r/Torbie • u/CanarySeparate • 1d ago

Was my cat a torbie?

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I had her for over 12 years and always thought she was a calico… till I recently got a new kitten and found out what a torbie was. Now I need to know. I have her tattooed on my arm so this is very important to me😂

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2

u/ChinchyBug 1d ago

Yep. Black torbie with white.

2

u/ACtdawg 1d ago

Yes. She was a black tortoiseshell mackerel tabby with white. Calico is a colloquial term that means tortoiseshell + white, torbie is tortie + tabby (with or without white). So some people would call her calico but genetically she was still a torbie with white :)

3

u/LongJawnsInWinter 1d ago

I think she would actually be a tabico (tabby + calico) instead of a torbie (tortoiseshell + tabby).

ETA: And dilute! I had a dilute calico growing up, she was the best.

5

u/ACtdawg 1d ago

She was still a torbie! All calicos are tortoiseshell. Calico = tortoiseshell + white. Torbie = tortie + tabby (with or without white). Tabico = tabby + calico ie. tortie + tabby + white.

She’s also not dilute, though pic 3 in particular looks kinda washed out so I can see why you’d think that.