Brown Mackerel Torbie
The description “torbie cat” is on first reading it a bit perplexing. It is in fact an amalgam of tabby cat and tortoiseshell cat. You have to try and visualise what such a hybrid would look like.
A torbie cat is sometimes called a “patched tabby” for obvious reasons. The cat is a tortoiseshell cat turned tabby cat. The introduction of the agouti gene is what does it.
A tortoiseshell cat has both eumelanin pigment and phaeomelanin pigmentation.
Both the patches of solid pigment called “eumelanin” and phaeomelanin become tabby.
The test is to look at the eumelanistic areas for a tabby appearance.
Torbie cats should have spotted bellies apparently. If there are no spots the cat may be a tortie (tortoiseshell).
It is a little confusing actually unless you are in the cat fancy. Sometimes pointing is torbie pointing. It looks very fragmented and for me not attractive.
Torbie cats can be silvered or non-silvered, golden, chinchilla or shaded silver/golden. And you can have torbie and white of course. It gets complicated.
See more: Cat Coats Torbie
