What's my kitty cat color???

[moggymomma]

I keep hearing everyone talking about tortis and calico's and I know what they are but I keep hear deluded orange... basically I'm confused on what my new girl is...

http://s745.photobucket.com/albums/...rrent=IMG_20131016_141737_907_zps7cf94829.jpg

http://s745.photobucket.com/albums/...rrent=IMG_20131016_141701_635_zps1ead21f2.jpg

http://s745.photobucket.com/albums/...rrent=IMG_20131006_165702_559_zps20994bf4.jpg

 

[sivyaleah]

The word is diluted

Tortoiseshell is basically a black and red (orange) cat with a mottled appearance, the coloring can be in various patterns (for instance our tortoiseshell longhair has a tabby pattern to her in some areas also).  Calico, is the same with white patches.  The white, is where the color has been "masked".  There are some who feel they are both one and the same, depending on where you are from.  I just know where I live they are considered two different patterns.  Lots of various cat breeds can be each of these - again, they are colorings, not breed specific.

Others here can give better in depth descriptions than me, but that's the gist of it.

Your kitten, very cute by the way, is a red (orange to some) tabby.  Might be bi-color if it's underside is white, like my older one is.  

Dilute means a softer color of those patterns; the black turns a smokey gray/blue for instance, and the red would be more of a buff to cream color. Dilute coloring is not specific to being a calico or tortoiseshell. Again, others can be more specific but maybe this easy description helps.

BTW, we have a special forum thread where you can ask questions relating to your kitties appearance just in case you want to know more. Welcome to TCS.

 

[moggymomma]

THANK YOU so much for clearing that up for me. There were so many terms floating around that I had never heard before lol. And thank you, I think she's pretty cute too. I haven't named her yet but I'm thinking Salem or Clover.

And now that I know the terminology lol, I once had a male diluted long haired torti. Isn't that kinda rare? And I keep being told my female red is as well.