calicos and tortis

[wolfsoul]

whats the exact difference between calicos and toris? i always thought that tortis were tri colours with black backgrounds and that calicos were triclours with white backgorunds, but some body told me that calico is just the american word for toroiseshell
and do all calicos have tabby markings? the ones i see all have tabby markings

[jenluckenbach]

calicos are cats with PATCHES of red and black on a white background. ( not always tabby's)
Tortoise shell is black and red mixed together. They can have some white, sometimes

[wolfsoul]

ok thanx...my kitty is a torti with white...shes so pretty!

[RogueFerret]

Okay, what would my cats be then? I have one that has black, orange, and light brown patches with white and orange stripes on her belly and another that's black and white with a red ticking to her coat. Yea, I know it sounds weird, but me and my mom get into arguments alot over whether they're considered calico or not.

[wolfsoul]

i bet the second cat u mentioned is a torti...but the first one i need a little more detail on...do u have any pics? my cat is a torti, u can see her pics on "Sara" and "more pics " in the cat general forum.....maybe they will help u decide what ur kitties are

[RogueFerret]

Here's a pic of the second cat I mentioned. Her name is Pandora. I don't have any pics of the first cat yet because she's just a kitten and the pictures haven't developed yet. This pic doesn't show the red ticking to her fur too well.

[wolfsoul]

i would say u have a torti...calicos have white backgrounds with coloured patches....these are some pics of calicos:



and here are some tortis:

[HayleyRosie]

Is Mandy a dilute Calico or a dilute tortis?

[smokey the elder]

I'd call her dilute calico and 100%, Grade A, State of the Art, Platinum Plated CUTE!!

This is another true calico : my sweety Maya !!

[L. Wayne]

That any tortie with tabby stripes I believe is known as a "torbie" Calicos have larger defined patches of brown, gray and/ or black color on them, on a white "background". Torties and Torbies, have mixed blotches of white, gray, and brown, on a black "background". Except for extremely rare occasions, all torbies, torties, and calicos are female.

.......wayne

[RogueFerret]

Okay, I finnally got a pic of Natasha downloaded onto my computer. If you look twords her feet you can see her stripes.

[wolfsoul]

its kinda funny because sara has some orange on her face, and u can see where the stripes start, but because the orange breaks off, so do the stripes!

[L. Wayne]

I think that your kitties could all be called torties (tortise shell). That most torbies I have seen are about half and-half mix between a tabby and a tortise shell color.

...........wayne

[marysmerrycats]

I was told by a vet that Muffin is a tortie, and another vet said she was a calico tortie...?
she is mostly all black/orange, but has alot of white too. what is she then? I don't know cat breeds , other than the obvious!