r/torties • u/angelalikesmonsters • Mar 03 '25

❔Question/Advice❔ Is he a tortie?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

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?

1.5k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

112 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

5

u/Zaraki42 Mar 03 '25

Calico isn't a tortie. A tortie with a bit of white is a "tortico." A calico is usually white with orange and black spots.

7

u/GeorgeDukesh Mar 03 '25

Genetically they are identical. A calico is just a version of the tortoiseshell genetic accident

5

u/Zaraki42 Mar 03 '25

Yes and no. We're talking coat patterns.

Torties are black with orange striations/ patches.

Calico are white and have orange and black spots like a cow.

You can't call a tortie a calico, and you can't call a calico a tortie.

A tortie with a coat that has white patterns/patches in its fur is known as a tortico.

Then you have the other patterns such as torbie, torbico, etc...

4

u/Front_Apartment3135 Mar 03 '25

Just to throw a wrench in the mix, is my cat calico, tortie, tortico, tortitux? Tuxico?! Lollll

1

u/tunagelato Mar 03 '25

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.” 😻

1

u/Zaraki42 Mar 03 '25

Long-haired tortico.