Tortoiseshell calico/cat question?

Calico is a white cat with SOLID patches of orange and black.

Tortoiseshell is a smeary blend of black, cream and orange. There are no large white areas.

A Torti/calico is a tortoishell with white patches usually on the belly or throat.

If you want a visual description there's a poster of all cat coat color variants. http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2011...

It's a large picture but you can click on it to enlarge it.

The term calico is mainly used in the US and Canada. I once had a British co-worker who said that in her home country all cats with this coloring are called tortoiseshells. If they have white on them, then they're called tortoiseshell-and-white cats. In the US, the most common definition of a calico is a cat that has a white based coat with patches of orange and black. If the cat has small areas of white on her, then she's considered a tortoiseshell. If the cat has tabby markings where her black areas should be, then she's called a "torby" or a "caliby". Hope that helps.

If you're asking are they a breed no they are not. It's just a coat colour combination.

Tortoiseshell, more commonly shortened to Tortie is the colour combination of Black and Red.

Add white and it becomes Tortie and White, also called Calico.

Tortitoiseshell - black and red (orange) mixed together.

Calico - white cat with patches of black and red spotting

Tortie & White - tortoiseshell with some white (face, chest, feet, belly).

In CFA the cat association a calico must have 2/3 white one them and be a solid color red, black and white or smoke, red smoke and white or blue and cream and white. No tabby markings in the black, blue or smoke. A patch tabby can have markings in the colors and can be with or without white. A tortie is a solid color with or without white and the white covers less than 2/3s of the cat.

R P CAT

Calico and tortoiseshell are both simply colors. Tortoiseshell is a type of calico.