What colour?

jupeycat

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Yup it's another colour thread! I've put this kitten on our Cats Protection website, she's down as being multi-coloured but I figured there must be a proper name for her colouring!
 

goldenkitty45

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Brown Patched Classic Tabby/White. She's very unusually marked too. Most patched tabbies tend to be mackeral, not classic.
 

pami

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This may be a silly question, but because she is white, black and red, isnt she a calico?
 

booktigger

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I would have classed her more as a tortie tabby, patched tabby isn't used that much in the UK, a person I know who shows her cat in HHP has never come across the term, neither had my vet.
 

goldenkitty45

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She's not a calico, as the "black" is really a dark brown tabby. For me, this is how I tell the difference in calico, tortie, patched tabby, torbie (tortie/tabby) colors:

I' not gonna list the dilute or other colors that come in those patterns - just the basic.

Calico - white cat with patches of solid black, red colors
Tortoiseshell - a mix of black, red, and sometimes cream that is intermingled together.
Tortie/White - a tortoiseshell with some white - mainly on face, chest, paws
Torbie or Tortie-Tabby - a tortoiseshell cat that has tabby markings only in the red color. Still would have black color.
Patched Tabby - basically a brown, blue, silver tabby that also has Red tabby markings.

Sometimes people confuse the Torbie and the Patched Tabby. Think of it as basically either a tortoiseshell cat or a tabby cat with the red tabby markings.

Hope this helps.
 

proudmamiof4

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Okay then I have a question then.....I think I have been calling Itty Bitty the wrong coloring??? ( maybe not) she is a brown tabby but has orange (or red) mixed in some are splotches and a few are actual lines but it isn't alot!! what would that be?I have been saying Torbie!!
 
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jupeycat

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Thanks for your help, I've never heard of a patched tabby either but I know you guys know your stuff! I find the breeders forum very interesting!

Ok, so does this make my Emmy a torbie/tortie-tabby?

(The stitches are from her spay)
 

goldenkitty45

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Emma would be more of a Torbie or Tortie-Tabby. She has black color and the red tabby markings.

The biggest problem (even in purebred) is that the red coloring almost always has some striping. So its hard to tell if its a tortie or a torbie at times. It would depend more on how dominate the striping is in the red.
 
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jupeycat

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Just to let you know that little Esme found a new home.
 

lotso'cats

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So does this mean my Torrie is really a Torbie? She had red tabby stripes on her face?



Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Torbie or Tortie-Tabby - a tortoiseshell cat that has tabby markings only in the red color. Still would have black color.


Sometimes people confuse the Torbie and the Patched Tabby. Think of it as basically either a tortoiseshell cat or a tabby cat with the red tabby markings.

Hope this helps.
 

goldenkitty45

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I'd call her a torbie because she's got solid black patches and only the red has stripes - she's still basically a tortie and not a tabby
 

epona

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Like me you are in the UK, there are no such colour names as 'Patched Tabby' and 'Calico' here - they are American Terms, so it's no surprise that you haven't heard them before.

In UK English, you would call her a tortoishell tabby and white
 

abymummy

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Originally Posted by Epona

Like me you are in the UK, there are no such colour names as 'Patched Tabby' and 'Calico' here - they are American Terms, so it's no surprise that you haven't heard them before.

In UK English, you would call her a tortoishell tabby and white
Ahem...wouldn't that be correctly termed as " In the UK cat fancy terms" ?


Sorry, feeling a bit persnickety today!
 

epona

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No, the terms don't exist here in day to day language, it's not just a cat fancy thing - although they are now creeping in because of international contact online of course! But the word calico here means printed fabric, not a cat colour, most people wouldn't call a cat a calico because we've never used the word in reference to cats. All red & black cats are tortoishells, and all tricolour cats are tortoishell & white both to the cat fancy and the general populace
 
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