Calico and Tortoiseshell Maine Coons
What the color is, how it is bred, and what it means for you.
A calico Maine Coon wears three colors: white, black and orange in patches, usually with a lot of white on the chest and legs. If you are looking for calico Maine Coon kittens for sale, you are also likely to meet the tortoiseshell, or tortie, which has the same black and orange but no major white, mixed through the coat in a brindled swirl.
Both patterns come from the way color is carried on the X chromosome, which is why you almost only ever see them on female cats. This page explains what the genetics mean, what the two patterns look like on a long coat, what a male calico means, and what the breed associations say.
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What Is a Calico Maine Coon?
Calico is a cat with a tortoiseshell coat plus white spotting. The patches of black and orange are bold and clearly separated, with white across the underparts and often the legs, chest and face. Dilute calicos exist too, with soft gray and cream patches in place of black and orange.
The Maine Coon coat makes it look different from a short-haired calico. Long fur blends the patch edges and adds a softness to the colors, and the ruff and tail can look like a mix of all three shades at once. In cat associations, the name for a Maine Coon with this pattern is calico, or "dilute calico" for the pale version.
What Is the Difference Between a Calico and a Tortoiseshell Maine Coon?
The difference is white. A tortoiseshell has black and orange (or their dilute versions) mixed together in a brindled pattern, with no large areas of white. A calico has the same colors plus white spotting, and the colors form larger, cleaner patches.
Some cats are called "caliby" or "patched tabby," which means a tortoiseshell with a tabby pattern showing through. In a long coat, tortie tabbies can show stripes inside the orange patches, which gives the cat a warm and complex look. A tortoiseshell is not a pattern but a combination, so each tortie is unlike any other.
Why Are Almost All Calico and Tortie Cats Female?
The gene for orange is carried on the X chromosome. A female has two X chromosomes, and in each body cell one of them is switched off at random while the cat is developing. If one X carries orange and the other carries black, patches of each color appear across the coat. That is the tortoiseshell pattern.
A male normally has one X and one Y, so he can carry only orange or only black, not both. That is why calicos and torties are almost always female. A rare male with an extra X chromosome can be a calico or tortie, but these cats are very uncommon and are often sterile. Reading about orange males on our orange Maine Coon page shows the other side of the same genetics.
Kittens show the pattern from birth, though the edges blur as the coat lengthens and the patches can shift a little.
Can a Calico Maine Coon Be Male?
Very rarely. Roughly one in several thousand calico cats is male, and the cause is usually an extra chromosome in the pattern XXY. These cats are almost always sterile and can have other health problems linked to the extra chromosome.
If anyone offers you a "male calico Maine Coon" as a special or high-value cat, be careful. Real ones are rare and need a genetic test to confirm, and the story is a common sales trick. Most male cats with patches of orange and white are actually orange and white bicolors, which are common and perfectly normal.
How Do Breed Standards Treat Calico and Tortie Maine Coons?
Both CFA and TICA accept tortoiseshell and calico patterns in the Maine Coon, in a range of tabby and solid forms. The main limits are on colors that suggest outcrossing to other breeds: chocolate, lavender and the pointed (Siamese-style) pattern are not accepted. Blue-cream and dilute calico are allowed, since they come from the same dilution gene as blue Maine Coons.
That makes calico and tortie full members of the breed, and they are shown alongside every other color. For a wider view of what is accepted, see the Maine Coon colors overview.
Is It True That Calico Cats Have a Special Personality?
Many owners say calicos and torties are feisty, which is sometimes called "tortitude." There is little scientific support for it. A few small surveys have found that owners rate tortoiseshell cats as a bit more active or sharp-tempered, but the studies rely on what owners report and are not a measure of the cats.
A calico Maine Coon is more likely to reflect its parents and upbringing than its coat. The breed as a whole is known for being sociable and gentle, as described in our Maine Coon personality guide.
How Do I Find a Calico or Tortie Maine Coon Kitten?
Because these patterns are mostly female, kittens are in demand and they are not always available at the time you ask. Rather than waiting for a certain coat, find a breeder you trust and ask how they handle inquiries and homes. Patience is part of getting a good cat from a careful program. A kitten that arrives a few months later, from healthy parents and a calm home, is a better start than a rushed one.
You can browse the current kittens on the available kittens page, read about the process on the contact page, or compare other coats such as the brown tabby. Our page on Maine Coon price explains what to expect when planning for a kitten.
Calico Maine Coon Questions
01Is a tortoiseshell Maine Coon the same as a calico?
Close, but not the same. Both have black and orange, and a calico adds large white patches. A tortie has little or no white and a mixed, brindled coat.
02Are calico Maine Coons rare?
Females are fairly common in the breed, though availability varies from litter to litter. Males are extremely rare and are usually sterile.
03What is a dilute calico Maine Coon?
A calico with the dilution gene, so black becomes blue-gray and orange becomes cream. The patches look soft and pastel instead of bold.
04Do calico Maine Coon kittens change as they grow?
Yes. The patches can spread or blend as the long coat comes in, and white areas sometimes grow. Tabby markings inside the orange may become clearer with age.
05Do calicos get as big as other Maine Coons?
Yes. Size comes from the breed and the individual line, not the coat. Females are generally smaller than males, whatever their color. See Maine Coon size.
Hoping for a Calico Maine Coon?
Tell us what you are looking for and we will let you know when a kitten like that is ready.