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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Tortoiseshell kitten - please tell me they can be nice!

40 replies

myhouseisfulloflego · 22/06/2018 11:10

After much deliberating we are looking at adopting a tortoiseshell kitten. We are definitely a family of cat lovers, but I have heard that tortoiseshell cats can be a bit aloof and difficult! I'm inclined to think that a cat's personality is more to do with its early experiences than the colour of its fur, but I'm after some reassurance! Has anyone got a friendly, placid tortoiseshell? Or do they really come with so-called 'tortitude'?

Thank you!

OP posts:

Shmithecat · 22/06/2018 11:13

99% of torties are female. Female cats = attitude ime. Although I had one for 17 years and she was awesome. Yes, she had an attitude BUT she was also a total cuddle bunny, on her terms. They seem to take to some people and not to others. They're not sluts. They're fairly aloof with those they don't like, they choose who they like very carefully and then bombard you with love.

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 22/06/2018 11:25

We've had two torties and they were both lovely. One was friendly and liked cuddles, the other is the cuddliest lump of fluff you could ever hope to encounter and loves her hoomans to the point of losing control of her saliva glands all over us regularly.

KellyBailey · 22/06/2018 11:29

My tortie girl is a little fucker but I love her anyway. Even if she's a bit overfond of using her fangs on people and trying to destroy every possession I have.

BPenelope96 · 22/06/2018 11:34

We had a rescue one when I was younger, hated everyone in the family except myself. I was 6/7 so used to manhandle her a lot but she was very patient with me despite aggression to everyone else. We then got a dog, she lived on the fence for a week and refused to come inside. Eventually, when she did, she was nice! As if by magic she turned into the calmest most loving cat ever... until the day we had to have her put down sadly. She tried to kill the vet. I was very proud of my naughty tortie

thereinmadnesslies · 22/06/2018 11:37

We have three torties (all at the same time haha). Their personalities completely vary, like any of colour of cat. One is quiet and spends most of the day asleep on the windowsill and sleeps on my pillow at night. I’ve never heard her hiss once. The second is whingey and miaows for attention, but tries to sleep on me and dribbles with excitement when she gets cuddles. The third is more of a proper tortie and everything is on her terms. Most evenings she sits on my lap while I watch tv, but she also loves sitting up high and trying to swipe people as they walk past. I wouldn’t describe any of them as aloof, just that the third cat does things on her own terms and uses cuddles as a means of controlling her humans 😂

grumpymummy72 · 22/06/2018 11:42

I have a naughty tortie that was the talk of the vets network when younger but has mellowed (a bit). Devoted to my DH who wasn't a cat person, and not the person who feeds her. But everything is still totally on her terms, she will never be a lap cat.

tiredmama1 · 22/06/2018 11:43

My rescue tortie is lovely! Likes her own space and to roam free outside, but also loves a fuss and to curl up next to you. Never naughty and never scratched or bitten.

PineappleExpress · 22/06/2018 11:45

My tortie is lush. She's really affectionate (currently curled up on my lap purring after a big cuddle), loves my two crazy energetic dogs (even the one who tries to eat her head all the time), and loves to come and see visitors.
The only times she's ever hissed are when I first brought her home and the dogs scared her, or when the head chewer dog gets a bit over excited and squashes her

PineappleExpress · 22/06/2018 11:50

She's also very popular at the vets. When I got her spayed they had to move our appointment to much later in the day, due to an emergency, but rang and asked if they could just keep her there instead of me picking her up and dropping her back, because they were so in love and she was having a great time roaming around

Original poster

myhouseisfulloflego · 22/06/2018 12:03

Thank you!

So basically their behaviour is within the range of all other cats, regardless of their fur colour? I don't have a problem with a cat with personality, I just want it to be friendly! Our previous cat was very affectionate, but also quite vocal and demanding when he decided he wanted attention, so we're used to that.

OP posts:

Guiltypleasures001 · 22/06/2018 14:03

Mines an out and out killer, she likes rabbits, she likes them so much she brings them home.

She won't sit on your lap, but she will come to you for affection on her terms, she obviously loves us, her fave human is ds who can pick her up for a cuddle and she's all silly and soppy.

With me or dh she wriggles to get down, she doesn't bite or scratch, but she has to be out, she's very independent.

Been with us for a year and was a rescue

BarbaraOcumbungles · 22/06/2018 14:05

My tortie is evil but amazing and funny and she has a wicked sense of humour! She’s more like a dog than a cat tbh but sometimes she can be a complete bitch!

I love her to bits ❤️

TwoBlueShoes · 22/06/2018 14:06

Gosh, my tortie is so sweet. She would live on my lap if she could.

WhoKnowsWhereTheW1neGoes · 22/06/2018 14:13

Mine is aloof, but she is the gentlest cat you could imagine. She doesn't climb onto laps unless you put a cushion on your lap but if you pick her up she is very happy to be cuddled, brushed and stroked. She has never scratched, snarled at or tried to bit any of us. Sha also walks away rather than fight with neighbours cats, but will take a swipe at her non-tortie sister every now and then.

Sunshine49 · 22/06/2018 14:46

I have a female tortie (rescue cat) who is 1.5 years old and like WhoKnowsWhere's cat, she has an incredibly gentle temperament. She's absolutely gorgeous lookswise and as good as gold. She totally goes against the "naughty tortie" stereotype! She is fun as well though - she loves chasing her toy mice around the house and playing with bits of ribbon.

She does like her own space and isn't a lap cat (unlike my ginger boy!) but I think that's more to do with the fact she was feral from 0-6 months and had no contact with humans, rather than her colour.

I never thought of getting a tortie till we brought our girl home, but now I'd say it's probably my favourite cat colour. It seems quite unusual as well - I don't see many around.

viccat · 22/06/2018 20:21

I've met a lot of torties at the cat charity where I volunteer and would agree they are all individuals with different personalities - from the very cuddly to the aloof.

I have two tortie & white girls at home. My senior can be a grumpy girl but also loves sleeping on my lap or next to me in bed. My younger is quite timid due to her background but loves a fuss and is very sweet, she only hisses and puffs up her tail at the vet's!

GrumbleBumble · 22/06/2018 20:35

I was adopted by an over affectionate (to me) but case of a Tortie. My parents moved while I was in my final year at uni. the house that back onto a farm. They had two cats and a very very old dog. They had been there a few weeks when I first visited. My first day home a loud Tortie came in through the open back door walk past the dog and both cats and settled on my bed. She slept there every night for the two weeks I was home screaming and yowling to be let in (and flicking metaphorical v at the family cats and the dog). The day I went back to uni she vannished - until the next holiday when the pattern was repeated. I finished uni and movwd back home for a couple of years and she slept with me every night. She was a lazy baggage and used to mutter at me when my alarm went of in the morning. Of I was away she wasn't seen. After a few years I got my own place but wasn't allowed pets. It broke my heart to leave her (nick name the fat shouty cat). And my parents moved shortly after and of course could find her to -kidnap- take. We think she was a farm cat with a ready supply of food but no affection. I miss that crazy girl and her burning desire to be my cat.

LadysFingers · 22/06/2018 20:40

We had one - we called her Delilah!

theoriginalpineappletart · 22/06/2018 20:47

Mine is very bossy and bolshy with her vat brother. She hates all men but is very affectionate to me. She loves grooming my hair for fleas in the morning and flopping down on my knee for cuddles. She has the cutest habit of putting her two front paws round my neck and head bumping me. She is my wee diva.

Wolfiefan · 22/06/2018 20:47

We have two. We call them the Evils.
They torment the dog, bite heads, claw at the carpet if they aren't fed on time and I think they've started to claw the wallpaper!

They can be cuddly and are certainly funny. If you want cuddly, placid lap cat I wouldn't go for a tortie. (I know. It's based on a small sample but I still wouldn't.) The rescue we got ours from often have older torties with attitude up for rehoming. If you want a cat that'll make you laugh then I would!
DH just came downstairs. One cat lying on the study chair. She rolls over to invite a tummy tickle. That's tortie roulette. She might lie back and love it or she may bite him and sink her claws in. It's never boring.

Melaniesunflower · 22/06/2018 20:49

We have two torties , and they couldn't be more different. 1 can be a bit skittish, but will do anything for a tummy rub, but has embraced that old O2 advert about "be more dog". Our other tortie is a typical "cat", huggy when she wants, huffy and hissy when she wants.....

OhMyGodTheyKilledKenny · 22/06/2018 20:50

We had a tortie for about 17 years.

She was mad as a box of frogs with some very strange habits but so loving and affectionate. Miss her loads.

You'll be guaranteed a character that's for sure!

booellesmum · 22/06/2018 20:50

We have 2 who are now 15 years old. They are from the same litter but different personalities. 1 loves to sit on you and be fussed constantly and is friendly with the other 2 cats we have.
Her sister will only sit next to you and hisses at anything that's not human.

bellinisurge · 22/06/2018 20:52

I had a tortie tabby who was a bit skittish but lovely. In our neighbourhood is a lovely natured tortie. Such a sweetheart and quite a sturdy looking girl.

Piggywaspushed · 22/06/2018 20:58

my tortoiseshell is the prettiest most sweet natured and dainty cat you could care to meet. She is friendly even to strangers and sits on their laps. I have never before heard this rumour about them!

She has never hissed or scratched and lets anyone pick her up. it was my previous black cat who scratched a vet's eyeball..

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