17 Aug 2009
“Tortitude” – The Unique Personality of Tortoiseshell Cats
Tortoiseshell cats are named for their distinctive coloring – a combination of patches of black, brown, amber, red, cinnamon and chocolate. The size of the patches varies from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of color. The term “tortoiseshell” is used for cats with brindled coats that have few or no white markings. Cats of this coloring with larger areas of white fur are called calicos. Sometimes, these colors present in lighter versions such as lilac or cream. Torties with this lighter coloring are called dilute torties. Occasionally, the typical tortoiseshell colors are also seen in a tabby (striped) pattern, and these cats are sometimes referred to as “torbies.”
Tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Tortoiseshell and calico coats are the result of the interaction between genetic and developmental factors. The occasional and very rare male tortoiseshell cat is the result of a genetic mutation.
In addition to their distinctive coloring, torties also have a reputation for unique personalities, sometimes referred to as “tortitude.” They tend to be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and they can be very possessive of their human. Other words used to describe torties are fiercely independent, feisty and unpredictable. They’re usually very talkative and make their presence and needs known with anything from a hiss to a meow to a strong purr. These traits are stronger in tortoiseshell cats than in calicos – it seems as though these traits are somewhat diluted with the addition of more white to the color scheme.
As of the writing of this post, I share my life with Amber*, and those of you who’ve followed this blog for a while have gotten to know her in her Amber’s Mewsings posts. You will soon be able to read all about Buckley in Buckley’s Story – Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher. The photo above shows Buckley in the front, Amber behind her.
Prior to Amber and Buckley, there was another tortie in my life. Virginia was the first office cat at the animal hospital I managed. She was my introduction to torties, and my love affair with this particular type of cat began with her. She, too, had the “tortitude” I so love about these particular cats.
Do you have a tortie or calico in your life? Does she have “tortitude?”
*Sadly, Amber passed away on May 13, 2010, after a sudden, brief illness. I now share my life with Allegra and Ruby, two tortoiseshell cats who have their own columns here on The Conscious Cat, titled Allegra’s World and Ruby’s Reflections.
Hey gang,
Jay posted a video of Steeler meowing at us. It’s how she sounds. Really different. If you would like to hear her to to http://www. facebook.com/bernie.tracy She has a very strange meow. No regular cat sound. Glen it may sound like Kasey. I am not sure.
You may have to scroll down a little, but enjoy.
I would love to hear that but am not on facebook, I’m kind of backward that way.
I think Jay has my email address, perhaps if he does, he could send it to me.
I will ask him tonight. I know he knows a lot about emails. I am curious to see if Steeler sounds like Kasey. No normal cat meowing.
Thanks
Kasey does not make a “normal” cat sound.
Her vocabulary is quite extensive though, sounds including;
Maaa
A rusty swing set series of sounds
Growl
Hiss
Very loud hiss
Wail
Cougar snarl
Squeaks
Chirps
…and, the silent meow
Steeler does’t hiss. But she does a lot of chattering. I think if you typed in on the url bar you can go straight to my FB. I don’t have it locked. Give it a try.
I like the “Just try to take my Duckie” Steeler photo but I can’t see anything that looks like a video there.
She look a lot like Kasey except for the white on the jaw.
I love it!
Hi folks.
I am going to post a picture of Steeler on FB shortly. As most of you guys know I call her a kleptomaniac. Well just a short while ago I decided to eat something. Cheese, crackers with some whipped cream on the side for dipping. I can hear you all going ugh. But hey it is good. Anyway, I had to go get my coffee and when I returned someone was lapping up my whipped cream.
Talk about not trusting a Tortie. She has never wanted whipped cream before. She does now.
Cheese, crackers and whipped cream? Really, Bernie? It does sound like the perfect kitty snack, that’s for sure. Allegra is a little cheese addict.
Allegra should have been closer. Steeler won’t eat the cheese. Hey that was my dinner, not a kitty snack. Steeler just swiped my whipped cream. Gotta love these Torties.
Glen, just scroll down the page until you see a white floor. That’s the video. If you can’t get there I will talk to Jay to get it to you.
The difficulty is that I scroll down and don’t see anything at all like that.
I am not familiar with facebook and I am not sure what I should be seeing but I see some information but nothing like a white floor.
ok I’ll have Jay send the video. I don’t knowhow to do that. He took the video.
The world has one fewer tortie cats today. Cookie is with the angels.
I am sorry to hear that, these things are never easy.
Bernadette I am so sorry to hear this. You can be sure she is with the angels. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. God Bless all.
My heart hurts for you.
Oh, Bernadette, I’m so sorry. I guess, just like a cat, when she pulled through this last time I stopped worrying about the future. I’m glad that, like a cat, you were able to live in the moment these past few weeks and just enjoy her presence. How are Kelly and Mewsette taking it?
So very to hear about Cookie. But you made her last days easy on her and she gave you many wonderful years. She will wait for you at the bridge along with all our others.
A wonderful Tortie (and without the attitude) All our kits will mourn her passing.
Jay
I am so very sorry for your loss Bernadette. She will be waiting for you at the bridge, young and spry and ready to play.
If you need someone to listen, let me know and I will send you my email address.
Oh! I’m so sorry Bernadette…..I know how that is, and my heart is with you
We all lost a cat today. RIP Cookie, and be sure you won’t be forgotten.
Oh man Rachel, you too? I’m so sorry
Lynn, I think Rachel meant that because Cookie was one of our own, we all lost a tortie today.
Der I read those as two posts. Didn’t realize both were for Cookie. I’m so sorry. But she’ll be waiting at the rainbow bridge
Lynn
So true Rachel, we all lost a wonderful Tortie today.
There seems to be an issue with comments not showing up in chronological order. My web guy is going to look into this after the weekend. It looks like e-mail notifications are arriving in the correct order. Bear with me – he’ll get this figured out and fixed.
lol…okay, found the aformentioned post that is now currently DIRECTLY below the one I couldn’t find before lol
Ingrid…I can’t find the post where you said the site was having problems with chronological order, but yeah, that’s what I was trying to tell you last week, and the reason for my massive string of random posts on the same subject that should have been contained in one thread lol
I should have checked it out then. I tend to reply to comments from behind my super-secret administrator panel and not directly on the post, so until I looked at the actual post this morning, I didn’t realize what was happening!
LMAO…love the super-secret admin panel
Does that go with the Cone of Silence ?
That depends, do you own the super secret decoder ring? I comes in a box of Cap’n Crunch
So, I’ve been blaming this on shanks because he’s the new guy and it wasn’t happening until he got his jumping skills…..But I just busted Monkey red handed licking my butter! Could be a big reason she’s such a chub even though she’s on a grain free diet! I guess now she is literally a “Butterball”
Poor little Shanks – the youngest always gets blamed for everything! Yup, butter supplementation would certainly explain why Monkey is not losing weight!
LMAO….I’ve known I had a “butter thief” for a while because anytime I left it out I would see “Lick marks” I just assumed it was the new kid lol
I can’t stop laughing about this, why the heck would she keep obsessively licking butter? Every time I leave it out to soften, then look at the stick there’s this cat tongue shaped Dip out of the middle of it lol
Okay, guys, I think we’re back on track. I had to delete a bunch of comments that were left between 1/27 and 1/31, but I think now it’s posting in chronological order again. Fingers and paws crossed.
Bernadette you know we all are here for you. The loss of Cookie is the loss of a child to you. I am sending you hugs and let you know, I am here for you as you were for me. Day or night. I am so proud of you and the unconditional love you give to all.
Hey Ingrid,
Those gremlins didn’t take your # of posts down, did it? I mean Lynn has been trying to push those numbers for us for all she’s worth.
There is only one other comment to say and this is about this wonderful blog.
There has been great happiness found here and shared, the greatest sadness and the Torties family surrounded with love and support and also some of the worst music I have heard , but like a family, it grows on you. So if anyone asks about this blog, I think the definition should be one very large family. I know of what I speak here. I personally have come to you and been surrounded with love and support to give me strength. Not once have I ever been disappointed.
Well, the deleted comments lowered the number of posts a bit, but I have faith in all of you that you’ll bring it back up in no time!
Thanks for your beautiful words about this blog, Bernie. And LOL to the “worst music you ever heard!”
LMAO on the “Worst music” Berns, and as far as the lost posts, I’m glad because some of them were mine in melt-down mode, glad to see them gone. I pride myself on not losing it often, I would just as soon the evidence of my occasional meltdowns be gone lol;
“worst music you ever heard!” ???
I know your not talking about METAL !!!!!!
Right? That’s what I’m sayin’! lol
Ok this is just for having a little smile. You folks know me, ever so often something will strike my fancy and Ingrid did it again today.
How many of you took Ingrid’s “test”. If you did, did you pass? I just love her test, she always forgets to actually enter the “test” results.
Gosh darn it, I thought I deleted the “test” comment. Guess I flunked my own test
That’s great. It gets counted as another post.
I read back aways about Shanks liking butter. Hey Lynn, just for the record, Steeler stole me whipped cream, but it was “lite”. Now she could use the butter for a little more weight.
Bernie, turns out Monkey’s the butter thief, not Shanks lol
And it actually explains quite a lot. Like why she continues to be such a chunk when she eats the same as the other two and they’re both perfectly healthy
You should TOTALY start leaving butter out..It works for me! lol
Damn, do I have to study for another Drug Test ?
Thank god it’s a weekend. And A Super Bowl weekend at that. Looking forward to good commercials. Hopefully budweiser clydesdales
Test? I totally missed that
Actually, you passed. Everybody else just THINKS they saw a comment from me that said “test.”
LMAO…bah, I DID see that, does that mean you’re retracting my pass?
Help! Ok, I got two baby torties back in July of last year, Midna and Navi, and so far they have been very spoiled and loved on, now however Navi suddenly wants nothing to do with me. It used to be that she wouldn’t go to anyone but me and now in the past two weeks shell go to everyone in the house but me. I don’t know what I did to make her mad but I’m worried our bond is suffering, what can I do? Will she forgive whatever it is I’ve done? I want my baby back in my lap
Sarah, how old are Midna and Navi now (love the names!)? If you got them as babies in July, I’m guessing they’re right around 6 or 7 months old, which, in kitten years, makes it their teenage phase. Was Navi a lap cat until about two weeks ago? Will she play with you, but just doesn’t want to cuddle?
I love thier names too!
they were nine weeks old when I got them in July, thier first birthday is May 21st, and she wasn’t really a lap cat but she’d come up and love on me and sleep next to me and wouldn’t let anyone else really love on her, now she wont come near me, won’t come in my room at night and I know she misses me, when she goes up to my mom to be pet she’ll flip back – I hold her like a baby and rub her tummy and she falls asleep while I hold her – and she gets frustrated with my mom because she doesn’t hold her the way she wants to be held, I’ve thought that it could be the static in the air, I accidentally shocked her ears a few times a couple of weeks ago but have taken precautions since, or the fact I leave for the weekend for the past few weekends, my boyfriends mom is not doing well, but I make sure I tell them goodbye and living on them when I walk through the door is my first priority so they know I missed them and Midna doesn’t mind it or at least she’s not mad at me, she has been coming up to me more though and that could be making Navi mad but they’re sisters and have never really been apart. Navi will play with me still but it seems like she wants nothing else from me
It sounds like there’s been a lot of change in your life for the past few weeks, so the disruption in their routine may be what has been causing the changes in Navi. She may just be supersensitive to change. I would make sure that you play a lot with her when you are home to reinforce the bond that you two share. If you’re open to using flower essences, I recommend Spirit Essences Changing Times for both of them until things settle back into more of a routine for you.
Bernie came to my house to watch the Superbowl Commercials (No Tortie teams playing so who cares who wins).
Last night we went to a Chinese Buffet Restaurant and had Stirfry. (felt weird).
On the way home stopped at Walmart and saw some friends behind the Deli and got a collar with a bell for Frankie. He took to it real well. It was off him this morning though. We also bought a mouse that squeeks and a bird that chirps. Frankie loved them until Stir found out how much fun they are. Then she took both and would not share (typical Tortie).
It was about time Frankie found out about the Tortie Creed: All I see is mine.
I think I saw a Tortie commercial
A Cheetah (almost as mean as a Tortie)
http://www.thesuperbowlupdates.com/2012/cheetah-official-big-game-ad-for-hyundai-veloster-turbo/260/
Not even close.
Even thought t is dog related and not cat, Budweiser had commercial for Rescue Dogs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhWl6NsNmFI
I saw that and madly loved it!
A buddy at work has a problem with his indoor cats fighting and I thought I’d see if I could get some recommendations on sent products that might help.
I know it has been covered before.
He is a mature guy, on his own and has his own house, so the environment is calm and controlled. He likes them, takes good care of them and pays attention to them
His two are from different litters, each about 6 years old.
The size of the cats and the behavior is something like my Taz and Morgan.
The one is a 20 pound, normally laid back neutered orange male.
The other is an 8 pound spayed female (not a tortie, though she might get honorary mention).
They are from different litters but have been together a while.
Normally they get along but unlike Taz & Morgan, when they fight, they get pretty “involved”; he had to separate them yesterday.
Then later on, they settled down quite nicely together.
I have suggested giving each one treats periodically when they are together, sort of like “when we all get together, nice things happen”.
They don’t fight every day but I am looking for recommendations on something that might calm things down.
Treats for both cats when things are relaxed are definitely a good idea.
I recommend a combination of “play therapy” and Peacemaker. The outbursts are probably caused by excess energy, and structured play sessions are going to help both cats burn that off. Ten to fifteen minutes, twice a day. Tell your friend to use fishing pole type toys (one in each hand if need be to keep them playing “together” but not fighting for the toy).
If your friend is open to flower essences, I recommend Peacemaker. It can be given in their water, although I prefer to rub it on their fur twice a day.
Ingrid
Thanks. I will pass all that info on to him tomorrow.
he is afraid that the big orange guy will hurt the smaller female and wants to prevent severe conflict.
I have know him for years now, he supervises our drilling operation, with 30 years drilling experience but he likes his cats, another stereotype busted
Love it. Cat guys rock!
The challenge may be to get Peacemaker in Canada, but it sounds like a great product.
LOL right? Not that many guys like cats, I’m with you, cat guys rock!
A long time back, I remember commenting about “guys being proud of their Torties, or kittens.
I made the assumption that most people that enjoyed the company of felines, was females. Wow have you guys “busted” me on that old error in judgement. It is good to hear your friend like his kittens.
You keep busting those “stereotypes” one kitten at a time. Hopefully a few more Torties.
I would think that a Tortie would be a GUYS Cat. Tought, mean and don’t take no SH*t off anyone or anything !!!!!!!!
But I am biased
Nice to see other guys in here, but Glen, Harry ,Paul and myself are definately outnumbered on here.
Jay, these guys are a brand new up and coming band. VERY good… http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/
Bad mom moment. I noticed that Shanks wasn’t around this morning, and wondered why, I went looking and found him in the closet where he must have been for about 8 hours A horrible moment for me, but apparently he wasnt bothered at all. He didn’t go to the food or water bowl, he just waited and meowed in his normal way whiie I did the normal wet food thing, then immediately after he ate he went to the litterbox. He’s such a little….I WOULD say trouper, but he’s better than that, Shanks is a soldier
He probably thought it was a new adventure! Those are the moments when we age about 10 years.
If Taz gets locked in somewhere and everything is just fine, he won’t say anything for hours.
Makes him tough to find, sometimes.
Lol….I guess it’s because he a little black fellow, so hard to see in the dark, I’ll be way more careful to look for him now. But with those chocolate brown eyes. Even they don’t really glow like normal cat’s eyes either. And Glen, he never made a peep. He was apparently just chilling in there.
Glen, you can order Peacemaker online at http://www.spiritessences.com/products/Peacemaker.html. Use code CONSCIOUSCAT for a 10% discount.
Thanks
The godfather of Shock Rock, Alice Cooper….Billion Dollar Babies http://youtu.be/qVT3ZKSTaD8