What’s The Difference Between Calico and Tortie Cats?

Their coats may look similar, but these cats actually have distinct differences. Here’s how to tell them apart.

by Jackie Brown, | November 27, 2024

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What’s The Difference Between Calico and Tortie Cats?

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When searching for a cat to adopt (more than 3 million are waiting for forever homes), you might come across calico and tortoiseshell cats in animal shelters or rescue groups. Both have coats that come in a lovely swirl of colors, which makes them so unique. But here’s the thing: At first glance, both types of cats may seem similar, but if you’re looking closely at their color patterns, you’ll spot a few key differences. Read on to learn how to distinguish a calico cat from a tortoiseshell cat (affectionately called “torties”), then find out how to make either of these gorgeous felines your next pet.

Differences between torties and calicos

First, it’s important to note that tortoiseshell and calico cats are not breeds. Instead, their names refer to the color patterns found in many cats, whether pure- or mixed-breed. Both include the colors black and orange (or the diluted versions of these: gray and cream color).

Tortoiseshell cats have two colors

Tortoiseshell cats are bi-colored cats. They are primarily black and orange, sometimes with very small white markings. The black and orange colors are mottled together in unique patterns that are individual to each cat, much like fingerprints. This pattern is so named because it resembles the blotchy pattern seen on turtle shells. Dilute tortie cats are gray and cream.

Calico cats have three colors

Calico cats are tri-colored, one of which is always white. So their fur has random patches of black, orange, and white. These patches can vary quite a bit and are different for every cat. Dilute calico cats are gray, cream, and white.

Calico vs. tortoiseshell cats genetics

A cat’s color and pattern are determined by their genes and alleles (or, variant genes). Tortoiseshell cats carry alleles for the colors black and orange, and these create the tortoiseshell pattern. Calico cats have these black and orange alleles, but they also have another gene that causes white spotting. Together, all of these genes create the calico pattern.

Sometimes, tortoiseshell cats also have two copies of an allele that dilutes (or lightens) the black and orange colors. When this happens, black becomes gray and orange becomes cream — which becomes mottled together in the tortoiseshell pattern.

Calico cats can also carry the dilution alleles. But when they do, their colors appear as a lighter gray and cream, also with white patches from their white-spotting gene.

Here’s a fun fact about tortoiseshell and calico cats: They are both almost always female. The genes that create these color patterns are sex-linked: To be a tortoiseshell or a calico, a cat would need two X chromosomes. (Females have two X chromosomes, while males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome.) In very rare cases, a male with an extra chromosome (XXY) can be a tortoiseshell or a calico cat. This is caused by a genetic condition called Klinefelter’s syndrome, and affected male cats are always sterile.

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Tortoiseshell cats overview

As mentioned earlier, tortoiseshell cats are not a breed, and both purebred cats and mixed-breed cats can come with the tortoiseshell color pattern. Torties can have long hair, short hair, or medium-length hair. A long-haired tortoiseshell cat will display the same mottled black and orange (or gray and cream) pattern as a short-haired tortoiseshell cat — but the pattern might look somewhat different on hair of different lengths. Tortie color patterns are even seen in hairless cats, where their skin holds the color pattern.

All cats can be sassy, but tortoiseshell cats are said to have extra feisty and spunky personalities. In fact, this phenomenon has been given a name: tortitude.

Tortoiseshell cat breeds

Lots of cat breeds come in the tortoiseshell pattern. These include:

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Calico cat overview

Just like tortoiseshell cats, calicos can be mixed or purebred, and can have long hair, short hair, or medium-length hair. A long-haired calico cat will display the same patches of black, orange, and white as a short-haired calico cat — but the pattern might look clearer on short-haired cats. As with tortie cats, the calico color pattern can also appear on the skin of hairless cats, with the skin holding the color pattern.

Although some people find their calico cats to be full of personality, they might be a touch less spicy than their tortoiseshell cousins. In reality, no one knows if tortoiseshell and calico cats truly exhibit feistier personalities compared to cats of other colors. This could simply be a matter of human perception.

Calico cat breeds:

Many breeds can come with calico coats. These include:

Adopting a tortoiseshell or calico cat

To adopt a tortoiseshell or calico cat, you can customize a search on Adopt a Pet and filter the results by breed, color, sex, age, and location. When looking for your next best friend, personality is just as important, so look for a tortie or calico with a personality that fits your lifestyle and preferences. There are lots of beautiful torties and calicos of all types at shelters and in rescue groups across the country just waiting for their forever homes.

Commonly asked questions

Are calico and tortoiseshell cats the same?

No, although they may look alike, calico and tortoiseshell are not the same. The main difference is that tortoiseshell cats are bi-colored (black and orange), while calico cats are tri-colored (black, orange, and white).

Can torties have white fur?

Sometimes torties can have small white markings on their chest, face, or toes. However, tri-colored cats with large white markings — patched with black and orange — are classified as calico cats. Similar to calicos, harlequin cats have mostly white fur but differ in that they only have large, irregular patches of only one color.

Are all tri-color cats female?

Almost all tri-color cats (calicos) are female since cats need two X chromosomes to have the calico pattern. (Female cats have two X chromosomes and male cats have one X and one Y chromosome.) Very rarely, a calico can be male: In such cases, the male cat has an extra X chromosome (XXY) that causes a genetic condition called Klinefelter’s syndrome.

References

“Table:Calico and Black and Orange Tortoiseshell Cats.” Merck Veterinary Manual, www.merckvetmanual.com/multimedia/table/calico-and-black-and-orange-tortoiseshell-cats.

“CAT IDENTIFICATION.” University of Florida, vetmed-maddie.sites.medinfo.ufl.edu/files/2014/07/cat-coat-color-chart.pdf.

Carini, Robert M., et al. “Coat Color and Cat Outcomes in an Urban U.S. Shelter.” Animals, vol. 10, no. 10, 23 Sept. 2020, p. 1720, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101720.

Foster, Robert A. “Disorders of Sexual Development in the Cat: Current State of Knowledge and Diagnostic Approach.” Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, vol. 24, no. 3, 25 Feb. 2022, pp. 257–265, https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612x221079711.

CENTERWALL, WlLLARD R., and KURT BENIRSCHKE. “Male Tortoiseshell and Calico (T-C) Cats.” Journal of Heredity, vol. 64, no. 5, Sept. 1973, pp. 272–278, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a108410. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.

“The Science behind the Calico Cat’s Colours.” Let’s Talk Science, letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-in-context/science-behind-calico-cats-colours.

Campus Editor. “UC Davis Study Finds Calico, Tortoiseshell Cats to Be Most Aggressive - the Aggie.” The Aggie, 21 Jan. 2016, theaggie.org/2016/01/20/uc-davis-study-finds-calico-tortoiseshell-cats-to-be-most-aggressive/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown lives in sunny Orange County, CA, where she works as a freelance writer and editor. When she’s not on deadline, you can find her paddling her outrigger canoe in the Pacific Ocean or hiking in the foothills with her miniature poodle and two young boys.