In this article we find out how the dilute tortie coloring came about, whether it affects cats’ personality, and if it’s true that you can’t get a male dilute tortie cat.
What makes dilute tortie cats so unique? Are dilute tortoiseshell cats rare? Is there any truth to the rumors that torties have a special tortie personality? If you have ever found yourself asking these questions, you are not alone. Here is everything you need to know about dilute tortoiseshell cats.
What is a dilute tortie?
Tortie is short for “tortoiseshell”, a popular coat pattern seen on many cat breeds. In the world of cat fanciers, some coat colors elicit more curiosity than others. Tortoiseshell cats attract attention wherever they go.
Standard torties have a mix of orange and black fur, either finely interspersed (a brindle tortie), in big splodges (a patchwork tortie), or somewhere in between (just a tortoiseshell tortie!) In calico cats there are patches of white fur mixed in with the tortie pattern, but the tortoiseshell and calico are genetically very similar. Dilute tortie cats have a tortoiseshell coat pattern with one remarkable difference: instead of the striking, dark mix of orange and black, dilute tortoiseshell cats have a muted, almost blue and yellow color.
How does this happen?
Before we get into the reasons for dilution, it helps to understand the genetics behind the standard tortoiseshell coloring. This can get a little confusing, but the results are worth the struggle!
All of a cats physical characteristics are determined by their genes, which are arranged in 19 pairs. One pair – the sex chromosomes – decide your cat’s gender. Female cats have two X sex chromosomes; male cats have one X sex chromosome, and one Y chromosome.
Dilute tortoiseshell cat genetics – what do sex chromosomes have to do with coat color?
The X chromosome is a sex chromosome, but it also contains lots of other information, including instructions about coat coloring. Female cats have two X chromosomes, and therefore receive two sets of instructions (genes) for coat color.
In tortoiseshell cats, these instructions don’t match – they’ve got one gene for orange fur, and one gene for black fur. Now it gets amazing – during an unborn kitten’s earliest development, one X chromosome in every single cell deactivates.
This process is known as lyonization and which X chromosome deactivates is completely random in each cell. So some skin cells retain the instruction for orange fur, and others keep the instruction for black fur. And ta da – a tortoiseshell pattern emerges!
Adding the “dilute” to dilute tortie – more genetics!
Color dilution of the tortoiseshell pattern is also influenced by genetics. The pastel colors that make dilute torties so appealing are actually just diluted versions of black and red pigmentation. Once diluted, black pigment turns to blue, and red pigment turns to cream, rather like adding white paint to black or red paint.
How do these pigments get diluted?
The answer lies in a specific mutation of a gene called the melanophilin gene, commonly abbreviated to the MLPH gene. The MLPH gene plays an important role in the pigment producing cells which give our cats’ coats their color.
When it’s mutated, it doesn’t work properly, so those cells can’t produce as much pigment. And the hairs that grow from them take on take on a characteristic washed-out, or dilute, appearance. This mutation is recessive, which means a tortie cat needs to inherit it from both of her parents for it to show in her coat.
Are dilute tortoiseshell cats rare?
With all of this talk about sex-linked pigmentation and recessive genes, you’re probably wondering if dilute tortoise cats are rare. The answer is yes—and also no.
On the one hand, from a statistical perspective the odds are still against dilute torties. To have a tortoiseshell pattern, cats need two X chromosomes. That is, they must be female, ruling out half of the feline population. Of these female tortoiseshell cats, they also need to carry two recessive genes for dilution.
This makes dilute tortoiseshell cats pretty special. But on the other hand…
Have you met a dilute tortoiseshell cat?
Probably. In fact, you might know several! Since the tortoiseshell coloring can appear in many cat breeds, there are more dilute tortoiseshell cats out there than you might think from the genetic odds alone. From the classic domestic shorthair to fancier breeds like the Persian or the Scottish Fold, dilute torties sport their unique colors in all shapes and sizes.
There is even some evidence that suggests people prefer lighter colored cats like dilute tortoiseshells, and that selective breeding may increase the prevalence of the pattern. However there is one kind of dilute tortie that is truly unique: males.
Can you get a male dilute tortoiseshell cat?
You may have heard that only female cats can have a tortoiseshell coat color. This is almost always, but not 100% true.
Most male cats have the XY combination of sex chromosomes. They’ve only got X chromosome, so only one instruction for coat color – ruling out tortoiseshell patterning.
Male dilute tortie cat
In very rare cases, male cats are born with two X chromosomes and a Y chromosome (XXY), a condition called Klinefelter syndrome in humans. These can express tortoiseshell and dilute tortoiseshell coloring. These cats are frequently infertile, but their rare coloring makes them a fascinating conversation starter.
The male tortoiseshell cat is even used as an example in many genetics classes, making your male tortie both rare and a supporter of the spirit of scientific inquiry.
Dilute tortie long hair cats
Dilute tortie patterns can pop up in most cat breeds. Some of these cat breeds are long-haired.
Maine Coon dilute torties are exceptionally striking, thanks to their larger size and distinctive long coats. If you are looking for long-haired dilute tortie cat, start by checking out your local shelter.
Dilute tortie personality
Some owners of tortie cats swear by their cats’ “tortitude.” Tortitude is the term coined by cat lovers for the tortie cat personality, and the name says a lot.
Many tortoiseshell and calico cat owners believe that their cats have more attitude than cats of another color, according to a study that examined links between coat color and increased aggression. However, the results of the study were not conclusive enough to persuade the researchers that there was a really was a correlation between coat color and behavior without performing further research.
Other tortie owners report that their cats are just like other cats. Some have cattititude, and some don’t.
Dilute tortoiseshell cats
Dilute tortie cats have a relatively rare coat pattern that stands out in a crowd, thanks to their unique genetics. While we can’t say for sure if these cats really have tortitude, we do know that tortie owners are proud of their cats’ colors, and are usually willing to put up with any cattitude that may appear.
You can find the dilute tortoiseshell or even dilute tortoiseshell tabby coloring in many cat breeds, giving enthusiasts equal opportunity for embracing torties of rare breeds as well as more common ones.
Do you have a dilute tortie?
Did you deliberately set out to find a cat of this coloring, or was it serendipity? What breed are they, and do you think they have tortitude?
Tell us all about them in the comments section below!
Further Reading and Resources
- Prieur, D. et al. ‘Morphologic basis of inherited coat-color dilutions of cats.’ Journal of Heredity. May 1981.
- Clark, J. ‘The effects of selection and human preference on coat colour gene frequencies in urban cats.’ Heredity. Jan 1975.
- Ishida, Y. et al. ‘A homozygous singe-base deletion in MLPH causes the dilute coat color phenotype in the domestic cat.’ Genomics. Dec 2006.
- Stelow, E. et al. ‘The Relationship Between Coat Color and Aggressive Behaviors in the Domestic Cat.’ Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. Oct 2015.
Just stopped in to the new Pet Smart and left with a cute 10 mos old dilute tortie! She’s so sweet and loves being petted, held, and snuggles in my arms on the couch:)
Wish I could post a pic of her…
I just brought home a dilute tortie. She was rescued along with her siblings from a construction site during a storm. The Momma cat was no where to be seen but was caught two days later. My friend rescued them all and bottle fed the newborns every two hours with help from his wife and daughter. I drove 2 hours there and back to pick her up and it has been well worth it. I’ve had cats all my life and I’m in my 50’s. I have 3 other older kitties, one is 17 years old and this little girl is by far more affectionate. Most kittens are just run around crazy and go to sleep but she’s run around on my bed crazy and then climb into my arms to be cuddled and then go to sleep. She’s only 10 weeks old so I’m sure she will be a lap kitty once she’s grown, which is fine by me because that is what I wanted. Only the 17 year old is cuddly and purrs loudly when petted but she’s my daughter’s kitty and her days are winding down. So I’m very thrilled with my new dilute tortie. I named her Peaches.
That’s so sweet! My dilute tortie rescue – my only foster fail in years of fostering – is exceptionally affectionate. Instead of bending down to pet her, every single time I extend my hand, she jumps up to greet it. They are indeed very special kitties.
I have 2 of these beautiful dilute tortie creatures, and they are nothing alike! One is quiet and standoffish, and not the most affectionate. The other will not leave me alone, nor anyone else, she loves EVERYONE!
Have a new kitten that is a dilute tortoiseshell shes very active but when she’s tired she cuddles and falls asleep on my chest
Our dilute Tortie also was a construction site rescue!! She was abandoned by her mother. She is disabled and has weird legs that didn’t bend at the knee or ankle, but my vet put her in a lightweight cast and then did physical therapy on her for weeks, and her knees don’t bend but she has FULL FLEXION in her ankles, so she can run around.
She adores my husband, who rescued her and then carried her around in a chest pouch for several days, but she’s not too fond of me, even though I feed her, because I also was the one who took her to physical therapy!
Turns out she is super-smart, knows several words, and despite being handicapped, is very active! She has even caught a few lizards in our yard!
Inherited an 11 yo dilute tortie and named her Peachie. Her “brother” a 10 yo orange boy was renamed Pumpkin. A a very shy one person cat. Lived to be 18.
We have diluted tortie we got from animal control back in 2008. We didn’t set out to find any particular colored cat, was just looking for a sweet one. She is indeed a beauty, but is truly one of the sweetest cats I have ever known. Not a mean bone in her body, and she loves bringing us “gifts” – like socks, slippers and the kids’ clothes!
Yes! Mine too!!
All.the.time! ?
I just adopted a Dilute Tortie, Zola. I didn’t seek her out she just had this personality that I could not say no to! She’s my first cat and she’s not at all what I was expecting, she’s both sweet and vivacious and I am so glad we chose each other. I definitely understand why people consider them good luck!
My best friend adopted a Tortie about 2 years ago (not dilute like mine) based on her personality and she is also named ZOLA!
I adopted a dilute tortie back in May 2019 and also named her Zola!
I didn’t know what my cats colouring was for years. She wasn’t just a grey cat…. and she wasn’t a tortie either. I was so glad when I could answer the question I kept getting. “What is this colouring?” Also she is an example of tortitude. When children come to my house, they call her “the mean cat” because she will scratch you. She’s been scratching and biting me for 11 years now and it doesn’t bother me at all, in fact, it has taught me respect.
I have a feral dilute totie in my backyard, shes been there for at least 2 months, ive been putting food out for her. I fear she may have kittens or about too, and has made our unused barn shed her new home. She wont let me get real close yet but approches me at a distance when i have food for her. She has a little white on her neck but all the other coloring is dilute tortie. Im replying to your comment because of the the name Zola! I was trying to pick a name and was torn between Zola and Zyla.
I’m late but stumbled upon this article, while trying to figure out what color my new rescue is. Her head and upper chest are blue/gray with white patch in center chest. Legs are a rusty red/ brown color, with gray toe TIPS, only. Back is a mix of gray and the rust. She’s a blue dilute tortie(I think lol), about 1yr old. Trapped and spayed last week, was unfortunately found to be pregnant at spay appointment. ?Decided to keep her, and try to tame her. Named her Beauty, and after 3days she ate out of my hand! 4 days in and she let me pet her ONLY while distracted by eating lol. Love her already. My 1st cat Stevie is a partially blind, formerly feral rescue. Had eye ulcers from horrible feline upper respiratory infection, and was completely blind when I took her in, she has cornea scarring but can see very well now.
One of our foster cat moms gave us a gorgeous dilute tortie this past spring! She is a sweetheart, and my daughter named her (Calliope) so that we would have to keep her! 😁
Mine is also known as That Mean Cat in the neighborhood.
We have a dilute tortie who also appears to have Japanese bobtail Gene’s as her tail is short with a kink in it. She was a stray who would stand outside my kitchen window and talk to me while I washed dishes. She eventually started inviting herself inside and now owns us. We are her people. She’s full of tortitude! She slaps at the window when she is ready to come inside, stands facing the door and ignores us when she wants to go back out. She talks a lot and our grandkids swear she says No! Twice I’ve had surgery and she sits at close as she can to my bandages as if she is taking care of me. She seems to have a sense of when we aren’t feeling well. She loves to show her affection by head bumping us. She’s also fascinated by bathwater, standing or sitting on the side of the tub and talking and gently touching us while we bathe. Haha she’s a very unusual girl and we love her dearly.
My beautiful girl is an exact description of yours! How great… ?
That’s so funny – mine does head bumping too, and she opens doors by pushing with her feet like a person. She has something with bath water too. I thought something happened to her in her previous home because my daughter was in the bath and she was in the room stood up on her back feet and made the meanest sound. I never saw a cat actually stand like that. But I don’t think she likes water.
My Chloe is a diluted Tortie and no is her favorite word! Hahaha
Her miau sounds just like a noooo.
I have a dilute tortie named Chloe as well! I just adopted her, and her sister, from a shelter about a week and a half ago. She’s very affectionate and very talkative! They’re still getting used to us and I’m looking forward to watching their personalities develop. (They were in the shelter almost a year and a half.)
My dilute tortie, Zelda, also has a kink in her tail- just the tiniest bit at the very tip.
She’s exceptionally beautiful, and I love her very much. Especially when she head-bumps me to be held close and loved on.
I have a Zelda😊
So this is what our weird little giant fur ball is! She’s quite a celebrated colour here in the south of France. Peaches is now 8 years old and has yellow eyes. Her personality is weird, but we love her. I think she’s quite ugly, but she’s my ugly. I rescued her as a tiny kitten, from being bled dry by fleas. She bites my toes every morning til I give her a cuddle! And she sunbathes like a pro!
My regular toned tortie, Juno, also bites my toes (and my legs, and other exposed parts of me) when she wants something. I find it kind of annoying, but have yet to break her of the habit. She’s very clear when she wants something, though it can take me (a sometimes dense human) a bit to figure out exactly what she’s communicating. Sometimes she wants to go out. Sometimes she wants to be fed. Sometimes she wants me to turn on a trickle of water from the bathroom faucet so she can drink from it. Juno is definitely my alpha cat, and can be very sweet, but most definitely has attitude! (She is my 3rd tortie in a 34 year time span of having cats, and each one has been very different than the others.)
My dilute Artemis will nibble when she wants something. Usually attention, but sometimes food.
They are always gentle “love bites.”
Our Dilute Tortie, Sandi, found my girls and I during a firework celebration at my cousin’s farm! She was wandering, all alone without a mama. We’ve had her for six days now. We think she’s around 8-9 weeks old. She’s so beautiful and sweet. A snuggler, for sure.
We have a diluted Tortie and have fallen head over heels in love with her!!!
I love to tell the story of how she came into our lives…
About 6 weeks ago I went out to mow the yard, I use a John Deere rider. I always lift the seat to make sure there aren’t any snakes or spiders hiding, but rarely see anything bigger than a tiny spider. This time I lifted the seat, saw something on the battery between the terminals and quickly dropped the seat while jumping backwards leaving out a loud scream! Suddenly I realized what I saw was a sleeping baby kitten, lifting the seat up slowly so not to scare the kitten off (as if dropping the seat and screaming wasn’t enough) I was able to pick the still sleeping baby up off the battery. It took her a couple seconds to wake, when she did there was a lot of hissing, biting and scratching going on but I held on to her. We took her to the vet and they determined she was about 5 weeks old, weighing one pound… because I found her on the John Deere Tractor battery we named her after the Director of John Deere, Samuel. Her name is Sammy.
She now weighs about 3.5 pounds and chases our 10 lbs. Poodle all over the house, jumping on him and rolling around wrestling him. Dyson and Sammy have become best friends. She is equally tough as she is snuggly and loving. I think she is the most beautiful kitten I’ve ever seen. I believe she is a little gift from God.
I love my dilute tortie “Luna”, sometimes she’s a “lunatic” she loves to cuddle, flirt with me, even hang out on my bathroom counter while I get dress in the am. She came from a large litter of both males & females. She loves to steal anything she can get her paws (or mouth) on, pens, shower scrubbies, make-up brushes. I wish I had more like her.
I have a male diluted tortoise shell.
We were looking for a blue Russian kitten but one of my moms friends had an outside cat that abandoned her kittens at 5 weeks. We got him about 6 weeks old and he’s super hyper and adorable.
Minnie is our 5 year old dilute tortie, named after “Minnie the Moocher” because she ‘mooched’ food from us every time we saw her run up to our door as a stray kitten. She invited herself in one day and decided we were hers for good! Every cliché about tortitide is true in her case. She’s very sensitive and ‘high maintenance’ and all 8 pounds of her are definitely full of sass. But she’s also incredibly sweet and we’re lucky she wandered into our lives 🙂
I have a 7 month old dilute tortie named Minnie as well!
Yes….I have a mother Muted Tortie. Mid long hair. She gave us a female short hair muted tortie, very finicky. Also she had a very long haired muted male at the same time who UNFORTUNATELY died. Beautiful baby. Momma is very loving and the young female is just when she decides she wants attention. Both inside cats.
I adopted my long hair dilute tortie “Lily” from the animal shelter last year as a kitten. She is the most affectionate cat! She loves to lay on my chest so close to my face that her whiskers tickle me. She doesn’t meow a lot, but when she does, it is the sweetest little kitten sounding meow 😻 she is always close by and will often follow me from room to room. She has the most beautiful color Long hair coat and I love that her nose is half gray and half white! I love my sweet girl! 😻
I adopted two sweet cats from my local shelter, one of whom is a very loving dilute tortie. Due to the poor lighting in the shelter, I thought she was just a rather dull grey until I got her home. She has a very affectionate personality though I call her “Twitch” due to her habit of starting at almost anything. Still, the other cat (a handsome tabby) has just as much personality, in an eager-to-please, look-how-active-I-am way.
My dilute torti’s name is Pixie. I didn’t seek her out, but when I met her at a rescue, it was an immediate bond. She’s very sweet and in her age of 12 she loves sleeping in the sunshine and hogging my pilliow at night. I’ve had cats all my life but she is one of a kind. She’s always been sweet, but when I first got her, at 9 months old until about the age 10, she was pretty hyper while in “play mode”. She was very, very playful and vocal! We even bought her an automatic laser machine that would run for a few minutes and then turn off- and she would chase that red dot multiple times per day. She is very, very talkative and even howls sometimes. Oh, and she is very, very silky and soft.
I became a owner of a dilute tortie male. Hes very cute, very calm, so laid back. Sir Teddy Bear. I just found out the males are rare. He has a very different personality but very sweet.
I adopted my dilute tortoiseshell Mistycat almost 2yrs ago after her owner had to go into a nursing home suddenly. I absolutely love her to bits, and we initially bonded over our shared love of M&S individual cottage cream rice puddings!
She’s approx 10yrs old now and is quite nervous and spends most of her time in my room napping. But she’s also fast on her feet if she hears a snack wrapper or cold meat packet opening.
She loves sleeping with me and cuddling up with me and her coat is beautifully soft. I love my dilute tortie ?
I wanted to reestablish our blue kitty line on my husband’s ranch because he had an old blue cat he grew up with who had passed away. When I was a tiny girl there were blue cats out on my grandmother’s place, so I asked the couple who live there now if they ever saw any wild blue kitties. 4 kittens had just been born under their house, so I quickly agreed to take all of them. When I picked them up, there were two solid males and two dilute tortie girls. At first I wasn’t thrilled with the girls but they have turned out to be very sweet and snuggly lapcats and one of them, Sugar, has a very peculiar squeak for a miaow. Jellybean is extremely clever and loves toys and is a bit overly fond of the kibbles. Wouldn’t trade them for anything!
I have s dilute tortie Lily Lu and another regular black and orange tortie. They both have sweet personalities. I would not trade them for the world.
I rescued a feral pregnant tortie. She had the most beautiful kittens, 1 orange male, 1 orange female, 1 Siamese blue eyed male and 1 dilute tortie.
Yesterday I said goodbye to my “furry daughter” and constant companion of 22 years, Josie. She adopted me 21 years ago during a severe winter storm at Christmas time. A beautiful faded tortie that blessed my family’s lives.
I don’t know what breeds she came from, but she was the perfect cat for me. Josie had none of the “tortitude” mentioned by other. In fact, she seemed just the opposite.
Josie was mellow and slow her whole life. So much so, I fought with my wife for weeks about naming her. I wanted to name her qualude ( a depressant drug). I’m glad my wife wone that one, but it was a perfect description of Josie most of the time. Josie only scratched on rare occasion, and even then it was by accident. She handled the vet like a rock. Just sat still until it was all over with.
While Josie was mellow, she was not a lap cat. The opposite. You could not get her to stay in your lap, or your arms. She just wanted down. I was the only one who could pick her up and hold her for an extended time. I think she thought I was her mom. 🙂 She got used to my wife holding her eventually, but never our son. Josie chose me years before I had a son. Josie was terrified of small kids especially, and would just vanish when any showed up. I think maybe before she adopted me she had a bad experience with small kids. Just a guess.
Josie was very quiet, never chatted and rarely meowed, except when she was successful at hunting. Her “Look at me and what I caught for you” was extremely loud and usually scarred the hell out of me. At about 20 years old that all changed, and she started chatting with me a lot.
At the same time around 20 years old, Josie finally decided that lying on or next to me was OK. The last two years with her sitting on or next to me and sleeping next to my pillow were the best.
Some of her other qualities include:
Indoor/outdoor with her own door entire life
Free feeder and never overweight entire life
Dry food only until she started loosing weight at 20
Healthy all of her life except for Hyperthiroid at 21 years old
We don’t know what caused her death, but she was moving around like normal and seemed content just minutes before we noticed she had died. My ex-wife came over yesterday evening and we had a nice family service for her. Josie is now buried in her favorite summer resting place in the bamboo thicket and I’ll be making a marker for her soon.
I’ve had a handful of cats over the years, but there was only one other cat in my life that I bonded with and loved, Tiny Tiger. She was our family cat for most of my school years (40+ years ago) and she was also a faded tortie that looks identical to Josie. I did not remember that until a few years ago when looking at old family photos. My first thought was “How did Josie get in this old photos?”
When I am ready for another cat, I will be searching the shelters for another faded tortie. Best damn cats there are.
Bob
Bob,
I’m very sorry that you lost your very special Josie. It’s never easy as non-cat owners often think. From your description of her and your bond, she was very fortunate to have such a caring “father” as you were
My daughter works at an animal hospital where animal control brings in strays. They brought in two female grey kittens, just a few weeks old. one long haired and one short hair. Very small and malnourished. After being there a couple weeks my daughter called and said they had been put on the list. The dreaded kill list……… I told her to bring me one and she took the other. After a couple weeks these beautiful patterns started showing. I was clueless so I went to google and found this page. She is definitely a long haired dilute tortie. It seems every week more patterns are showing up. Now one side of her face and streaks down her body are a slight cream color against her grey. Shes still very tiny but shes getting stronger. She is absolutely the sweetest kitten! She loves to play and will just lay on the couch with me and watch tv. My last cat I adopted from a humane society, I had her 16 years. She was never this loving. The short hair kitten my daughter took home also has the patterns showing up. So cute!! We cant wait to see how they look in a few months!!
I have a beautiful 4.5 month old dilute tortie. Her name is Fiona and she has long hair.
Wow – my dilute tortie was also named Fiona! She was not only a dilute tortie, but she also had a double coat – a downy white “undercoat” that was soft as chinchilla.) Most often, we called her “Fuzzy”. She was one of the great loves of my life – she randomly showed up in my driveway one day in 2005 when she was about 1.5 years old, and our souls recognized each other instantly. She was my constant companion for 13 years – was with me through 2 international moves, a divorce, and cancer (she never left my side, even when I reeked of toxic chemicals). She was tiny (never more than 6 lbs) all her life, but she owned us. And we loved every minute of it. She was the sweetest, most playful cat, even into her older years. She definitely had the tortitude, along with being the sweetest. She was so sensitive and expressive. She had bright green eyes that seemed like they could see right through you. She was a one-person cat who learned to love my great love when I met him, and we became a true family. We just lost little Fiona to kidney disease at the age of 15 on December 14th and still sometimes cry ourselves to sleep. There’s a gaping hole in my heart, and my only comfort is knowing our souls will find each other again someday. I can’t imagine loving another cat this much – but should there come a time, I would definitely seek out another dilute tortie. They are magical.
We have a precious 3 month old diltue tortie we rescued from the middle of the road as a tiny kitten. Her name is appropriately Opal, because she looks like one. She is beautiful and so sweet!
I am fostering a Dilute Tortie MALE. I got him and his sister when they were just 2 weeks old and have been bottle feeding them. He definitely has Tortitude. The veterinarians in town are calling dibs on who gets to neuter him. :). I have not posted photos
of him on our website yet.
We had a one-in-a-million dilute tortie named Silver. She was gray and cream with white markings. She died Jan. 1, 2000 but 18 years later she is still the best cat we ever had the honor to serve! She definitely had tortitude! When I took her in to get spayed, she refused to let me touch her for weeks. When we got our puppy, she sat 20 feet away from me with her back to me, and if I moved toward her, she moved exactly the same distance and sat down again. This went on for at least a week before she relented and let me snuggle her. She never forgave that dog for existing, though!
My little Monkey Bug is the same way…she definitely can hold a grudge.
I’ve wondered if they’re going to find the genes that code for orange are the source of tortitude as well. It’s also commonly believed orange cats have a bit of a unique personality as well…I’ve had both and they seem a lot bolder and more willing to put themselves forward than ye typical black/brown tabbies, etc. Not mean…just a bit more outgoing, fearless, even a little bit pushy.
I adopted a dilute tortie 3 years ago from a rescue shelter. My vet thinks her age is around 9. She is white with diluted orange, grey and carmel patches. She has the most gentle, affectionate disposition! She loves to lay on my chest when I’m lying down or in the recliner and softly headbutts my chin or forehead. Recently, she became deaf quite suddenly. Our vet doesn’t know why this occurred because she is healthy in every other way. She is strictly a house cat, so at least she is always safe. Her name is Angel.
I have a 12 old dilute tortie DSH ( I just found out the name for her coat) she’s the meanest cat I’ve had which doesn’t bother me we play box with each other she bites me to let me know she’s not playing anymore but I love her and she’s the best mouse catcher I’ve had besides my 3 year gray and white DSH so if your looking for a cat to help with mice they are really good if they start at a kitten.
Our dilute Tortie came to us from a tree. She clearly wasn’t feral, but we never found her owners, and we tried really hard. We didn’t even know the term until my husband called her “gray brindle” on one of our “is this your cat” social media posts. This is the first I’ve heard of “tortitude.” If anything, she’s unusually friendly and cuddly.
I have a diluted tortie, and I swear her personality is like I little human child…. she definitely has attitude. She was the runt, but now in a house with another female unrelated, the tortie is the matriarch of the home… I definitely am a proud owner of a tortie with attitude.
I have a little feral dilute tortie Ive helped nature take care of, this is our 2nd winter. Compared to her siblings, one which is super vocal and needy for affection and a little hyper, one is a loud male who is the most wild, the little dilute tortie is mature acting, quiet an thoughtful, very steady in her behavior. All of them were neutered by Humane society, have the clipped ear. They are a joy, especially the tortie.
Nov 2018 I had to put down my sweet Russian Blue Smokey. (Cancer) I went to a local no kill shelter in my area. I was picked out by a tiny little Blue/Cream tortie I named Molly. She is both lovable & crazy. She is very different from Smokey with a little more of a wild streak. She makes my day when she comes right up to my face for a kiss. Her colors are becoming brighter every day.
I believe someone dumped a sweet, little diluted Tortie on or near my road. She just showed up and started getting into the garbage because she was apparently starving, so I started feeding her. A few months later she had two kittens, one female black & orange Tortie and a male gray tabby that I suspect may wind up with some diluted Tortie markings as he gets older. But I’ve taken them on as my own outdoor cats as my daughter has severe allergies to cats. *I just love them all! They’re all beautiful!!!*
On oct 10,2018 my 16 yr old granddaughter called me and said she wanted to save a cat’s life by adopting one at our local shelter. It was “name your own price” adoption. The shelter was very crowded and all the cats and kittens were going fast. She picked out a little kitten but realized that she couldn’t take it home that day because it had not been spayed! By that time it was “slim pickings “. This little cat was not getting a lot of attention and didn’t want any. She was way back in the cage. The shelter lady said she was a “little shy”! My granddaughter took her without even holding her. Well, up until about 2 wks ago this cat hid in the garage and would hiss at us when ever we could find her. We continued to talk to her. Her food would be gone but she would never come out until we left her space. Out of the blue about 2 wks ago and 2 months after the adoption she came out as I was putting out her food. She finally has allowed me to touch her and it’s so great to hear her pur! She’s not quite comfortable but I
feel she’s going to be a great companion. I was pleased to find this site to now know that she is a dilute torte! She’s really soft and really thick fur. I picked her up and brought her in my house tonight. This is the coldest night we have had in lower teens! She’s very gentle
My son discovered our diluted Tortie at the shelter. He insisted on bringing her home; I was very hesitant because I was mourning the loss of my sweet black long-haired cat who was hit by a car. But I could not say no.
We named her Motley for her curiously mottled coloring (plus the band, I suppose). I never knew she was a “diluted Tortie” until an impromptu search today!
2 years later, Motley does what Motley wants—don’t all cats? She loves me the most because I feed her. Literally, twice a day, I have to LIFT HER UP and place her on her “food shelf”—which exists because of my dog. I’m pretty sure she can jump up there, but she refuses. She also loves to cuddle on my bed, but only in winter. And she enjoys being petted, until she doesn’t, when she turns her head and suddenly chomps on my hand with a painful “love bite.” Good ol’ Motley…not the prettiest cat…but she’s still around and she won my heart 🙂
Our dilute tortie was resucued as a kitten from a construction site. She has the best personality and her name is Spunky. She had a litter of 4 kittens. One gray tabby, one orange tabby, two torties. None diluted. All adorable.
We just adopted a dilute torti. She was just to much for an office to handle & we swooped her up before they took her to the pound. I had never even heard of a dilute torti. She is beautiful & talks all the time.
Okay here goes: I just brought home an adorable dilute tortie. I didn’t know that is what she was until I posted her story along with a picture of her on another site (Just Cat Things). This is her story:
She was found along with her 7 siblings at a construction site near Richmond Virginia in early November 2018 by an old high school friend of mine. I found out about her through a Facebook posted video of her and her siblings. At first my friend Brian only found the kittens but the Momna cat was nowhere in sight. He took them home and his wife and daughter rushed them to the vet. They were bitten fed every two hours until he managed to catch the Momma cat 2 days later. Just by posting that one video on his Facebook page he managed to find loving homes for all the kittens. He kept the Momma cat for himself. I picked her out from the video. She was the only tortie. The other kitties were grey, black, and one was orange. There were only 2 girls and I only wanted a girl. I just posted a comment to the video and said that I wanted a kitten for Christmas half jokingly. Then he told me their story. I told him I wanted the grey one with orange spots. He said she was the only girl left because the other already had a home. I couldn’t believe my luck. So I told him that her name would be Peaches. He sent me many pictures and videos and he was calling her by her name. I drove 2 hours there and back to pick her up the first week of January. She is by far the sweetest kitty I’ve ever had. Now I’m in my 50’s so I’ve had kitty’s my whole life. I grew up with Siamese cats. This little girl is extra special. She climbs up in my arms to be cuddled. She’s very smart and learns quickly. I’m guessing that I got exactly what I wanted which was a sweet snuggly and cuddly lap cat.
I’ve had 3 cats in my lifetime and 2 of them were dilute tortoiseshells. I have one right now at around 4 years old. Statistics are right about the tortitude.. I’ll be standing up in the kitchen, just standing there looking at my phone, and she will be a few feet away from me and stare at my feet or legs for a whole 2 minutes. Then if I make one sudden movement, she prounces to my leg and attached her ENTIRE body around my leg and tries to sink her teeth into my legs!! I thought for years that since she was a rescue that she had a rough past with a previous owner, but really it just comes natural haha.
My poppy is a diluted tortie I’m trying to see if all cats of her breed are like her but I guess not with the cattitude paragraph. I don’t like cats never have I got engaged and my gf came with the cat this is like rare moments the cat acts like a dog and her dog acts like a cat. Poppy loves to cuddle and gets very pushy about eating she’s always hungry and she gets these spurts of energy when she sees flies she loves to catch them really foot at it too. Her favorite spot is my neck when I’m sleeping. On the other hand her dog keeps her distance and makes sure he’s not in the same room as me. I don’t understand is like my whole world flipped when I met this woman? but I will never say I hate cats. This curious cat won me over
I thought mine only loved me because I got her so young. They told me as the months passed she would separate. She still needs to be with mama in the middle of the night so she can lick my neck, arm, or shoulder sticking out, the burrow in to lay down for a bit before she freaks out and tries to catch moonlight or daylight. It’s the claws that catch me off guard. She’s 6 months and still needs if she wants to lick skin.
I have a diluted tortie and she’s amazing ! She loves attention, she’s so lovable and smart.
My sweet Truffles is a 12 year old dilute Tortie. Her mom belonged to a family friend, and her dad was an unknown stray cat. As a baby she was pure grey, but over time she developed splotches and dustings of tan fur across her, including a distinctive stripe up the bridge of her nose and between her eyes. She definitely has some “tortitude” going on, but she’s also a total sweetheart and loves being the center of attention.
I recent,y adopted my two foster kittens that I have had since they were just 1 week old. Imagine my surprise when I turned the Dilute Tortie over to make it go potty and I saw MALE parts. I had local veterinarians calling dibs on his neuter because they told me in their whole career they would be lucky to have the opportunity to treat a male tortie. He was rescued from the lumber pile at Menards so we named him Big Money, lol, you know…like the commercial says…..we “saved big money at Menards”.
LOL, that’s a great name 🙂
I just found out about fifteen minutes ago that the cat I’ve had for three years is a dilute tortie. She has the nose with the half orange, half bluish. I stumbled across a photo of a kitten with the same nose. I thought I would never see another nose like my cat’s nose because I thought it was an accident! Now I know what I’ve always wondered – I know the breed of my cat. Finally! Thank you for this article. It was very informative.
This was so informative! I always wondered what my kitten was. My mother in law said she looked similar to a tortie, so this all makes sense! I didn’t seek out having her; my cousin fosters for the Nebraska Humane Society, so when I visited I fell in lover with her. I ended up also adopting one of her siblings who is an orange tabby. Funny enough, they have 2 siblings that are both creme colored which is just like this only a diluted version on the orange tabby. Most of the time, orange cats are male, but their mom was actually an orange tabby! It makes me think of what their dad may have looked like!
I am so amazed after reading this! We adopted some strays. One of them was black, and the other was a diluted Tortie…a male diluted Tortie! We had no idea that isn’t common. Especially since the black one ended up being pregnant, and gave birth to two sweet little girl kitties…one who is a traditional Tortie and the other who is a long hair diluted Tortie. I feel so blessed! So we now have 3 Torties in the family, 2 who are diluted, 1 of which is long haired female and the other is male.
Sorry for my bad english but I’d like to tell about my diluted Tortie. I never wanted a Tortie. Then I adopted a cat from Spain that is 3 years old and I called her Felina. She looks like a European Shorthair Cat. She has a coulour I never saw in Switzerland before. Is she grey with small yellow stripes? After weeklong research I finally found out that she is a Tortie but a diluted. From the same shelter in Spain I saw pictures from other cats in the same colour.
I don’t know what happend to her in Spain, but it seams that she lived in a house before. She purrs a lot, doesn’t like to be lifted up nor lying on my lap, only have little body contact when watching tv. She can go in and out through her cat door when she wants but prefers staying in the house. When she wants to come in she scratches at the window like crazy. Not funny. She brought home some lizards but no mice, I think she is too lazy.
My kitten came home with me from the shelter. She was the most loving and playful of all the cats I’d spent my time with. I brought her home at 2 months and she’s considered me her mama from day 2. She’s larger than I thought she would be at this age, and the hair is longer than the “short haired” as advertised. I couldn’t care less!
I was told she was dilute calico, but reading the differences makes me think she is a mix between a dilute tortoiseshell and something longer haired.
My daughter had two short hairs, but what I am seeing is far longer. 1 inch hairs on a 6 month old short hair seems long. I wouldn’t give her up for the world, but am I dealing with a different mix than I should predict?
She’s periwinkle blue, dark gray, cream, pale orange, and minor patches of just cream. She’s 6 months and has outgrown her harnass, but she’s super active and runs about all day chasing anything and everything (except the toys I buy).
I feed about 11 feral (most now tame enough for me to pet) cats that live around me. A female tortie is mom to at least six of them. One of whom is a Siamese mix and had kittens herself about 7 weeks ago under my shed. I just nabbed one of the kittens (she has three) and it happened to be a dilute tortie that I caught. We are raising this kitten and I do believe it is a boy!! I have a calico female that I also caught about 5 years ago who was a feral kitten along with her two sibling who we also caught. You would never know they were once feral. I am looking forward to this newest member of the family my daughter named Max. He is adorable. Soft grey and peach and already curious and full of cattitude.
We rescued/fostered a beautiful Mama Tabby and her 7 4-day old babies April 4, 2019. One of the babies died at 2 weeks. The Mama and 3 babies, a calico, and 2 lovely gray tabbies were transported from Pasadena, Texas, to Kitsap, Wash. on May 21st. Broke my heart.
I kept a white and orange male, a black and orange tortie, and an exquisite, shy, lovable blue/cream dilute. Then we found out my hubby seemed to have allergies to them so I’m having to adopt out the male and the little dilute. I adore them all, and it’s very hard to let them go.
But, they were 2 months old June 1, and they have been loved, pampered, and socialized since they were 4 days old. They sleep with us and are all very affectionate. We have a 5 year old Shih Tzu who also sleeps with us, so they are all used to each other.
I am taking them to an adoption event next weekend and hope to find a wonderful home, hopefully, for the two of them so they won’t have to be separated.
Thank you for all the information and the stories. I didn’t know she was called a Dilute till this week. Very special, indeed.
went to the local SPCA looking for another dog but came home with a cat! didn’t know she was a dilute tortie till I took her to the vet. I only knew she was a sweet beautiful 2 1/2 year old cat needing rescue. I’ve had cats my whole life and her personality is no different than my others – they think they rule the house. my pitbull is not liking that too much but they are getting along great!
I have a dilute tortie and her dilute tabby brother. They were “fosters”, I initially had no interest in keeping them, and I have had them since they were a week old and were very ill. Thankfully, they flourished, and are now absolutely amazing. (The whole fostering thing didn’t work out, clearly.) The tortie, Ripley, can exhibit some moments of tortitude, mainly in that she is very much her own little creature; she will go where she wants, when she wants, please and thank you. Other than the free-spirited behavior, she is absolutely an angel– she grooms her brother, she grooms and plays with the dogs, and she has continued to teach other foster kittens that I have brought in how to be cats. More striking than anything else, though, is her empathy towards me. She has to velcro herself to me if I am sick, and acts as my little kitty nurse. What a wonder.
i am fostering a black and grey tabby who is sweet and calm as well a dilute torti who is off the wall(literally) nuts sassy full of vim and vigor and fortitude her colors and markings are fabulous thank you recessive mutated genes
We adopted two 10 month old dilute tortie sisters and have now had them for 2 years! We were not seeking them out, just happened upon them and fell in love. They have distinct personalities from one another and are incredibly sweet and very active! One is a bit more bossy and independent while the other is a classic little sister: always starting little fights, loves to lick her sister, and very chatty! They both love ppl and love snuggling. Can’t imagine my life without them <3
I’ve had two dilute tortie/calicos. The first, Freya, was as far from cattitude or tortitude as you could get; she was the sweetest cat but so timid! I once saw her splat into a wall when she took off in fright because someone coughed.
My current girl, Phoebe, is also very sweet natured but just the opposite otherwise – not scared of anything, though she is wary of the vacuum cleaner. She’s always ready to make mischief, loves playing fetch (her own idea, I didn’t teach her) and starting trouble with our torbie, Madeleine, who’s twice her age and has a kilogram weight advantage.
Both dilutes have been trillers, not talking all the time but when they do it’s that lovely sound. Phoebe loves washing faces and sleeping loaf-fashion on my hip when I’m in bed. All my cats have been DSHs from shelters, so I have no idea what breeds may be in their backgrounds. Freya was only four months old when I got her, and was so scared she crammed herself into the back of her cage, and hid in a bookshelf when I got her home. I don’t know Phoebe’s age, because she was malnourished and tiny and the shelter vets and my local vets had very different estimates of her age. She chose me, marching up to the front of the enclosure (I was there to see other cats, I wasn’t looking for a kitten) and planting herself on my lap to have a bath when I went inside. If tortitude is a thing, she has it!
I found this article trying to find the color of our new rescue. Our “Lucky” Girl was found accross the street from our house stuck in a tree. Took me 2 days to locate her following her cries for help in circles. I finally spotted her 50ft up a crooked tree with no lower branches. Her beautiful brindle dilute tortie color blending in perfectly with the bark looking like another knot in the tree. I coaxed her down about 10ft and then we decided to try a ladder. Luckily my hisband is a cable installer and we own a 28ft extention ladder with hooks. Unfortunately the shape of the tree, lack of limbs, and being on a hill we couldn’t get close enough. We were forced to leave her for another day hoping she would get desperate enough to come closer and not run farther up the tree with the sounds of the ladder. The next day, her 3rd day stuck that I know of, we gave it another try. We managed to coax her to the pount where the ladder was previously and she was too tired to run. She found a branch maybe a half inch wide and was draping her hind legs over to try and save energy. My husband managed to get close enough to her to urge her to her feet at which point she stumbled and fell. She caught herself within reach of my husband and he could just barely pet her leg. When she felt him he said it was like she slowly melted into his hand. She contorted her body to rub against his hand and pretty much placed the scruff of her neck into his hand. He grabbed her and she released everything and let him carry her the final 30ft down. She is now a mighty cricket hunter in our garage while she acclimates to our family and our 2 large dogs. She hasnt stopped loving us and thanking us for not giving up on her. She hasnt used her claws on any of us for any reason and has inly ipened her mouth to meow and lick us! She even lost her balance on my legs and fell to the ground and disnt even put her claws out! The absolute sweetest cat ive ever met and my 4 year old is absolutely in love with his new kitty!
A stray dilute tortie kitten started coming around a couple years ago while I was in chemo. My mother and I both knew she was to special to not adopt! (All cats are to special not to have a loving home) she now lives with me and she definitely lives up to the “tortitude” reputation! She is a loyal companion and beautiful at that♥️
I just realized my beautiful Lucy is a dilute tortie! She has the exact coloring as the picture and she’s so photogenic and gorgeous! This is amazing!
We have a dilute named Jinx, yes he’s a male. Just got him fixed over s week ago. Boy does he have an attitude now lol. I’m the only one who he chases around the house to bite me in the leg. He’s over a year old. He’s never been a lap cat, just does his own thing. He’s weird but we love him. We’re getting another cat Saturday, hope he plays well with others.
We had no idea what a Dilute Tortie was until 2 days ago when we rescued a tiny ball of fur that ran across the Hwy (65 mph zone) in front of us. We turned around and thought we were too late, as there was a fatality we hadn’t seen. As we walked closer we started to hear the kitten crying from the brush line. We presume the approx. 8 wk old was staying close to Mom, who didn’t fare as well in crossing the road. Within a few minutes we had her captured and went straight to the vet. Two days later she has had her 1st round of shots and is adjusting nicely to her non-feral environment. What a joy! We named her Tali, short for Talisman or Lucky Charm.
My kid and I rescued one 2 months old dilute tortie couple of months ago from Nextdoor app, she was a given up for free, and worried about her ending up in the wrong hands we picked her up and foster her for a rescue after we fix her up, well, we ended up so in love with her that it all ended up to be a foster fail. She is beautiful gray, pinkish and cream colored with dark green and light green eyes, lost of love sweet pans attitude, a personality never seen before by us, her name is Pixie Dust.
I adopted a pair of sisters in May. One is a short hair dilute torbie, the other a long hair dilute tortie. They are almost 8 months old and each weigh just shy of 8 lbs. I’ve never had a long hair cat before, so when comparing their bodies, the long hair tortie is significantly rounder/pear shaped compared to her torbie sister. Are torties prone to being a little heavy in general? They are not free fed and only eat wet food, so carbs aren’t an issue, nor is over feeding. Is it possible that she’s simply built chunky? I know I am! 😉
I have a long haired diluted Tortie kitten. We found her on the side of the road just 5 weeks old. Her mother had been hit and she was just sitting there 🙁 She was terrified of everything at first. Now, while still skittish, she loves to be held and have her belly rubbed. She is super sweet and has the loudest purr I’ve ever heard. Her name is Luna.
Yes! Mine too!!
All.the.time! ?
I’ve never had a kitty who loved belly rubs like my long hair dilute tortie girl! So many traits listed here describe my sweet Noel.
My sweet little Sassy is a blue dilute tortie who thinks she’s a panther! She’s almost 6 months old now and has been with us since the end of September. Tortitude with a huge helping of cuddly love!
My husband jokingly calls my little Siamese X, Monkey Bug, a trailer trashcan cat. Her pregnant mother, a Cream point Siamese, was thrown out of a car on the street outside my mom’s backyard. There was a rundown truck with a camper on it in the backyard with the bottom step punched out. She found her way in and gave birth to her first litter of kittens in the camper. We know it was her first litter because she panicked and smothered two of the babies. My mom called me all freaked out and asked if I’d come over right away so I did. Two were stillborn and I had to swing Monkey and her brother, Casper, to get them to breathe. I, of course, fell in love with her and begged the hubby to let me have her and he finally relented. I already had four other cats because my mom never got her cat fixed. I only found out that she is a dilute tortie when I took her to be seen for an abscess that I couldn’t get rid of. The vet told me that she is a dilute tortie, but when she was born she looked like a long-haired seal point. Now she has cream freckles on her ears and three of her feet, one cream foot, a little cream flag at the end of her tail, and her face is still pretty dark but she has a half cream chin. The rest of her is a really light cinnamon color. She is the most lovable beautiful girl in the world to me. I love her scratchy meow, her funny purr-meow, her beautiful blue eyes, and her playful nature. I wouldn’t trade the last 12 and a half years with her for the world. I treasure every moment with her because this is the longest I’ve ever had a cat and I know it won’t last forever.
I was blessed with a gorgeous long hair dilute tortie girl when (at maybe 3 months) she came to me literally at my shop door as I locked up one rainy night in December 2017.
She is precious and I feel so special that she chose me. I found out later that she had been in the area since she was very little. Several people tried to rescue her but she would never let them get close to her. She immediately stole my heart! The ‘head bump’ as soon as I sat down in my car with her sealed the deal! ❤
My long hair dilute tortie girl is also very skittish and adores belly ribs.
She also brings us trinkets from around the house. Jewelry is her favorite!
I adopted a dilute tortie 2 ears ago. Was not even really looking for a cat, when she popped up in a search and I couldn’t resist meeting her because she was so beautiful. The reasons given for her being in the shelter was that she was not affectionate enough and she was mean to the other resident cat. Since bringing her home, she has become more and more affectionate, and maybe she has an issue with other cats, but she gets along just fine with my small dog. She loves to lay across my chest and be brushed. She gets so comfortable that she starts drooling. She is a cuddler at night and would rather be snuggling more often than not. That being said, she does have a naughty streak. Maybe that’s her “tortitude” but she will clear everything off the nightstand if she doesn’t think I am getting up early enough (5am). She also loves to play fetch with pompoms. Something I have never seen a cat do. She really is a joy and I wouldn’t trade her for anything.
I went to an animal shelter fully expecting to adopt a young cat without any preference of color, but I ended up getting put in a room with 8 kittens. I ended up choosing Juniper because she crawled onto my lap and just sat down and did not move for a while, so it just seemed like she claimed me. I feel so lucky to have adopted my 3 month old diluted tortie!
i have a regular tortie and a dilute and they are sisters. their mother was a pure siamese… and she was found hanging around some apartment dumpster. apparently she was preggo too because she eventually gave birth to two torties, a dilute tortie, and two fully black cats. only the black cats were males.
tbh i think any attitude i get from my girls is likely more that they are half siamese lol. my tortie, kiki, is SO needy!! when she knows im done working for the day she jumps on the nearest couch or bed and starts making biscuits furiously while yelling at me with her lil raspy meows. i have to start petting her at once or else they get louder and longer. then if i settle down with her but then get up even to go to the kitchen for a second she is up and making biscuits and yelling again lol.
sometimes she’ll chill out in her little hammock we have for her but if i walk up to her she’ll just start chirping at me like we are having a conversation.
my dilute only gets super loud when she wants dinner, but she does chirp a lot like her sister and both are very very sassy ladies. they also always want to go outside and come back in at their leisure like little pups but i live in apartments and don’t trust them being outdoors here. 🙁
I just found out after reading about torties, that my controlling female is a long hair dilute tortoise shell. She was born in a horse barn. My husband and I got her during a visit with friends. They had a friend who rescues cats and.she brought our Khaleesi over with her two brothers. Khaleesi has a folded ear and the woman said it may be hard for her to find home for her so we took her home with us. She got along with our male cat Binx and initially with our Daughter’s female cat who would come to visit. However as she’s gotten older, she doesn’t like the other female. Our male cat has passed and she has become the queen of the castle. She goes outside when she wants to and comes in when she wants to. We never leave her out overnight outside, however when she’s mad she breaks curfew of coming in by 10:00pm. Do you know where your cat is, and the answer is yes, cause she’s nearby but she comes in on her terms. She has developed an attitude if she hears my daughter’s name or her cat’s name. She doesn’t like them. You can’t make this stuff up. She meows at me to let her out, she meows at the door to go out, and she sits on the outside bench to come in. She rolls over to be picked up. Like I said she controls us. She has brought many gifts, some still alive and into the house….not fun.
We love her to pieces, she kisses me and snuggles when she is happy, but when she is not, I leave her alone. Cats are smart and know how to get what they want!
My last tortie and white rescue mog definitely had cattitude, checked out every visitor to decide whether they were worth her attention, and either stole the show by playing or talked over us whenever she felt she wasn’t being appreciated enough.
Just about to get a lovely diluted tortie Maine Coon – will she bully us? Wish I could post pictures.
I have a dilute Torrie girl , she is silver with little lines of strawberry blonde,but 99% silver. In the sunshine she shines up violet & blue. She is very affectionate,but doesn’t really like being held for long.
As of last night another of my torties gave birth to a pure blonde or fawn perhaps. Another rare one. I’m really blessed to witness two such rare kittens.
We took in a homeless black kitty and found out she was pregnant. She had 3 babies–a solid gray kitty, a brown/black striped kitty, anf a dilute tortie. Our daughter wanted the striped one and we kept the rest, including Mama. We got them all fixed, of course. I am really confused, though, about everything I’ve read about torties. We had a dark tortie years ago, and both she and our current dilute are the shyest, most backward and scared cats I’ve ever seen! Our dilute runs if we come near her. I dont understand why they are so different from all of the descriptions I’ve read.A
I have two eight month old dilute Tortie sisters, they were abandoned and the vet thought they were around 4 to 5 weeks old, I had to feed them through the night, we were not sure how they would turn out (always had exotics Persians prior), but they are undeniably the best cats ……. even though they are sisters they are very different. One is a bit aloof, she likes to be in the same space as her people, but not be picked up and cuddled unless it’s on her terms. The other is very affectionate…….we love them so much and they really have so much personality and I should have said they are very attractive (and they know it 🤣🤣).
I got two kittens from a neighbor, sisters, one has a coat that is striped tabby (Tigger), with hints of orange at ears, paws, and tail. The other is a dilute tortie (which I had never heard of or seen before) that I named Stormy. She is light gray with a cream brindled coat. She is truly pastel, no black, orange, or red. And she is sassy! I have a 6-year old chonky black & white female Tux (Squeaky) who is slowly learning to tolerate them. My 16-year old black male just passed away and I am devastated, but he lived a good, long, spoiled life. Love all my cat babies!
I have a dilute tortie, she just showed up and insisted she lived here lol. I am curious as to what breed she is as she is large like 15 lbs and is not over weight, but she eats like a horse. She has a thin muzzle with pale yellow/gold eyes. I have never seen a female cat this large before. Does anyone have an idea on what breed she could be ?
I also have a Dilute Tortie that I just after she was weaned. She’s 31/yrs old now. She will come into y kitchen to what I’m fixing for d set down to Eat. She’s up on thei dinner table. When I’m eating she’ll wait for about a minute or to. If I don’t give her some of what I’m eating she’ll head butt me on my arm. She will not stop until I give her some of what I’m eating. She likes spicy chic beef, turkey salmon, duck, quail. She’s very lovable but also very stubborn, hard headed, persistent, and doesn’t know what the word quit is. But I wouldn’t have her any other way.
I just found 5 kittens that I ended up bottle feeding and finding homes for them besides two we kept. About the same time I seen another kitten ittle bit older around 6 months old outside our home. so I left some food out for this kitten to find out she had a twin sister and a calico sister as well . During feeding them I would sit close by . I did this 3 times and then got closer and ended up touching one of the twin dilute Tortie. The o her two sisters would run away . The next time I put food out I got one of the twins to come in my garage and I shut the door . 5 hrs later she let me pick her up . So now im trying to find her a home . She’s a beautiful dilute tortie . Funny thing is I believe they’re sisters to the 5 kittens I had found first . Anyways this wild cat is now one of the most loving I’ve met . She loves to follow me around the garage and be held . Hopefully I can find her a forever home soon . She loves to watch tv and chase the rope. She uses the little box the first day and hasn’t had any accidents .
We were fortunate to have a feral diluted mom (Nadia) her diluted baby (Nina) plus a dark charcoal grey baby (Bear) show up at our home. We trapped, spayed and neutered and have been feeding them to health ever since. Now 2 are allowing us to pet them! We adore them!
I have a Dilute Tortie named Freya that I just figured out that is what she is. She was born here in my bedroom by a short-haired domestic Black haired mom and an orange Dad who are both my babies as well. She was a lone survivor. She was born into a litter of 3 and one of them had passed before I even saw them and another passed away a few days later. She was premature and I fought to keep her healthy and happy. Now she is 4 months old and is a beautiful full of life little baby. She absolutely has a unique attitude. I have had a house full of cats my whole life and none have ever been as loving and also naughty. She is so intense with my feelings its crazy. She knows what she wants and how to get it. Also she is the first cat I’ve ever had or known who refuses to eat catfood.. shes too good for it apparently. Lol so I have her on a special diet from Darwins i think it is called. Anyways thanks for hearing about my babes. I wish I could post a pic.
Hi Joyce, Freya sounds lovely and great fun! If you would like to email a picture of her to [email protected], with your permission, we can include her image in this article 🙂
I adopted a pastel Tortie 2 years ago at PetSmart. She was 3 years old and looked like she was a kitty still. She is now healthy and still small but filled in.. ha! She has a lot of purrsonality! Very vocal about her needs. But not annoying. She hums more and does not purr. (Like mimics a bird) She is very a diva and we love her!
Love my diluted blue and peach tortie
I have a diluted tortie, I named her Sky, because of her colors, she is so smart and beautiful she loves to play, hide and seek, plays dead when I go bang bang and holds her head, can be feisty
We have a beautiful long haired dilute tortie. She came to us in the middle of winter as a stray. Looked like she was starving. We took her in. Cleaned her up and fed her. Took her to the vet. He guessed she was about a year old. Couldn’t find a chip on her. We’ve had her about 10 years now. She is beautiful, especially with that long fur. Definitely has attitude. Great mouser. A bit independent, and definitely a one owner cat, and a real talker.
I have 2 dilute torties, sisters, Rose and Milkmouth. Milkmouth,so named for the white around her mouth, is a sweet cat and her sister Rose is very standoffish. I also have 3 regular torties, Pooping Kitty, Ember and No-me. They’re all sweet cats and I’m glad that they made their home with me.
My cat, Rowan, is a dilute tortie I adopted from a local shelter 7 years ago. She is beautiful, feisty, likes her own way, growls and runs towards the door when the bell rings, likes dogs and hates my other (deaf mackerel tabby) cat, always wants to be on me, lacerates me when she decides to get up, NEVER SHUTS UP, breaks out in crazy-cat once a day, would kill everything in sight if I let her out, and keeps the small of my back warm every night. Except for the hassle from the tortie and tabby not getting along, it’s very nice that Rowan has deigned to grace us with her royal presence.
We have a dilute torti, the first I have ever had. I named her Star. She is tiny, feisty and VERY independent! She just appeared in our yard one day and decided she was staying and that was that. Her size is no match for her attitude, as we have two tuxedo girls who are twice as big as her. She has proven to them, my husband and myself that she can look after herself quite well thank you very much. She has yet to pick either of us as her person, but I am sure she will. She seems to like my youngest tuxie cat Pepper, but butts heads with my older tuxie. They both think they should be boss. I kind of think she is going to be boss lady of the house if she has anything to do with it! It is proving to be very interesting having her around.
Came here to see if it was a real thing beause I have one. Her sister is a Dark, long-haired tortie with a chimera face and chest.
I literally just found out that one of our two new kitties are a Dilute Tortie..I just thought she was like a “grey” tortie. I had a black tortie for almost 12 years, until she passed away in 2019. Now we have two new babies…brother(Russian Blue) and sister(Dilute Tortie)
Our first cat is a rescue that found her way into the system when her “Mom” passed away and the family couldn’t accommodate her. She picked us because of her lovely personality and remarkable coloring. Two years in, she has completely adapted us and two rescued puggles into her mellow world. Good to know that she is a dilute tortie because we’ve gotten all sorts of odd descriptions of her. There is something zen-like about her composure and soft personality. She comes when called, sits up for treats like the dogs and never looses her catness. She’s such a gift. Probably never meet her equal.
We rescued a lost kitten under our car one night. We looked for the mom for days. There were no signs so we ended up keeping this sweet gray haired and white belly kitty. As her nutrition increased her coloring developed into patches of brownish red and gray. She is either a diluted calico or tortoiseshell. It’s hard to tell. Her belly isn’t quite white more cream so I’m not sure. Either way she is unique and beautiful. She is short haired and very silky. She definitely has a cattitude. Lol. If you pick her up she will whine no until you put her down. She likes to nip more than we like and has no qualms abt slapping with her claws if we bug her. She will also wrap her legs around our feet and snuggle up for naps so cuddling is in her terms!
We been feeding a stray for over a month. Black young female with two white spots. When it became apparent she was pregnant. We thought with how friendly she was she had to have a home. We been asking around and no one claimed her nor would they take her. Two days after we took her in finally she gave birth. Baby number 6 is a diluted tortie. I’m here because I was curious if the kitten was a certain type and what she would be. Kitten one was all black with a brown stripe on face and white chin. Kittens two and three are identical to mom. Kitten four is a regular tortie. Kitten five is black with a tortie face. Kitten 6 is the diluted tortie. Mostly gray with a white and tan face. I’m a grandma! Baby 6 was my favorite for sure and I think mama (Jupiter) and one kitten (#6) will stay with us.
I have a beautiful long hair dilute torbie girl named Gracie. Gracie is SO SMART and she’s a very good gorl but sometimes she’s just a little bit of a nortie tortie too. But she’s so affectionate and she’s so beautiful I wouldn’t care anyway.
Her behavior makes it obvious that she understands what we are saying. I found her in the animal shelter while looking for my precious Persian mix Maggie, who I never found, and still mourn, but Gracie came up to the fence and looked right at me and clearly communicated to me that I needed to take her home. I can’t imagine why she was an owner surrender, at about 9 months old she was still a darling kitten, but their loss was my gain. I am now a devoted dilute tortie fan.
We had a Tortie inherited from my mother 4 years ago when mom was placed in a nursing home she went from a small apartment to 2000 sq foot two story. She was 11 years old first week she ran up and down the steps….she got into a routine of sleeping all morning and going on patrol in the house after mid-night…..in the evening she watch TV with me for an hour before bedtime in the master then leave….unfortunately at 15, a week ago she passed from kidney failure…..she was a great cat great personality….
I have a dilute MALE tortoiseshell. I found the poor guy at work. He was about 4 weeks old and extremely malnourished. He rode around with me in the work truck under my shirt. The ladies from the cafeteria boiled him some chicken until I could go home to take care of him.
He’s a fisty little fighter that’s running my house with 4 other cats and five 75lb+dogs. He’s living his dream
I adopted a 3 year old Dilute T ortie Domestic Cat at a rescue organization last week and I can honestly say I have never had a cat so friendly and loving in my life. I have had Tabbys before for many years but I’ve never own a cat so loving ever!
I didn’t plan on adopting a Dilute Tortie in fact I was planning on adopting just a regular Tabby. But when I met this beautiful, loving and affectionate I knew that this was the one I was going to adopt…..and she has been a pure joy to have. I named her Titan for two reasons, because of her gorgeous blueish color and the fact that I’m a big Tennessee Titans fan. I wish there was a way I could post her pictures.
My cat is Gray and peach Colored Mostly Gray but has peach throughout She’s a real characterShe’s a real sweetheart when she wants to be. I love her color founder in my yard as a baby kitten Decided to keep her.
My female tuxedo I rescued just had 6 tortoise kittens. Two are dilute torties. I can’t imagine they are all female so this is pretty amazing. The markings are gorgeous. Dad was a male tabby we rescued who is now fixed. She will be fixed once the babies ween.
Finally found my cats breed, the vet said she was a silver bengal but looking at images I’m certain she’s a dilute tortieand tabby mix, her colouring is exactly the same, although they say male dilute torties are rare, her father was the exact same as her.
The tortie-tabby mix is also known as a “torbie.” I picked up mine 8 years ago on I-95, where someone had tossed her out of a car into a traffic jam. She definitely has tortitude.
We have a shorthair dilute tortie who just had 3 kittens. One gray, one orange, one white. Guess she decided they all needed to have their own individual color.
Spirit is my diluted tortie. She is the most loving, fearless, and wonderful kitty ever. She’s only 6 months old, so there will be many cute @tories to come.
A year ago we adopted siblings from a shelter & they’re still inseparable. The girl looks like a dilute tortie & the boy a flame point Siamese. Wondering what the mother’s breed or coloring would’ve been. She’s a soft gray with pale orange & he’s white with orange markings. She doesn’t look Siamese. He has beautiful blue eyes and she has green. She’s definitely the dominant one!
My dilute tortie is one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever had. Her name is Cocoa & she loves attention and pets and is super playful. She also likes to harass my old man cat and chase him all over the house. (Half the time he starts it, so don’t worry…) She has none of the attitude like my previous (standard) tortie had.
Our girl Sunshine is a dilute tortie stray, now about 10 months old. She is a longhair cutie found on a cloudy rainy day crying desperately & curled up on our porch. She is our sunshine on a cloudy day 🥰
She was only about 8 to 12 weeks old and very ill with upper respiratory, ear & eye infections, and ear mites. Doc said the abrasions on her face & head were like what he sees in kittens tossed from cars! 🥺
In spite of immediate vet care she is permanently deaf in one ear and has a mild permanent tilt to her head due to inner ear damage causing balance issues. This makes her adorably klutzy and she always looks like a chronically curious cat because of the mild head tilt. She runs like the dickens, ricocheting off the side of furniture, defying gravity like Neo in The Matrix. She regularly goes too fast, skidding into doorways as she beats a path to the food dish ahead of our 2 yr old snowshoe siamese. She’ won’t let you hold her more than a few seconds if you pick her up. She’s the complete opposite of Rocket, who rockets onto our laps and even onto our shoulders for a ride around the house.
She has quite the tortitude, choosing to sleep several feet away, She does adore brief neck-scratching sessions but quickly nips & moves off on a whim. She does not understand mutual grooming and usually bites at Rocket if he offers more than a few seconds of face washing.
She is starting to come around by cuddling for a bit, but only in the a.m., never the rest of the day! It’s all on her terms or the highway!🤣
So, she is a weird one but we adore her and love her unique flavor of catness. LOL
My wife’s employee’s Chihuahua found a Dilute Tortie under the car. She boxed the kitty and brought her to work, intending to bring her to the shelter at lunch. My wife contacted me and I said, “BRING IT HOME!” I did not want this little kitty to be euthanized. So…we were blessed with a Dilute Tortoiseshell by serendipity. We named her Harley Bleu (I ride a Harley and we “thought” she was a Russian Blue. The vet identified her as a Dilute Tortie. She immediately took to us as her family. She is very active, bold with the dogs, and loves her entire family very much. She cuddles with all of us. She enjoys her cat tree and sleeps at the upper levels. In the middle of the night, she will come down off the tree and get into bed and cuddle with us. We love her more than we can express.
I have a 7 year old dilute tortie. I got her from PAWS last Spring. Her namei is Nutmeg, the name she came with and it somehow is just right for her, as she is very spicy, independent and oozes “tortitude”. She is an American Short hair with beautiful brownish/black, orange coloring with a white bib, tummy and paws. I love her to the moon and back.
Having lost my beautiful black, long haired, Anna Sophia to cancer in the Fall of 2021, by the following Spring, I decided to look for a new kitty. Nutmeg arrived at PAWS on a Monday, was cleared for adoption on Tuesday morning and I adopted her that afternoon. It as just meant to be and I am glad to have made her my “furbaby”
My sweet girl, Cora, is a dilute Torti. She also has a bobtail and hops like a bunny I Gotter the day I lost my cat in a house fire. She was all gray and her mother was gray, so I thought she was going to be a gray cat, she developed the Torti coloring and I had to look it up to find out what was going on. She loves to lick me and loves to be petted. She’s a great companion.
Going on 2 years ago I was looking to adopt a rescue (both of my prior companions had passed). I knew from experience that it is best to go with a cat that chooses it’s own human. After several weeks of visits to the Anti-Cruelty Society shelter, it was clear within seconds when one particular cat had chosen me. The only “issue” I had was that she looked like no cat I had ever before seen: when laying on the floor she looked like a pile of dirty rags! But I knew she had chosen me, so I brought her home with me that day. After researching, I found out how rare her coat must be. She’s a short-hair dilute tortoiseshell tabby mix (torbie) with a combination of brindle and patched (bratched?) markings. So, I call her my dilute bratched torbie, which is a real mouthful to say out loud but is easier to say than dilute brindle patched tortoiseshell tabby mix. She has none of the reported tortitude, but is definitely not shy about vocalizing her thoughts and feelings.
I have a male dilute tortie.. long haired, fluffy tail, gray mostly with peach throughout, hes just that, a peach, he is our Gibson and sweet as can be!!
I rescued a pregnant stray that had 4 kittens. The only female is a chimera tortoiseshell and we kept her, Umbree (we named them all after Eevee evolutions from Pokemon). She DEFINITELY has tortitude!! She is also very protective over me and only likes me. She will attack our legs as we walk by, hide just to strike, and more, but she is also SO sweet and we cuddle under the blanket every night. But another stray found us last week. She looks exactly like our cat but gray instead of black. They both have the same orange and cream markings on half of their face and bodies, but the new gray cat, Gracie, doesn’t have as big of an attitude, but she also was spoiled like our cat Umbree. She was starving, skin and bones, when she found us and we loved and fed her back to health.
Introducing them to each other has been a process though. I’ve search tips and tricks on how to do it and I think I found some good ones today, but Gracie has never used a litter box and won’t try so we haven’t been able to bring her in the house. FOR NOW she is in our garage and outside.
I don’t know why I kept rambling on… I was just writing this to say both in one way or another they both found us and one has a bigger tortitude than the other, but that may change when Gracie gets to live inside and gets comfortable enough to show her whole personality and not just the loving gratitude because we saved her.
I have been caring for a stray dilute Tortie cat for well over 10 years. The ear was clipped so I knew he/she was likely ferrel and had been neutered or spayed. I used to spy the kitty on my roof normally in the morning and at night so I decided to call him Fiddler. Fiddler on the roof 😂 my grandchildren always called him or her Roof Kitty we would look for him/ her every day and I had set up my first of many feral cat houses for him or her, respectively. I was always very curious about the coat. I looked, and I was thinking what….is that a Rye coat? For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what kind of coat he was wearing? Well today I looked again because recently the adorable baby came to my door actually because I’ve never been able to get close enough. I just sit outside and I call to Dan and I speak very kindly and sweet. I have automatic feeders that beep before the food comes down so they know when it’s available for five times a day. And now that I have the three feral cat feeding stations, I believe that the three different cats that I feed on a very regular basis. All tend to just go to their own little place so they feel more comfortable
Each Home has the electric feeder, a A warming blanket by the way I live in Las Vegas. So they get hot so they’re in the shade during the summer and in the winter there is a heating blanket in there, nothing with electric cords of course just automatic feeders and waters nearby. Very recently He came to the door he or she and just meowed at me and I thought what on earth?? I am mediately knew there was something wrong with the feeders. They must’ve been out of food or we’re not dispensing properly. Then I started to think …my gosh his teeth are probably falling out at an early age because he’s probably 10, 11,12 maybe 13 years old. I have no idea and I need to start supplying canned food which I really don’t like to do. I don’t like to leave it out there not knowing when he eats exactly , I’m going to call him a he for the sake of this conversation. I don’t have to continue with the he/she thing.
So I started taking out cans of food and he gobbled it up right away. Well, then I went to Phoenix for 10 days and left my daughter with strict instructions and apparently she was putting it into the wrong feral house where I had a longhaired tortoiseshell female whom I’ve been feeling for the past seven years.
It really breaks my heart how people Just feel that they can throw cats away like garbage on moving day. If the cats are frightened and run away Tampa rarely because of all the big boxes etc. etc. Then the time comes that they’re supposed to hit the road. If their fur baby isn’t home yet. It’s oh it’ll be fine. Cats can eat birds, or lizzards it’ll be fine!
At this point in my neighborhood, I make sure that I write down the cat the breed code the address license plate numbers so that if that cat is still here when those people are gone, I can notify the police and at least hopefully they will be charged with something even if it’s a misdemeanor I just want to be a real thorn in their side. But I am so happy that I finally know what my little outside baby is because at this point, I am trying to get a very safe trap so that I can bring him in the last years of his life to my home because he has now approached my door. So I am praying that he has become more needy. I haven’t seen him now though in over a week but I normally don’t so I’m hoping that I can put the trap back there that he won’t become so frame day I’ll have a heart attack or anything and I want to bring him in hopefully get him some immunizations from my Vet. I want to give him a comfortable life with my other three cats because they’ve all been kind of friends in the backyard for all these years . I will let you know and send pictures if I ever get him inside. I have a short video I don’t know if I can attach it or not.
My best friend is a dilited tortie! And she definitely has tortiatude!
I have a 7 week old diluted calico. She only has slight colors that tell you she’s a calico. I’ve never seen a calico like her because she would have a full Blue Russian coat. Her very few calico colors have just become more noticeable in the last two weeks. She is a very rare color in my area so it’s been a pleasure to have fostered her. Now though she’s looking for a fur ever home and it’s hard to explain how rare she is. I am hopefully this beautiful baby girl will be appreciated for her uniqueness in the world of hopeful fur baby fur ever homes.