#Tortoiseshell tabby cat lifespan Patch#

Gender also affects a tortoiseshell cat’s life expectancy. Outdoor cats face such perils as cars, dogs, and a variety of diseases. There are a variety of factors that can affect a cat’s longevity, however.įor example, cats that are kept indoors live twice as long as cats that roam outside. How long do tortoiseshell cats live?Īs mentioned earlier, tortie cat life expectancy is the same average life expectancy of any cat is around 14 years. Pointed cats such as the Siamese have the usual creamy bodies, but their points are tortoiseshell. Many cat breeds produce tortoiseshell cats.īreeds with tortoiseshell cats include the following: What breeds of cats can be tortoiseshell?Īccording to Leslie Carver, a writer for “ The Nest’s” pet section, the tortoiseshell coloration can occur in both random-bred cats and pedigreed cats. Cats with Klinefelter Syndrome thus often have a reduced life expectancy. They can have a reduction in their bone mineral content, and that increases the chances of their breaking a bone. Cats with Klinefelter Syndrome often have more body fat than other cats, which increases their risk of developing heart disease, joint problems, or diabetes. They can also have behavior problems caused by developmental and cognitive issues. For example, the vast majority are sterile. That extra X chromosome means their fur coloration works like that of a female cat, so they can have black and orange patches rather than being all black or all orange like their brothers.Īccording to Heather M., a writer for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), male calico and tortoiseshell cats have a variety of health problems. Males with the condition have an extra X chromosome, so they are XXY rather than the normal XY. These cats have a condition called Klinefelter Syndrome, which can also occur in humans. Only one cat in 3000 calicos or torties will be a boy. Mary Becker, a veterinarian, and writer, for “ Vet Street” notes that tortoiseshells and calicos can be male – but it’s very rare.

Other genes determine if the cat will also have white blotches and be a calico or have stripes and be a torbie (tortoiseshell tabby).ĭr. The result will be a cat with patches of black and orange fur.

#Tortoiseshell tabby cat lifespan Patch#

Those instructions determine what color a given patch of fur will be. Very early during development, one of the X chromosomes in each cell will become inactive and form a Barr body, and the other X chromosome will provide the cell with instructions on which genes will be expressed. Since male cats have only one X chromosome, they can only inherit a single allele that will make them black or orange.Ī female cat, however, is XX and can inherit both alleles. This gene has two alleles or versions one results in a black coat and the other gives the cat an orange coat. One of the genes that determine coat color is located on the X chromosome.

Girl cats end up with two X chromosomes, while boys receive an X and a Y chromosome. Each cat inherits a single chromosome from each parent. Julianna LeMieux, a writer for the American Council on Science and Health explains the mechanism that results in the birth of a tortoiseshell or calico cat.Ĭats, like humans, have two sex chromosomes, X and Y. Torties and calicos are nearly always female, and the reason has to do with genetics. Is it true that tortoiseshell cats and calicos are always girls? A “torbie” is a tortoiseshell cat that also has the stripes and spots of the tabby. What is a tortoiseshell cat?Īccording to Denise LeBeau, a writer for “ Catster,” the word “tortoiseshell” doesn’t describe a breed but a coat pattern.Ī tortoiseshell cat or “tortie” is one that has a mixture of black and orange fur, and a dilute tortoiseshell has grey and peach fur.Ī tortoiseshell cat that also has white blotches is often called a calico or tricolored cat. If Tillie the Tortoiseshell is 12 years old, for example, she would be considered a senior. Older cats fall into the last two categories. Prime and mature cats are, respectively, young and middle-aged adults. A kitten is a young cat that hasn’t hit puberty yet, while a junior is a feline adolescent. The AAHA also divides a cat’s life into six stages: kitten, junior, prime, mature, senior, and geriatric. So, a three-year-old cat would be comparable to a human of 28, while a 15-year-old cat would be comparable to a human of 76.

They then age four years for every year after.