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catwoods
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« Reply #15 on: July 20, 2008, 10:29:36 PM » |
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Just to add to the reports of what combinations of kitten coat colors calico moms can have,
My mother found a dilute calico/tortie with very clearly defined color patches and lots of white, on the streets with five kittens. She was reported to have been abandoned by students many years earlier. She got an occasional handout by various neighbors. We took over and brought her inside, vet helped place kittens, my Mom kept one, and the kitty mom, Callie. She had: two dilute calico/torties, female, like herself but with lots more white; one silver gray tabby female with a dark patch on its nose; one solid silver gray male, the one Mom kept, and one solid silver gray male tux with white paws and vest.
Several years later two adult cats showed up that the neighbors reported were from Callie's first litter on the streets, before the one we had found. One was a very un-dilute calico with white, very intense orange and dark black sharply defined markings, gorgeous cat, and another beauty, a very light solid orange, or rather cream, male who looked like walking moonlight. Mom was going to take them both in (they had grown up completely feral) and unfortunately as so often happens with street cats, the male vanished before we could get them inside. But she did manage to get the calico, daughter of her other calico.
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Mandycat
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« Reply #16 on: July 20, 2008, 11:22:23 PM » |
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catwoods, What a great story! They sound like beautiful cats! How good of your mom to take them in and find homes for those she couldn't. "The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree."  |
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catwoods
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« Reply #17 on: July 21, 2008, 12:23:38 AM » |
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Thanks, Mandycat. I look forward to photos of your kitty when you start using that digital camera!
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JustMe
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« Reply #18 on: July 21, 2008, 04:30:36 AM » |
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One was a very un-dilute calico with white, very intense orange and dark black sharply defined markings, gorgeous cat, and another beauty, a very light solid orange, or rather cream, male who looked like walking moonlight. Mom was going to take them both in (they had grown up completely feral) and unfortunately as so often happens with street cats, the male vanished before we could get them inside. But she did manage to get the calico, daughter of her other calico.
What a beautiful description, "like walking moonlight"! You have a lovely way with words, Catwoods! |
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Never forget our cats and dogs and the Pet Food Recalls of 2007; the reason most of us are here!
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catwoods
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« Reply #19 on: July 21, 2008, 12:21:05 PM » |
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Thank you, JustMe. (need blushing emoticon) Looks like Catmom5 can expect almost any combination of the marvelous cat colors and patterns when Sassy's kittens arrive. |
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« Last Edit: July 21, 2008, 12:27:36 PM by catwoods »
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catbird
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« Reply #20 on: July 21, 2008, 03:04:54 PM » |
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Not exactly a tortie question, but catwood's eloquent description of the cat who looked like "walking moonlight" made me think of it. I've wondered for some time if there is a word for a particular characteristic of Cameo's coloring. She has very, very light tips on the hairs in some areas, particularly her head and legs, that make her appear to glow in certain lights.  I don't know if this will show up on everyone's monitor or not. This picture may at first appear to be overexposed, but it isn't. But it shows the "glow", which is very noticeable in person. Trudy or some of the other cat show people, is there a term for the "glow"? She is the only cat I have ever seen who has this. Total strangers have commented on it. edit--this picture was taken in strong natural light through a window, no flash. When the light is very directional, that is when the glow seems to show up. |
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« Last Edit: July 22, 2008, 08:37:14 AM by catbird »
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JustMe
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« Reply #21 on: July 21, 2008, 03:14:46 PM » |
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It almost looks like a shimmer. Halo?
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Never forget our cats and dogs and the Pet Food Recalls of 2007; the reason most of us are here!
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JustMe
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« Reply #22 on: July 21, 2008, 03:36:59 PM » |
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However, it seems to be pretty common for people to call them torties or calicos as if it were the breed, even if they don't actually mean it that way. No one says I have an "orange" or a "black" or a "white" in the same way.
They are just very special so they have their own name.  JustMe, the cat on the label you linked is definitely a torbie. If yours has orange among the striped areas like that one, she is a torbie too. My cat next to the can.  |
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Never forget our cats and dogs and the Pet Food Recalls of 2007; the reason most of us are here!
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catmom5
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« Reply #23 on: July 21, 2008, 03:54:34 PM » |
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Jess, who is buff and white, has some of those spots, too, but I've never noticed that he glows. If I could get my act together I could get some more photos up.
cm5
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catwoods
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« Reply #24 on: July 21, 2008, 04:20:45 PM » |
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I can definitely see the glow, Catbird. I don't know if there's a name for it but it's gorgeous; Cameo is gorgeous.
Smokey is also gorgeous, JustMe! And she has that intense look. The brown tabby markings are always so beautifully blended. And I love the reddish noses they have!
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Mandycat
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« Reply #25 on: July 21, 2008, 05:05:53 PM » |
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catbird -
Cameo really is beautiful! I've never really seen a cat that color. Her name fits her perfectly!
JustMe -
Wow, if anyone didn't know better they would swear that Smokey posed for that can! Almost a perfect match! She is quite a beauty. Love the crossed paws pose.
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catbird
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« Reply #26 on: July 21, 2008, 05:30:13 PM » |
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JustMe, it's obvious that Smokey is sneaking out at night to do modeling jobs. While the others go to the Jellicle Ball, or work on their spacecraft, Smokey is out working hard! (Make sure she gives you part of her paycheck.  ) |
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catwoods
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« Reply #27 on: July 21, 2008, 06:07:59 PM » |
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MaineMom
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« Reply #28 on: July 21, 2008, 10:37:31 PM » |
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Pretty Boy Floid, born in 1996, was the first exception I met to the tortie/calico rules - a triple genetic anomaly - who fathered at least 30 kittens at Solkatz in Bremerton WA. He was a big mellow Maine with both dilute and dominate colors. He was "interviewed" at UC Davis to try and solve the "chimera." Google tortie toms or solekatz floid for pics and more info on the genetic twists.
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petslave
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« Reply #29 on: July 21, 2008, 10:53:17 PM » |
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Wow, MaineMom, that's interesting that tortie Floid was able to father kittens! What was the color range in the litters?
Another non-tortie side topic - most orange cats are male. The first kitty I took in when I moved out on my own was a girl orange tabby with no white. I was told she was kind of rare in the cat world. She was a little more buff color & toned down than a lot of the orange boys I've seen. Not quite as buff as Cameo, catbird, but this makes me wonder if the girls tend to be more pale (dilute?) than the boys. I don't know the genetics behind this, but I don't think there is a sterile factor in this case.
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