tricolour cat

A calico cat is a domestic cat of any breed with a tricolor coat of black-based and red-based pigments with white. Outside of North American English, this coat pattern is called tricolo(u)r or tortoiseshell and white.

Calico is not to be confused with a tortoiseshell, which is a bicolored coat of black-based and red-based pigments, without white markings. The calico cat is most commonly thought of as being 25% to 75% white with large orange and black patches; however, they may have other colors and patterns. Cats with diluted coloration (e.g. blue tortoiseshell and white) have colloquially been called calimanco or clouded tiger. Occasionally, the tricolor calico coloration is combined with a tabby patterning, called tortoiseshell tabby (torbie/y) with white. A calico-patched tabby cat may colloquially be referred to as caliby or tabico.