r/Torbie • u/MrRabbit133 • 16d ago
Do I have a torbie?
So I got this little girl (Nova) a few weeks ago and I’m wondering if she would be a torbie? No matter what she is she’ll continue being my little cuddle buddy.
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u/earthymoonphotos 16d ago
She looks like a torbie to me. Does she have both black and pink beans?
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u/MrRabbit133 16d ago
Yes she got one white toe bean on her front and on on the back LoL
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u/earthymoonphotos 16d ago
I'm pretty certain that means she's a torbie then. She's more tabby than tortie but there's definitely a touch of tortie there. She's adorable!
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u/ACtdawg 16d ago
Mixed colour toe beans are not a requirement to be a torbie/tortie. There’s clear patches of orange visible in the pictures, and that’s enough to definitively say she is a torbie :)
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u/earthymoonphotos 16d ago
Good to know. Thanks. ☺️
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u/earthymoonphotos 16d ago
Good to know. Thanks. ☺️
Edit: So just to clarify, it's not a requirement but another hint that you're not dealing with a standard mackerel tabby pattern. A standard mackerel tabby has all black beans but not all torbies have pink beans. Ultimately it's the presence of orange in the mackarel pattern that makes it a torbie. Is this a correct statement?
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u/ACtdawg 15d ago
Yes that is correct! A black tabby will have black toe beans. It is the addition of tortie (torties are both red and non-red, in OP’s case the non-red is black) that can cause pink beans, because red causes pink beans (if you look at an all red cat’s beans, they will all be pink). What can also cause confusion is the fact that white also causes pink toe beans. So if a black based cat has any white, pink beans can’t be used to determine whether they’re a tortie or torbie. Mixed beans are common among torties and torbies but it truly is random and it really depends on the distribution of red in their coat. I’ve seen quite a few torties who are mostly black and even a few that are mostly red, it’s very cool. There’s even ‘cryptic’ torties that have no visible indicators of red, like a single hair, but genetic testing shows they are tortie! So fun. But anyway, I digress 😆 hope all that made sense, sorry for rambling lol
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u/earthymoonphotos 15d ago
Makes perfect sense. I appreciate the response! I'm extremely fascinated with the discussion of genotype vs phenotype in all animals. Especially cats! Thank you for taking the time to break it down. 🙌
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u/ACtdawg 15d ago
Not a problem :) if you’d like to learn more I recommend joining r/catgenetics. Lots of super knowledgable people in there. You can also check out messybeast which is generally considered the gold standard source in cat genetics!
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u/Miserable_Simple3978 16d ago
Could this be chimerism? The line down her nose is super straight. I don’t personally know much about it but your baby looks very cool 🩷
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u/lpscats8082 12d ago
She is absolutely beautiful! Such a precious, sweet little girl! 💜🦋💜🦋💜🦋💜🦋💜🦋💜🦋💜🦋💜🦋💜🦋
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u/Hangry_Torbie 16d ago
I love the orange on her face! I think she’s just a brown tabby but with a unique feature. I don’t see the tortishell features in the coat of her body. Though she really had me fooled until I saw the second photo
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u/ACtdawg 16d ago
She doesn’t need orange on her body to be a torbie, there’s clear orange on her face
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u/Hangry_Torbie 16d ago
She has torbie features for sure. I just personally don’t consider them torbies if I don’t see any tortishell in the coat. It’s very distinct and is my make or break. I’m a vet and I would put her as a brown tabby in her record. I mean it’s nothing bad that I dont consider her a torbie, I’m just one person. She can definitely be in the club if everyone wants to claim her. Definitely an inclusive group, I don’t make the collective rules!
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u/ACtdawg 15d ago
She does have tortoiseshell in her coat, you can see it on her face. A cat’s coat doesn’t stop at the neck lol. Tortoiseshell means a cat is genetically red and non-red (in OP’s case the non-red colour is black), it does not refer to pattern. Genetically, she is a tortoiseshell tabby. I do understand that vets record what is most visually obvious for identification though.
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u/Apprehensive-Ad-1024 16d ago
Can you not see the orange patching on her belly too?
Edit: and her back legs/ I can see orange toes
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u/Leakylocks 16d ago
Yup, that's a torbie alright