Torbie? Or just tabby?

[adaline]

No matter how you'd describe her, I think my Adaline is gorgeous, of course. But they called her a "torbie" at the shelter. I'm not even completely confident I understand what a torbie would look like, but I think she is a mackerel tabby. Although I suppose I can see where they're coming from... some of her stripes break down into orange and black patches on her back. What do you experts think? (I apologize for my photography skills--they are not the best.)

12165651926_3f3ac316c9_o.jpg

• adaline
• Jan 29, 2014

12164998215_5f6734002f_o.jpg

• adaline
• Jan 29, 2014

12180913775_fc12a04561_o.jpg

• adaline
• Jan 29, 2014

 

[kelie]

Hi.  What an absolute doll! Your kitty is absolutely adorable, and yes I would have to say that the people at the shelter were correct when they referred to her as a "Torbie".

  Now while I am not an expert when it comes to cats and

their breeds I am however what I, myself and others call a "cat researcher".  I am a cat parent as well as a cat lover and have an extreme passion when it comes to my feline friends, I crave and set out to learn as much as I possibly can about them.

  I myself have a "daughter cat" that is a Torbie, (Jada is a Blue Silver Mackerel Torbie Siberian mix).

 When it comes to tortoiseshells there is such a wide range of color variation, from bright orange to an almost black or tabby with so little orange that it may be overlooked.

 Tortie is short for tortoiseshell (and yes the name comes from the actual tortoiseshell turtles, Torties combine two solid colors-Red and Black while the primary color on most Torties is black, the amount of red that a tortoiseshell will have can vary from just a few toes to lots of obvious and very noticeable patches of red coloring.

 Some Torties actually have more red than black, although it is rare, these kittys are called "reverse Torties".

 Then we have our tortoiseshells that, just like my baby, are called Torbies instead of Torties.  A Torbie is short for tortoiseshell-tabby, when you add tabby stripes a Tortie becomes a Torbie, they can also be called patched tabbies since they are a tabby with patches of red or creamstripes, which tend to make the red even harder to see.

  Most Torbies will have some red on their feet, even if you don't see it anywhere else.

  I hope that this helped you to understand a little better about what a Torbie really is. 

 

[andrya]

 yup, a lovely Torbie girl. What a pretty face she has.

Welcome 

 

[adaline]

Thank you! That helps!