Tortoiseshell cat

Rare card · No. 23555

Tortoiseshell is a coat colouration in domestic cats named for its similarity to tortoiseshell pattern. The coats of tortoiseshell cats, or torties for short, are two colours other than white in an asymmetrical distribution, either closely mixed ('brindled') or in larger patches. The two colours always consist of one eumelanistic (black, blue, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon or fawn) and one phaeomelanistic (red or cream) colour. The most common tortoiseshell colouration is black tortoiseshell (black and red). Tortoiseshell can occur in combination with other cat coat patterns, such as tabby and colourpoints. Tortoiseshell cats with the tabby pattern in their eumelanistic colour are tortoiseshell tabby cats, sometimes referred to as torbies. Like the tricoloured tortoiseshell-and-white or calico (in North American English) cats, tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Male tortoiseshells are rare and are usually sterile. Tortoiseshell markings appear in many different cat breeds, as...

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