The Tortoiseshell Cat - Why Do They Call Them That?
A tortoiseshell cat has what's called a brindled color, sort of mishmash of many different colors, not unlike the shell of a tortoise.
A true tortoiseshell will have no white in their coloring at all, although some people might still refer to any mishmash colored, striped cat as a tortoiseshell (tortie).
That is not completely accurate, however.
What distinguishes a tortie (tortoiseshell cat) from a torbie or tabby tortoiseshell cat is that the true tortie has the color black as its primary coloring, we know, it can get awfully confusing sometimes, and the fact that torbies used to be called reverse torties makes it even more confusing.
If a cat has any white in their coloring, even if they have a mixture of colors all over (black, brown, tan, red, amber, chocolate, cinnamon, etc.
) they are referred to as a calico cat.
Calicos will often have a lot of colors in their fur, especially on their backs or on their top side, and the white streak will often be on the belly, if you see a white belly on a cat, it's a calico for sure.
Now you can impress your friends and acquaintances with your knowledge into the minutiae of the cat world, if they are wrong, correct them, and do so with a lofty look in your face, you are right, they are wrong, loads of fun.
We're just kidding of course, there are no set rules in the cat world, these are merely accepted guidelines.
And this idea of guidelines extends to the personalities of cats as well.
Many people believe that there are hard and fast rules to what a cat's personality and behavior will be like, but, that is not necessarily always the case, there are a lot of myths out there.
Certain types of cats do have reputations for being a certain way personality wise but in every case though individual personalities will vary from cat to cat.
Cats are a whole lot like people in a lot of ways, there are broad strokes of personalities, but every individual will be unique.
That's probably why we bond so well with our cats, they remind us of ourselves in some ways.
In general tortoiseshell cats are thought to be very opinionated creatures, and somewhat aloof, acting out their lives as if they were above everything.
They tend to be strong willed cats, unpredictable, and independent, a real "cat's cat", if you will.
But, as was mentioned early this is just a broad guideline it will not always hold completely true.
All cats will have their own inherent qualities.
A true tortoiseshell will have no white in their coloring at all, although some people might still refer to any mishmash colored, striped cat as a tortoiseshell (tortie).
That is not completely accurate, however.
What distinguishes a tortie (tortoiseshell cat) from a torbie or tabby tortoiseshell cat is that the true tortie has the color black as its primary coloring, we know, it can get awfully confusing sometimes, and the fact that torbies used to be called reverse torties makes it even more confusing.
If a cat has any white in their coloring, even if they have a mixture of colors all over (black, brown, tan, red, amber, chocolate, cinnamon, etc.
) they are referred to as a calico cat.
Calicos will often have a lot of colors in their fur, especially on their backs or on their top side, and the white streak will often be on the belly, if you see a white belly on a cat, it's a calico for sure.
Now you can impress your friends and acquaintances with your knowledge into the minutiae of the cat world, if they are wrong, correct them, and do so with a lofty look in your face, you are right, they are wrong, loads of fun.
We're just kidding of course, there are no set rules in the cat world, these are merely accepted guidelines.
And this idea of guidelines extends to the personalities of cats as well.
Many people believe that there are hard and fast rules to what a cat's personality and behavior will be like, but, that is not necessarily always the case, there are a lot of myths out there.
Certain types of cats do have reputations for being a certain way personality wise but in every case though individual personalities will vary from cat to cat.
Cats are a whole lot like people in a lot of ways, there are broad strokes of personalities, but every individual will be unique.
That's probably why we bond so well with our cats, they remind us of ourselves in some ways.
In general tortoiseshell cats are thought to be very opinionated creatures, and somewhat aloof, acting out their lives as if they were above everything.
They tend to be strong willed cats, unpredictable, and independent, a real "cat's cat", if you will.
But, as was mentioned early this is just a broad guideline it will not always hold completely true.
All cats will have their own inherent qualities.
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