How rare are male tortoiseshell cats?

Eddie and Harry male tortoiseshell cats. Harry: Lothian Cat Rescue. Eddie: Masons via Daily Mail

Our dear Sarah Hartwell, Britain’s scientific cat lover, quotes figures of 1 in 1000 to 1 in many thousands with respect to the rareness of the male tortoiseshell cat. She doesn’t have a firm figure and if she doesn’t, there is no firm figure.

However, a Daily Mail reporter in an article about Eddie, a very dark male tortie (see photo), quotes a 1 in 400,000 chance of being born a tortie tom cat. The reporter also states that no more than a couple of these cats are born annually in the UK amongst the 8 million cats in the United Kingdom. Wikipedia quotes a 1 in 3,000 chance.

The well-regarded book on feline genetics: Robinson’s Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians (fourth edition) states that male tortoiseshell cats occur at a very low frequency; one in every 3,000 male births.

Eddie was adopted by a veterinarian, Karen Horne, who says it is genetically impossible for a cat to be born a male tortie. Clearly genetics go wrong sometimes which allows a mistake to occur. Karen says that she and her colleagues have never seen a cat like Eddie in 30 years of practicing veterinary surgery.

Harry, a rescue cat, who was at Lothian Cat Rescue, Scotland, recently (I wonder who adopted him) state that 99.9% of tortoiseshell cats are female. Harry was the first male tortie they had dealt with in their 35 year history.

Sarah Hartwell makes the wise comment that rareness in this instance does not mean valuable. Male torties are almost always sterile and if they aren’t they don’t pass on their coat colour/pattern.

Also, they don’t make good show cats. Rarity does not automatically mean a good show cat and they have to be shown in the “any other color” class. Good show cats have an appearance fitting the breed standard. Eddie and Harry are not part of a cat breed.

This brings me to calico cats – tortoiseshell and white. I presume the degree of rarity of male calicos is the same or similar to that of the tortie. I’ll await being corrected on that!

Some pages on calico cats:

Adopt a ginger harlequin cat if you don’t like domestic cat hunting

This is a fleeting idea but it is based on what I hope is logically deduction. We know that brightly ...
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‘Blue’ is the dilution of a black cat coat

Dilution in cats - chart by Sarah Hartwell

Dilution refers to making a colour lighter as if mixing it with white. When black is made lighter is becomes ...
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‘Ugly’ kitten abandoned by feral cat mom adopted by human

Feral kitten abandoned by a cat but adopted by a human

This story has an elegant symmetry to it. A dilute calico feral kitten was born with a congenital defect. Her ...
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Some cats are ready for a feline friend

Adult cat immediately bonds with newcomer kitten

I believe that some cats who live alone with their owner are ready for a feline friend. They want a ...
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Are calico cats healthy?

The genetics of calico cats are complicated and I don't pretend to fully understand the science. You can read up ...
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Picture of calico Sphynx cat

Calico Sphynx showing the coat through the fuzz

You might have thought that all Sphynx cats were the colour of their skin. After all, all you see is ...
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Comments

How rare are male tortoiseshell cats? — 16 Comments

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Ruth aka Kattaddorra on November 28, 2014 at 7:21 am said:
In all the years I worked for vets and assisted at neuterings I never saw a male torti. But ginger females weren’t as common then as they are nowadays either.
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- Michael Broad on November 28, 2014 at 7:38 am said:
  You have the experience to make a first hand factual contribution to this page. Thanks Ruth. Your experience seems to concur with the ones quoted in the article.
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Rudolph.A.Furtado on November 28, 2014 at 1:57 am said:
Their rarity would be a ticket to fame for its owner if properly marketed and advertised.
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Dee (Florida) on November 27, 2014 at 8:07 pm said:
Every tortie or calico that I’ve ever had the privilege to love has been female. They’re exquisite, often dainty, and dignified. Don’t get me wrong. I love boys too. But, girls are extraordinary.
It would be nice to come across a male tortie or calico sometime; but, I don’t think that I would have any thoughts of whether they were rare or not. I would be more interested as to how their demure might differ from a female.
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- Michael Broad on November 27, 2014 at 9:20 pm said:
  I agree that the rarity is not a big issue really. The vet who adopted Eddie said he behaved like a normal male cat.
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  - Dee (Florida) on November 27, 2014 at 9:55 pm said:
    And, what do we think a normal male behavior really is?
    Do they prance around being macho?
    My males really do act very differently from my delicate girls.
    But, how can we describe it?
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    - Dee (Florida) on November 27, 2014 at 10:09 pm said:
      P.S. Every caretaker should experience the glory of having a girl to love. They are supreme in their ability to reciprocate.
      If someone only experiences boys, they only have one point of view about cats; and, they’ll never know but half of what cats are all about.
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      - Ruth aka Kattaddorra on November 28, 2014 at 7:19 am said:
        We’ve had both male and female cats over the 40 years of the honour of sharing our lives with them and I think it’s down to the cats purr-sonality more than their sex.
        The only difference here where our cats have their freedom, is that our girls have never gone as far from home as our boyz have, they have been/are a bit more adventurous.
        But I’ve found each and every cat equally as loving.
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        Michael Broad on November 28, 2014 at 7:40 am said:
        We should do an article on that. Whether the natural difference in individual cat personality is greater than the personality differences between male and female cats. Also how big an impact is neutering on cat personality?
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        Ruth aka Kattaddorra on November 28, 2014 at 10:38 am said:
        Yes good idea Michael
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- Dale Igo on February 7, 2018 at 8:16 am said:
  I have a male tortie Calico and he is laid-back and very mellow.
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  - Dale Igo on February 7, 2018 at 8:20 am said:
    I have no picture of him right this moment but I can get one tomorrow he’s out at the farm he’s not for sale and again he could be he’s a young cat no older than two and a half years old.
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    - Dale Igo on February 7, 2018 at 8:22 am said:
      Great cat and he has never been neutered I don’t believe in doing that to animals it takes the life out of them.
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  - Michael Broad on February 7, 2018 at 12:10 pm said:
    Great. I envy you. They are impressive cats.
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Dan in Tempe on November 27, 2014 at 6:41 pm said:
Maybe a Facebook page would suit the type of people wanting to gain fame because they have a rare cat. It could lead to mall openings, mugs and t-shirts. That would lead to YouTube and eventually movies of the week on LMN (Lifetime Movie Network) like Grumpy Cat. The truest cat show on earth is Social Media, right?
I have no idea on how rare they are, as long as they are healthy and happy. It does excite me a bit to see them. They are wonders of the universe in a way. The off bit that proves the rule sort of thing. I hope they were adopted by decent humans. A warm lap, good food and maybe a treat now and again and a sisfur or brofur. That’s all any cat needs.
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