Originally Posted by comyncats

"Tri-colour" is a US expression... we (most of the rest of the world) don't use it, but a tortie can express 3 colours in the coat...let's say black, red and cream. The latter 2 colours can appear to be different so you have 3 colours.... but the so-called cream in dense coloured torties (black, choc) is just a lighter shade of red.

Tortie tabby or ticked occur when you mate a tortie to a tabby, of whichever pattern (classic/botched; spotted; mackeral; ticked) It's a combination of tortie pattern and tabby pattern.

Hope that helps a bit!
Lesley

Originally Posted by Carebear

Hi Lesley,
My brown tabby female- Sire is a brown tabby out of black and brown tabby & white.Dam is a black(sorry I tought mum was a smoke) out of brown tabby and black smoke.

Originally Posted by countess_w

ok... whoa... catalina.. this is really ming boggling... Im still very very new in this breed color thingy and can somebody enlighten me about the difference between calico and tortoishell. I've read in the encyclopedia about cats, it says these two are the same. But when I went to petshops they say otherwise.

Originally Posted by catalina

that explains why Lulu my ticked tortie has a handful of colours... BTW, why her underside is not ticked? the colour there is prettier anyway

Originally Posted by comyncats

Ever looked at the belly of an abyssinian? (The ultimate ticked tabby) No ticking - just straight, glorious colour.
Lesley

Originally Posted by comyncats

"Tri-colour" is a US expression... we (most of the rest of the world) don't use it, but a tortie can express 3 colours in the coat...let's say black, red and cream. The latter 2 colours can appear to be different so you have 3 colours.... but the so-called cream in dense coloured torties (black, choc) is just a lighter shade of red.

Tortie tabby or ticked occur when you mate a tortie to a tabby, of whichever pattern (classic/botched; spotted; mackeral; ticked) It's a combination of tortie pattern and tabby pattern.

Hope that helps a bit!
Lesley