Tortoiseshell... Kind Of?

whisperer

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So, I have a beautiful mixed breed cat I received from someone giving them away about a year ago. This girl was almost solid black when we got her, except for a white patch on her chest, a white strip down her chin, and a few scattered brown hairs on her cheek and rump.

Fast forward ten months, and now she's still almost completely solid black, except she's got tortoiseshell markings on her cheek and on one side of her butt. I mean, SOLID black on her whole body except these tortoiseshell areas and the white spot on her chest and stripe on her chin.

I've looked and looked online, yet have found no cat like her. Is she a normal tortoiseshell, or is there a different name for this coloring?

Here are some pictures, but it's hard to see the tortoiseshell because she's so dark.

 

GemsGem

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What a beautiful girl :heart3: I love her eyes :D

I don't think your girl is a tortoiseshell. I think she is a solid black with some small white patches ;)

I believe the red hairs you can see in her black coat is tarnishing also known as rusting. Tarnishing can happen to silver and black coat colors.

The genetics involved in cat coat colours are very complex. Not only are there many interacting genes, but these genes sometimes do not express themselves fully or they conflict with each other.
One gene called the melanin inhibitor can sometimes do a bad job at blocking pigment - which can result in tarnishing ( the rusty red colour ) in silver and solid black coats. It can also cause a grey undercoat in solid coat colours ( not to be confused with the white undercoat of a smoke )

Hope this helps :D
 

tarralb

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She is just a solid black with white areas....all black cats have little bits or hairs of white here and there.
 

natalie708

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I can't help with your question but I had to comment on how beautiful your cat is! Her coat looks impossibly sleek.
 

StefanZ

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I wonder, could these light places be cream-colored? Not white, but red-cream colored, and thus, a tortoiseshell after all??
 
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whisperer

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I wonder, could these light places be cream-colored? Not white, but red-cream colored, and thus, a tortoiseshell after all??
This is exactly what I was thinking!! Al the flecks and areas of "tortioushell-looking" markings ARE, in fact, not white. They're kind of a light brown-red.
 

GemsGem

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I agree :nod: After seeing these new pics that really show up these red/creamy hairs. I do believe you have a tortoiseshell :clap: :D
 
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whisperer

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I agree :nod: After seeing these new pics that really show up these red/creamy hairs. I do believe you have a tortoiseshell :clap: :D
Yay! I've always wanted a tortiousshell :clap::clap: of course, I still would've loved her just the same if she wasn't one :D
 

merlin2000

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The light coloured flecks do look like what you would see on a Tortoiseshell cat , most black and white cats tend to have clear patches of black and white or if their mostly black a spot of white or some white hairs .

I've seen some pictures of Male Tortoiseshell cats and they look very similar to your cat very dark with flecks of colour .

She's a beautiful cat
                  
 
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whisperer

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The light coloured flecks do look like what you would see on a Tortoiseshell cat , most black and white cats tend to have clear patches of black and white or if their mostly black a spot of white or some white hairs .
I've seen some pictures of Male Tortoiseshell cats and they look very similar to your cat very dark with flecks of colour .
She's a beautiful cat :)                   
Thank you!! :clap:
 
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