Facts About Torbie Cats

Cats come in many beautiful and unique colors and patterns, some more common than others. “Torbie” refers to the color pattern of the tabby tortoiseshell.

The torbie cat shows patterns of the tortoiseshell pattern and the tabby pattern. Not only is the torbie one of the rarest color patterns seen in cats, some people say that torbie cats have a unique personality.

Torbie cats are very rare, and the unique nature of the coat pattern adds to their air of mystery. But do they have other special features? Read on for interesting facts about torbie cats, including how to tell the difference between torbie, tortoiseshell, calico, and tabby cats.

1. The Torbie Cat Is Not A Specific Breed

The word “torbie” refers to a pattern, not a type. This interesting type of coat can come in many types and mixed types. Any breed that comes in tabby or tortoiseshell patterns can also come in a torbie pattern. Other cat breeds that can fit into a torbie include the American Shorthair, British Shorthair, Cornish Rex, and Maine Coon.

2. Torbie Cats Are Almost Always Female

Almost all tortoiseshell cats are female, which means almost all torbie cats are also female. For a cat to have a tortoiseshell pattern, it must have two X chromosomes (XX), each carrying the alleles needed to create the tortoiseshell color pattern. Two XX chromosomes always make a female cat (males have one X and one Y chromosome), so the tortoise shell pattern is usually seen in female cats.

In very rare cases, tortoiseshell or torbie kittens are male. This can happen if the cat has Klinefelter’s syndrome, which causes male cats to have three chromosomes (XXY). Torties and male torbies are often sterile due to this genetic disease.

3. Torbie Cats Are Very Rare

Tortoiseshell cats are rare, but torbies are even rarer. The attached tabby pattern is more unusual than other tabby patterns such as classic or mackerel. The unique coat pattern of the torbie is a technical patched tabby mixed with a tortoise shell pattern, and the combination of these two patterns makes the torbie appear rare.

4. Torbie Cats Have Tragic Attitudes

Like tortoiseshell cats, torbie cats have a reputation for being feisty feline divas. In tortoiseshell, this tendency even has a name: tortitude. Since torbies are part of the tortoiseshell, it makes sense that other torbies show the same attitude. Whether tortitude and “torbitude” is a real behavior or just an assumption of the human mind is up for debate, but some research has shown a correlation between a cat’s posture and its color—let’s call it the “tortitude theory.”

5. No Two Torbie Cat Patterns Are The Same

Torbie cats are special because their fur mixes the stripes of tabby cats with the fiery spots of tortoiseshell cats, creating a unique combination of colors that is hard to find anywhere else. While tabby and tortoiseshell patterns are beautiful on their own, they are even more impressive when grouped together as torbie cats, and each torbie has a slightly different pattern.

How To Tell The Difference Between Torbie, Tortie, Calico, and Tabby Cats

Cats have many colors and beautiful patterns. Some are common and some are rare. These different coat patterns have different names, which can be confusing.

To better understand what goes into making a torbie pattern, let’s look at some common patterns seen in cats and how they relate to torbie patterns.

Tortoise Shell

The tortoiseshell coat has two colors, black and orange, joined together in a pattern similar to a tortoise or turtle shell. Tortoiseshell cats can also be “dilute” (lighter versions of black and orange). Dilute tortoiseshell cats have two copies of the dilute allele (alternative gene) that turns black to blue (gray) and orange to cream. In many parts of the world, tortoiseshell cats are considered to bring good luck and fortune. Tortie cats are even called “money cats.”

Calico

Calico cats have three colors: black, orange and white. PHOTO FUN / Shutterstock.com

Calico cats have tricolor fur in random patches of mixed black, orange, and white. Like tortoiseshell cats, calico can also be molted (lighter versions of black and orange). Dilute calico cats are blue (grey) and cream combined with white.

Tabby

Cats come in five different tabby patterns, including the mackerel tabby, which looks like the stripes of a tiger. Dora Zett / Shutterstock.com

Tabby is the most common pattern seen in domestic cats, and can come in all kinds of colors. When you think of a tabby cat you may think of stripes, but the striped tabby pattern (called a mackerel tabby) is one of five different tabby patterns. Although tabby markings vary, all tabby cats have a distinctive M-shaped marking on their forehead.

Classic tabby: The classic tabby pattern is a swirling pattern with marbling on the body, head, legs, and tail. The markings appear randomly, and sometimes you can see a bull’s eye or a target-shaped pattern on the cat’s side.

Mackerel tabby: A mackerel tabby is the leopard-striped pattern that most people envision when they think of a tabby cat. Different stripes run straight down the body, around the legs, and ring around the tail like a raccoon. Most mackerel tabbies also have a strong line running down the spine.

Visual tabby: Spotted tabby cats look more like leopards or cheetahs, with spots all over their bodies rather than stripes. Some cat breeds are well known for their spots, including the Egyptian Mau and the Ocicat.

A designated tabby: You may be surprised to know that the marked coat seen on the Abyssinian, Chausie, and a few other breeds is actually a type of tabby pattern. You won’t see dots, lines, or marbles in the markup tab. Instead, each person’s hair is streaked with bands of light and dark color. If you look closely, you will see that cats with marked coats have a distinctive M mark on the forehead which is a symbol of the tabby pattern.

A stuffed tabby: This pattern consists of two different colors of hair mixed throughout the coat in a patchwork fashion. Sometimes both colors of patches have tabby markings (for example, an orange tabby and a brown tabby). Sometimes, one of the color patches is tabby and the other is another pattern, such as calico (called “caliby”) or tortoiseshell (called torbie).

But What Really Is a Torbie Cat?

Dilute torbie cats are gray and cream tabby. SJ Allen / Shutterstock.com

As mentioned earlier, the torbie (tortoiseshell tabby) pattern is a type of spotted tabby.

So what is the difference between a tortoise shell and a torbie cat? However, with a torbie cat, the coat has patches of tortoiseshell patterned coat and patches of tabby patterned coat. The tabby part of the coat can be tabby stripes, spots, or marbles. The tortoiseshell parts of the coat may be classic black and orange, or mixed (blue and cream).