What are these markings called? pics

[gottalotagals]

I was wandering if someone can help me. I thought these kittens were considered calicos, but I'm not sure since some have odd markings such as part tabby or whatever. I was told that 99% of calicos were females. Not sure if that is true, but I do know that two of the ones I think are "calicos" are boys.
Can you tell me what these markings are called?

The one on the left is a tabby on the front half of her body, but there are orange parts on her too. However, my baby that I'm keeping is Odd and is a boy. He is the one on the right. Below is another picture of him to help identify his color. What is Odd?

Odd is the one laying at the bottom. You can see him better here.


Here is that kitten Liberty from the first picture. In that top picture Liberty looks tabby, but here you can see her body. What is she?


Thanks for any help.

 

[lionessrampant]

Well, first of all, I think Odd is a girl...

They are called either Torbies or Patched Tabbies

 

[gottalotagals]

Okay, so they aren't calicos? What is a calico then technically? Sorry for the questions, but I really am not super familiar with cats.
I found a great site that showed actual pictures of kitten's bottoms to help determine sex. Odd is clearly different from the girls. I can see where is scrotum will be, but I'm still guessing 90% he's a boy. That ones bottom looks just like Chris, who has very obvious "boys" down there, which I though was super early. But he has ones that have either begun to descend or are at least doing something.

However, Odd doesn't have those that big so who knows. LOL
The sex of the kittens are much easier to be positive at what age? About 8 weeks?

 

[lionessrampant]

I'm not very good with sexing kittens, but what I do know is that in that picture, it looks like you have a whole litter of girls. Unless of course you have some XXY males in there, but they are EXTREMELY rare.

A true calico has black patches, orange patches and a lot of white. The patches are distinct. A Tortoiseshell is when the cat is black and orange all over, with no distinct patches and no white. You can also have a tortie with white, in which there are no distinct color patches, but there are white toes, a white locket, white boots, white buttons, etc. A torbie is patches of orange and brown tabby and a torbie with white is the former, but with white.

You cn also have dilute calicos and torties, sometimes called blue-cream torties and calicos, in which the colors are blue (gray) and buff (cream).

It is not possible to have solid orange on a cat. However light, there are always tabby strips present in orange.

 

[gottalotagals]

You know what? I went in again and checked after getting a fresh look of that picture and I really don't know with Odd. However, I am almost positive with one kitten we call Chris (not showing in pics) who is black and white, with a tabby head. He is a big one. When I held Odd up to him, there is a difference that I didn't notice earlier. So I guess Odd is very unclear at this point.
Liberty, Stormy, and Chyna are easily determined girls. I am now unclear about Odd and Deucalion.

Oh boy I hate this.......not knowing. lol

 

[gottalotagals]

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

I'm not very good with sexing kittens, but what I do know is that in that picture, it looks like you have a whole litter of girls. Unless of course you have some XXY males in there, but they are EXTREMELY rare.

A true calico has black patches, orange patches and a lot of white. The patches are distinct. A Tortoiseshell is when the cat is black and orange all over, with no distinct patches and no white. You can also have a tortie with white, in which there are no distinct color patches, but there are white toes, a white locket, white boots, white buttons, etc. A torbie is patches of orange and brown tabby and a torbie with white is the former, but with white.

You cn also have dilute calicos and torties, sometimes called blue-cream torties and calicos, in which the colors are blue (gray) and buff (cream).

It is not possible to have solid orange on a cat. However light, there are always tabby strips present in orange.

Okay thank you for the information. Now I do have two kittens that are just the patches with no stripes at all. Are those considered calico?

The reason I ask all this is because I want to accurately describe these kittens that are being given away. I have two of them going to a wonderful couple, but they were curious about their markings so that's why.
So is the kitten named Chyna and the kitten named Stormy in this picture calico or torbie? Sorry I'm driving you crazy.

 

[gottalotagals]

I'm actually keeping Stormy, but Chyna is going to the couple.
I'm very confused about markings. LOL

 

[lilleah]

I dont know anything about the colors, or types of kittens they are.

But I will tell you what I DO know:

I AM IN LOVE WITH THEM! I have never seen such cute little kittens! Those colors are just adorable. I have always always wanted a calico kitten. And you've got my dream kitten times a litter! WOW! I adore them, and you!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Oh they are just too cute! I don't know much about markings and what not, but they are precious!

 

[gottalotagals]

Thank you ladies! I love them too. I've wanted a calico marking kitten all my life and never had one. My mother never allowed cats at all when I was child, but I remember wanting one when I was about 3 years old. I've had cats as an adult and could never get one.
I was so expecting Holstein to have black and whites only so when I saw the very first one come out (Chyna) and saw that she was "calico" I started crying like a baby. THEN when she had more and I realized that 5 of the 6 were spotted like that I was estatic! lol I picked the ones I liked most within a hour of their births, but I love them all. I'm going to be torn apart when the four of them have to leave.

They are my beautiful babes.

 

[luvmyhorse780]

i have a question about my cat. I was told she is a calico. here is a pic of her. I found her on the road and i know that her mom which is a stray is a yellow cat. Sorry didn't mean to still your thread but since you mention it i was a little curious about my girl.
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...allybabies.jpg

 

[gottalotagals]

Your cat is beautiful too Luv! So are the kittens she had. I'm wondering what your cat is too.

Hopefully someone can tell you too.

 

[zak&rocky]

Odd would truly live up to his name if ?he is a boy! I betcha you have mostly girls there. I would say that they are patched orange & gray tabby and white kitties. Yes it's a mouthful. I have a little girl myself who is mostly grey tabby but has some orange spots, including her nose LOL. (I think she's a torbie). I don't think I've seen many kitties with that particular pattern here on TCS. They are cute and very unique!

 

[zak&rocky]

Originally Posted by luvmyhorse780

i have a question about my cat. I was told she is a calico. here is a pic of her. I found her on the road and i know that her mom which is a stray is a yellow cat. Sorry didn't mean to still your thread but since you mention it i was a little curious about my girl.
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...allybabies.jpg

That looks like a long haired calico. All orange females aren't as common as males BTW. You definitely know where she got her coloring!

 

[luvmyhorse780]

Momma was definatly orange. The people that had her and litter abondend her and litter cause they said they couldn't find her when they moved well I drive by that house everyday and for 4 days sally ran out in front of my until one night when I was coming home it was the last straw had to have her...LOL but momma wasn't to be found and neither was other baby. Don't know what happened to them but I know sally has a good home with my little girl. just makes me so made that they would leave a momma and her babies. URRRGGG

 

[gottalotagals]

Orange tabbies are pretty. That is what the daddy of my kittens were. That's where Holstein's litter got their mix of colorings from I'm sure. lol Black and white moma with an orange tabby daddy!

 

[jen]

All I know is that male calico/torbie/torti is extremely rare. I don't believe I have ever seen one anywhere, in the strays I have picked up, in the rescues, in the shelters I have worked at and visited...most likely you have all females in that litter from what it looks like.

 

[kittenuk]

over hear in uk these would be tortie and white or if tabby with some ginger would be a red tabby mix a calico i thought in a moggy cat was a very light ginger grey and white ??

 

[gottalotagals]

Here is what I found about calicos:

Noun: calico cat 'kalu`kow kat
A cat having black and cream and yellowish markings
- tortoiseshell, tortoiseshell-cat
Tortoiseshell cat
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Tortoiseshell is a coloring found in cats caused by a combination of specific genetic traits. It is a mix of phaeomelanin based colors (red) and eumelanin based color (black, chocolate and cinnamon). The pattern results in a cat with patches of red and patches of black, chocolate or cinnamon. The size of the patches can vary from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of colour. Dilution genes may modify the coloring, lightening the fur to a mix of cream and blue, lilac or fawn. Occasionally brown or blue/grey tabby patterns are also seen (sometimes called "torbies"). Tortoiseshell also can be expressed in the pointed pattern. The description "tortoiseshell" (also called "calimanco" or "clouded tiger" in North America) is correctly reserved for cats with coats that have no white markings, while those that are largely white with orange and black patches are described as calico (in the US) or tortoiseshell-and-white (in the UK). Tortoiseshells and calicos are not specific breeds of cat. The tortoiseshell markings appear in many different breeds.

Coat coloration in cats is complex, and controlled by several genes. One gene involved has two alleles: the Orange allele, O, which is the dominant form, (i.e., XO), and produces orange fur; and the "Black" allele, "o", which is the recessive form, (i.e., Xo), and produces black fur.

For a cat to be calico, it must simultaneously express both of the alleles, O and o, which are two versions of the same gene, located at the same location on the X chromosome. Males normally cannot do this: they can have only one allele, as they have only one X chromosome. Over 90% of tortoiseshell cats are females. Occasionally a male calico is born. These may have Klinefelter's syndrome, carrying an extra X chromosome, and will almost always be sterile or they may be a chimera resulting from the fusion of two differently coloured embryos.

The spotting gene causes white patches to cover the colored fur. Although there is no genetic difference, the amount of white is artificially divided into mitted, bicolour, harlequin, and van, going from almost no white to almost completely white.

In normal female tortoiseshell cats and in Klinefelter males, the position of the patches depends on which X-chromosome is active in each cell and which is inactivated to become a Barr body.

The Calico Cat is the state cat of Maryland.
They are almost always female.
They are said to be very temperamental. (A generality disputed by some calico owners.)
Myths say calicos bring luck in Asia and bring health in Scotland.
Tortoiseshell cats are often called torties.

So I'm confused a bit by the this, but I can say that my cats do have what it takes- one orange parent (their daddy) and one black mother (mom is black and white). Says they need an orange gene and a black gene. LOL
If I understand this correctly (reading it at 5 am isn't great) that calicos are actually torties?

 

[gottalotagals]

Okay and for the record I now believe ODD is one very unusual shaped (at this point anyhow) female. Has to be female. Those "things" are probably just her girl skin.

Mods- I hope I resized pics to right size. Let me know if I didn't.