The Two Thousand Dollar Tortie

Tortitude.

One word to describe the unique personality often displayed by Tortiseshell cats.

“Tortoiseshell cats are believed to have a stronger, fiercely independent personality, strong-willed attitude, and be generally feisty. This means they have a greater inclination to hiss, bite, chase, and scratch humans.”

“ARE TORTOISESHELL CATS RARE?

Tortie cats are relatively rare when compared to other coat patterns. Think about it – how many tortoiseshell cats have you seen in your life? Probably only a handful.

However, what’s even rarer is the male tortoiseshell cat. Only about 1 in every 3000 torties is male, which is amazingly rare – around 0.0003%! There’s an even slimmer chance that they are male and fertile, so odds are, you won’t ever come across one of those in your life.

HOW MUCH ARE TORTOISESHELL CATS WORTH?

“Because of their unique coat and overall rarity, tortoiseshell cats can be a bit pricey. Unless you get lucky and find one at the animal shelter, a tortie will cost you approximately $1000 to $2000.

Also, the more distinct or striking the tortoiseshell color combination is, the more expensive the cat usually is. If the tortie is a male (or the ultra-rare fertile male), they can cost even more. Sorry to say, but the beauty and allure of torties come at a steep price!”