Tortieshell Cat Breed?

Question

I have a female tortie, my friend has a female tortie. They both do really crazy and bizarre stuff. Could this be part of there breed? Mine is desexed my friends isnt. They do silly things like run away from people, and/or into items, they are really skittesh, its like they have TRUST issues!

Umm...Tortie, domestic shorthairs.

Answer 1

Tortie is a color...I used to have a DSH tortie. I've heard many people describe them as "one-person cats", and mine was too. She was terrified of most strangers. I called her my 'alarm cat' because I could tell if someone was coming up to the door before they got there, because she would get a startled look on her face & run to hide under the bed.

But she was an absolute love bug for me, and for the few other people she decided that she trusted (my husband is one of those people - she liked him right from the day she met him, which was very unusual for her, I think that was a great sign). She was very talkative, very playful & affectionate, and loved to sit on my lap & purr. She was very much the head of my 4 cat household, and would jump in the middle of any arguments and break them up. She passed on a few years ago, a few days before she would have turned 17. She was a very special cat, and I really miss her.

If your tortie is skittish, try to provide her with places where she can hide & feel safe when people come over. Don't try to force her to interact with strangers - she will come out & explore when she's ready to. Just be patient and give her lots of affection when she wants it, and she'll gradually learn that she can trust you. When that happens, you'll discover just how loving and sweet torties can be towards the special people they choose to trust.

Answer 2

Wow, I never thought of that before. My parents have a tortie, Butterscotch, (a stray that they rescued as an adult) and she is the most skittish cat I've ever seen. She's very affectionate and extremely attached to my dad. She follows him everywhere and naps in his lab constantly. But if anybody comes over their house she's terrified and will hide under the couch or bed for hours. She even freaks out when I go over there sometimes if I haven't been over in a few weeks. My parents also adopted a kitten last year, and Butter was terrified of it, even though Butter is a big cat (16lbs) and the kitten was a tiny little thing, less than a third of her size. Oh yeah, Butter is also paranoid about anything with stripes (blankets, tile patterns on the floor, even cat toys). She definitely has trust issues; maybe it is just a tortie thing.

Answer 3

The tortoiseshells are noted in shelters here in the US for their "tortitude". I have not noticed that skittishness goes along with that particular coloration. Neither of my own torties have been that way. Both are very dominant cats and have a lot of self-confidence.

It is interesting that the tortoiseshells are almost always female because the color pattern requires two XX chromosomes that carry the coloration. A tortoiseshell is very hard to see outside in nature and almost impossible to see at night. This would have provided many female cats from injury or death from predators for themselves and for their kittens.

Answer 4

Well i have a tan ginger cat and in her recent litter one of her kittens was a torti.
tortishell cats have an interesting story,
Male tortishell cats are born infertile so they cant produce tortishell babies. its actually a gene that forms the babies that is hereditary its very rarein a normal female cat tortishell females are usually 1)the loudest kitten in their litter, 2) they have their own nipple that they drink from she wont drink from her mother if that nipple is bieng used by her siblings she will sit and wait or start fights for it. 3)They are the most energetic 4) They arent very social 5) they act like they are wierd and skitso but really thats just them and 6) they dont like anyone or anything they are very selfish and prefer bieng on their own at the best of times 7) tortishell males are preety much the same except they are slightly more socail there are only 2% male tortishell cats in the world out of billions.Desexed or not The Female Tortishell Cat Is Very Different To Normal Cats And No tortishell is just a colour not a breed but however studies do show they are very temperamental and increase about 5% more than an average cat

Answer 5

tortie is only a color, but i have also read several different sites saying that different colors of cats have different personalities; and it said that torties are ditzy and energetic.

From a website:
At the cat shelter where I work we refer to "naughty torties" and "laid back blacks". One of our vets also used the "naughty tortie" epithet and told us it is "well known that tortie cats are temperamental". However, the addition of white has a "calming effect" and tortie-and-whites are "not quite as temperamental as brindled torties. The naughty tortie tag is not applied to dilute torties (blue-creams), possibly because they are less common in the moggy population.

Answer 6

Growing up we had a DSH blue-cream tortie....she was the sweetest cat and lived to the ripe old age of 18 yrs. However, she was terrified of ALL strangers, spent her days Chattering to the birds outside...and LOVED to play fetch ( yes fetch...like a dog ) She would chase the plastic riptabs from milk jugs ALL DAY !!! You could throw them over and over...she chased them down and brought them back every time ! I guess she was pretty quirky....I never thought it was because she was a tortie though.

Answer 7

As mushroom said, Tortie is a color type, not a breed. I don't know that there would be any specific behavioural traits associated with it any more than their would be with a black cat or a calico cat.

And, urge your friend to get her cat fixed. There's no need to let her stay unaltered. Fixing her will reduce her chance of getting pregnant and will remove her chances of several types of cancer.

Answer 8

Seems to me when I had my tortoiseshell, Doo', SHE (torties are all females), was as aloof as any cat, yet snuggled up next to my head every night to go to sleep with me.

Answer 9

i have a tortie and she gets spooked at a car horn' the tv and what is really wierd i swear,,when someone comes up the driveway'she grouls like a dog.and if she sees birds outside she make a growl sound with little purrs+..she is the sweetist'so is her sister;but she;s awfully hard headed also.........LOL i love her with all my heart my little beans,,,,,

Answer 10

Tortoiseshell is not a breed..it's a color pattern. They might have trust issues..who knows. Many people think all cats are alike..but each has their own personality.