Tortoiseshell Cat vs. Calico: How to Spot the Difference (With Pictures, Vet-Reviewed)

Cats come in so many different colors, patterns, and textures, and certain coat types can cause some confusion because they look remarkably similar. Among the most distinctive patterns are tabby, solid, tortoiseshell, colorpoint, tricolor, and bicolor.

Tortoiseshells and calicos are both beautiful and unique blends of colors with a fascinating genetic story, but they’re not quite the same. Is there a difference? Absolutely. It’s not quite an exact science but a reflection of how much white accompanies the trademark orange and black of the tortie and calico, as well as the patterns those colors form.

Confused? Not to worry - we’ll clear everything up below.

Calico vs. Tortie: Visual Differences

Here is a chart to break down the facts between these two fur-tastic felines.

Tortoiseshell and Calico Coats Have a Unique Genetic Story

What’s interesting about both the calico and tortoiseshell coats is that they result from the simultaneous expression of two genes.

Ordinarily, the physical expression of a genetic trait (the phenotype) is determined by dominant and recessive variations of genes, called alleles. In cats, coat color and pattern are controlled almost entirely by the KIT gene on chromosome B1.

For example, if black is dominant and white is recessive, the cat would only have a white coat if it inherited two copies of the white gene — one from each parent. If the black allele is present, the coat will be black.

In the case of tortoiseshell and calico cats, the gene for orange or black is located on the X chromosome, and neither version is recessive. So if a female cat, with XX chromosomes, inherits both a black and orange allele, you get a black and orange cat. Because males (XY) only have one copy of the X chromosome, male tortoiseshell and calico cats are incredibly rare and almost always sterile. Despite this, they are still among the most common coat colors, and you can find torties and calicos in almost every breed. There are even tortie-point Siamese.

Variations in the KIT gene will determine the pattern of distribution of these two colors, along with whether or not, and how much, white fur is present. And this is where we make the distinction between tortoiseshell and calico.

Tortoiseshell Cat Overview

The beautiful tortoiseshell cat—better known as “torties”—is named for the color and pattern of their fur, which resembles a tortoise’s shell. These felines are anecdotally known for their fiery, spicy attitudes, commonly referred to as “tortitude”, but this naughty-tortie stereotype is certainly not an ingrained trait, and research suggests any difference is relatively minor.

Some people will tell you that a tortoiseshell is defined as having only two colors — no white — but this isn’t the case. The distinction, though not an exact science, is to do with the pattern and distribution of the pigments.

Torties tend to be predominantly orange and black, usually with only small patches of white, or none at all. The other hallmark of the tortoiseshell coat is that the orange and black tend to be mottled and intermingled rather than solid patches or blocks of color. Some torties also have patches of tabby, referred to as “torbies” (tabby-tortie). If the dilution gene is present, the orange and black will be cream and blue.

If more than around 25% of the fur is white, a more accurate description would be tortie and white, or white and tortie, depending on the ratio of white to black and orange. 50:50? You choose!

Many torties have a “chimera-like” face, meaning two colors split nearly perfectly down the middle; a visual representation of how pigment expression is divided into left and right halves.

Are you superstitious?

In Celtic folklore, the tortoiseshell pattern is also attributed to luck. Even today, when some spot a stray tortie, they believe great things will follow. So, next time you spot a tortie on your path, you may have a spell of good fortune. And if you’re owned by one, even better.

Calico Cat Overview

Calicos are sometimes referred to as a specific type of cat; however, calico is not a breed but a pattern. That means many different cat breeds can have calico coats, including Persians, Munchkins, and Maine Coons.

The main feature that sets the beautiful calico cat apart from the tortoiseshell is that there is always white in the mix. A calico coat is traditionally described as having a coat that is around 25-75% white, with solid patches of orange (or cream) and black (or blue), like the image above. There may be some tabby markings within the pigmented patches, but not the mixed and mottled black and orange patterns of the tortoiseshell.

This is where things get a bit confusing. Some may call the cat in the image below calico, but due to the mottled pattern of orange and black, it is more accurately described as being tortoiseshell and white or even torbie and white!

It’s not simply a case of how much white there is, but how the orange and black colors are distributed. It’s also a case of semantics and opinion.

A cat that is more than 75% white with only small solid orange and black (or cream and blue) patches could be called calico, but some would call it white and calico. Different cat clubs and organizations may vary in their tortie and calico classification, making it even more confusing!

Rather than being bred for their particular coat pattern, the calico phenomenon is a spontaneous act of nature. This means you could not breed a calico cat with the hope of an all-calico litter. A calico can produce several colors on the kitty spectrum—there are no guarantees.

Calicos are sometimes characterized as being less spicy than their tortie counterparts, but just as with the naughty-tortie stereotype, there is no real evidence to support this observation. The personality and behavior of a cat is predominantly influenced by early experiences, and while genetics and breed also play a role, coat color rarely has a substantial impact on temperament.

Difference Between Tortoiseshell and Calico

As you’ve no doubt figured out by now, the difference between tortoiseshell and calico cats is not exactly black and white. Or even orange and black and white! To really appreciate the differences between these coats, we’d need to get down to the genetic level and see how the various alleles are being expressed.

To make things even more complicated, while genetics dictate which pigments are present, the patterns in which those pigments are distributed in the fur are also affected by maternal influences in the uterus. Even if you knew a cat’s exact genotype at conception, you may still be surprised by their appearance, a phenomenon made particularly clear with the world’s first cloned cat, CC. Despite being genetically identical to her clone ‘parent’, a calico with tabby markings, CC’s coat was white with brown tabby patches, and not a ginger hair in sight!

Both torties and calicos can be found in almost all breeds of cat, except the Bombay, Chartreux, or Russian Blue, and it is more likely to be the genetic factors of the breed, along with their history, health, and upbringing, that help shape the temperament of an individual cat, rather than its coloring.

Tortoiseshell vs. Calico: Final Thoughts

We promised to clear up the differences between tortoiseshell and calico cats, but as you can see, those differences aren’t quite as clear-cut as the difference between a ginger tabby and a silver tabby. As a general rule of thumb, torties are recognizable for their mottled, marbled, black and orange fur, sometimes accentuated by patches of white. The calico is distinguished by having solid blocks of orange and black combined with moderate to large amounts of white fur. In both cases, the presence of a dilution gene can turn the vibrant hues into more muted tones of cream and blue.

The infinite patterns and shades possible mean that no two torties or calicos are completely alike, even if you clone them! And while you might hear rumors about that notorious ‘tortitude’, remember that a cat’s personality is so much more than the color of their fur.

You might also like:

• Blue Tortoiseshell Cat: Interesting Facts (With Pictures)

• Lilac Tortoiseshell Cat: Facts, Origin & History (With Pictures)

Featured Image Credit: Left - Anna Krivitskaya, Shutterstock | Right - loicp90, Shutterstock