A male tortoiseshell cat is very rare, as over 99.96% of tortoiseshell cats are female.
Cats are the same as humans in that two X chromosomes make for a female cat and a male cat will have one X and one Y chromosome.
The reason that male tortoiseshell cats are so rare is that two X chromosomes are needed to produce the beautiful range of red, black, orange, white and autumnal colours that are found in the coat of a ‘tortie’.
Although this means that it is almost impossible for a male cat to inherit the tortoiseshell colours, very occasionally a male tortoiseshell is born if the cat has an extra strand of DNA and has an extra X chromosome.
This means that he will have an imbalance in sex chromosomes, so he is very likely to be sterile – and this is a condition that can also occur in humans (not the tortoiseshell colours, but the extra X chromosome!)
Studies vary from 1 in 1000 to one in several thousand cats being born as a male tortoiseshell cat, and although they are so rare this does not necessarily mean they are very valuable. They will look very similar to other torties, and they cannot pass on the tortoiseshell colours.
There have been various reports in the media over the last few years regarding male torties, including that of a male tortoiseshell kitten that was found on the streets of Colwyn Bay in Wales in October 2019.
You can read the full report on the BBC website, which reports that it didn’t take long for the male tortie to find a home!
We would love to hear from anyone that owns a male tortoiseshell cat or has come across one.
We are sure that they bring the same amount of good fortune, love and fun to a family home as a ‘regular’ female tortie – and it would be great to know if they have the same tortitude as well!
I have unofficially adopted a female tortie stray. She is the sweetest, most loving cat in the world and she has a beautiful daughter who looks and acts just like her. I have hopelessly, shamelessly fallen in love with both of them 🙂
I knew a male Blue Tortie. He was big and really sweet-natured. My friend who belonged to him had a funny story about taking him to a vet and getting corrected repeatedly about referring to HIM! -until the vet looked, and immediately called her assistant and the rest in the office to come see him.
We went to the vets today with our 3 month kitten (Dexter) to find out that he is a rarity. Such a beautiful cat with amazing colours… white, orange, brown, black.
Just realized today when we visited our vet that we have a 18 month old male tortie that we adopted from the humane society last year.
Hi! I have a male tortie
We have make kitten