What is Tortitude? | Cat Daddy Dictionary

Tortitude: a term of endearment or a harmful stereotype? And how real is it, anyway? I'll answer these questions and more in the latest edition of Cat Daddy Dictionary!

0:00 What is Tortitude?
2:09 Variations of the Tortie
3:49 Examples of Torties
6:02 Interview with Mikel Delgado PHD
9:30 Helping Your Hyper Tortie
11:39 Holistic Remedies for Torties
12:44 Is Tortitude a Damaging Term?
14:31 Shoutouts

😺MIKEL DELGADO'S WEBSITE
What Your Cat Wants by Mikel Delgado

😺Purrs of Wisdom by Ingrid King

How to get your cats to stop doing... everything you hate

The Natural Way To Play with your Cat: Prey = Play

Products Mentioned in this Video

😺HYPER HELPER

😺STRESS STOPPER

😺SOME MUSIC USED IN THIS VIDEO

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and ring that bell! 🔔

Join this channel to get access to perks:

😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺

🐈‍⬛ Calling all pet parents! 🐈‍⬛
Share your video moments with me...and maybe the world!

😺 My Favorite Cat Products (naturally!) 😺

🐈 Follow Me Here! 🐈

😻 The Jackson Galaxy Project 😻
We make a difference for at-risk animals and the people who care for them. Join us!

#JacksonGalaxy #tortiecat #Advice

[JacksonGalaxy]

Hey all! Don't forget, here is the place to offer up suggestions for new videos, so let me have it!

[juliav.mcclelland]

My roommate met this stray tortie when he was wheelchairing around the neighborhood a few months ago, and she was SUPER affectionate - came right up to him and eagerly let him pet her. He insisted I go meet her, I easily found her, and she was SUPER affectionate with me, too. She had the ear clip, and the guy who fed the strays on that corner confirmed she was a stray, so we adopted her and... now she couldn't care less about us. She's not mean, she's just a loner. She got what she wanted, so she dropped the act. She tricked us good! And we couldn't be happier to be her suckers!

[moonyfruit]

The sweetest, most affectionate cat I've ever had was a family cat, she was a Tortie named (by me as a small child) Freckles. Her face color was very split in the middle. Half orange tabby, half brownie black speckles. If I bent my shoulder to her while she was lounging on the back of the couch, she'd immediately climb on and let me carry her around, purring. She was also very, VERY vocal. You could have a conversation with her any time. She only lived about 10 years because she developed cancer that we caught too late.

We miss you, Freckly. ❤

[steventaylor]

My cat has Tortitude. I’ve never had another cat like her. Feisty, strong willed and very intelligent. She’s basically a one person cat. She likes people but, I am her person.

[Ali-kbgr]

Our tortie is sweet and affectionate. I can't believe people think they're ugly?!?!
I always look at her and try to decide which side of her face is more beautiful. ❤

[flukefantasy]

I've always seen tortitude more as sassiness and boldness than aggression. I've had torties my whole life and they were all sweet, silly, and affectionate. I plan to always have a tortie! (Writing this with a tortie in my lap)

[moniquesustaita]

Personally, I feel like my little girls “tortitude” is her just stating that she will not accept anything less than greatness. Treat her with love, open her windows in the morning, bring her a toy when you’ve gone out shopping. Just a lil high maintenance ❤

[HellaJ]

Found my diluted Tortie being passed over for other litter mates at the pound. The people adopting said she looked “muddy” and “spooky.” 😢 I had always wanted one and snatched her so fast! Five years later she is stretched out on my hip watching this video 😊

[moneepennee]

I'd argue that the stereotyped "tortitude" is exactly why my family and some of my friends have a preference for them. From 30+ years of tortie ownership, I've found that torties tend to be expressive all the way around, it's not just aggression or having a short fuse. They just seem to be wired to be assertive and very expressive about their feelings. While our current tortie definitely is reactive, she's also exceptionally affectionate, very intelligent, and curious. You know exactly where you stand with her at any given time and she has an extremely vivid personality. Now that she's elderly and rather arthritic, she expresses very well when she's feeling achy and it's a relief to be able to know that so we can try to work with it and help her.

[taniajaen]

A tortie adopted me. She entered my home and stayed. She is lovely, affectionate, playful, territorial, and has this crazy femenine energy. Love her so much. Saved my life.

[BunBunBun]

Oooh this video made me smile and chuckle so much! We are the proud butlers of a wonderful and stunning rescue tortie who keeps us in our place and we utterly adore her 🤎🧡🖤🤍 thank you for this celebration of the torties 🐾😻

[littlekitsune]

My previous cat was a tortie and she saved my life more times than I can count. She eventually died of old age and kidney disease and I grieved for years. When I finally felt ready for another therapy cat, I decided no torties, and I wanted a male, because I was worried it would hurt too much. Well, along came Matisse, my current tortie, to win me over, and now I feel I'm just destined for torties, hahaha.

[emilybannon]

Tortitude is definitely a thing! She’s a feisty sassy cat but she’s also very loyal and cuddly with her mom.

[annarichter]

Fun fact - in Germany all tricoloured cats are supposed to bring luck. They are "Glückskatzen" (Lucky Cats). I personally like this way better than tortitude as my cat is a calico

[michellenavarrette]

This is the first I've heard of this. It explains a lot. My tortie, Gabby, cannot have catnip. She gets so aggressive. So, it's forbidden. She is super finicky. So much so, that I have to change up her food very often. She has my heart though and I wouldn't have it any other way. She is a senior cat now. She turns 17 in 2 weeks. I am grateful to have her ❤️

[Justitia_Nomen]

My darling tortie, Cordelia. Just awoke from her nap on my bed, meowed twice and ran over and into my lap as I was typing this. She’s intelligent in her own way, derpy in others. Willful. MY GOSH. She is so willful. My darling Delia

[moochythecat]

My Tortie passed away about 15 years ago... One day when she was walking toward me, I tossed one of her toys about two feet over her head... She jumped in the air and did a backflip to grab it... Fritzy did backflips for everyone who stopped over to the house...

[ufan]

I used to call torties ugly cats until one absolutely stole my heart. Now I think they're the most beautiful. 🥰

[emilyk]

When I first got my tortie everyone warned me about tortitude and I did not believe them because she was such a sweet kitten despite her rough start. They were right. She’s a nightmare. And I love her.

I would describe her as assertive, food motivated, intelligent and clingy. She’s not aloof, aggressive or easily overstimulated - she’s just super annoying 😂

[SophieBird]

Absolutely true about tortitude. My girl Maya, who owned our pup (think teenage girl with 9 year old brother). Before we got her she had been dumped 5 miles from home during a New England winter. Still she found her way home after two weeks. At which point we we happy to acquire her. Definite Tortitude. At 18 years she lost her vision, but seemed unfazed by her new disability. She found her way up the stairs, to her food and water, and still used her cat box. She eventually passed quietly in her sleep. I hope I have her unflappability to life’s ups and downs when I hit that stage of life. She was a real survivor.