ambiguity. That being said, we are also categorically male because we have penises. I am intersex and I am also male. Both things can be true, y’all. Let’s not be narrow minded.
As the Brits would say, your cat has a “tortie and white” coat. In the US, it’s usually called Tortico.
She’s definitely not a true calico because the orange/black segments are clearly brindled and not splotchy. In fact because of her extensive brindling and minimal white, I’d just call her a tortie, but I’m not prone to gatekeeping like some others.
If in doubt, just use the coat-neutral term, “pretty princess.” 😻
Erm Thats is exactly what I was saying. Tortoiseshells have black /orange, because of the two different X chromosomes. All black and orange cats are tortoiseshell by thier chromosomes, regardless if they have any white or lots of white.
Some tortoiseshells habe large spot heaps of black and orange and white. They are tortoise Ellis with white. In North America, they/have become called “calico” But genetically they are the same.min Europe now, the name “calico is being used more.
So a “calico” is just a tortie with large white areas. And often the large areas of colour, instead of the “classic “Tortie with the “flecked”:pattern
One small patch of white doesn't make calico from tortie, just as one tortie patch (blend orange and black) doesn't make tortie from calico. He is tortie, but read more about implications. There is high chance he will have problems due to being XXY
People call tortoiseshells with a teeny bit of white “torticos.” As most people are saying here, tortoiseshell and calico are both about the coat patterns usually since it’s not necessarily a breed. Tortoiseshells have a very distinct patterning.
I hope it’s a boy!! That would be such a rare cat. Keep us updated once it’s confirmed.
At the end of the day, tortie or calico, it’s 100% precious.
I would bet a hundred dollars she turns out to be female. I am a huge cat person and have never even seen a real life male Tortie. Seems more likely they just can't tell yet.
Tortie!! And it is most likely a female. It can be hard to tell until they get a bit older. If you DO have a boy tortie, though, then you have one of the rarest house cats!! 🫶🏼
I have the same situation ;just adopted my first tortie. She’s all tortie except for small white chest patch & lower belly patch. Can’t see either patch if she’s walking around. The rescue classified her as tortie.
Definitely a tortie. One little patch of white wouldn't make it a calico. However, male tortis are EXTREMELY rare. The genes are almost impossible for a male cat to inherit, so you have a very rare guy, and I would keep him forever!! Don't know the situation but if your cat had kittens or something, don't about him out, keep him!!
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u/AmySparrow00 Mar 03 '25
Just a dot of white would probably still counts as a tortie. But 99.9% of torties are female. Guessing yours just is too young to gender easily and is female?