Mrs GA says they are Calico, not Torties. She also says no cats, because they will jump on the fireplace mantel and break the carriage clock.
We don't call tortie & white cats "calico" here in the UK. Calico is a type of fabric used for upholstering* chairs...
A tortie is a tortoiseshell. They can be black (your bog standard variety), blue (a dilute of black), chocolate (a different dilute of black), lilac (the dilute of chocolate), cinnamon, fawn (the dilute of cinnamon) or caramel (the result of a modifier gene that turns both blue and lilac to a warm slate grey). Add white to that, and it's just a tortie & white of whatever the colour is.
If the non-ginger bits are tabby as opposed to solid, then it's a tortie tabby - torbie in the US. Again, with or without white. And you have the same range of colours as above. The tabby bits can be classic (swirly pattern), mackerel (tiger stripes), spotted or ticked (like the pattern on a rabbit)
The rule of thumb when it comes to white on a tortoiseshell cat, is that the more white you have (as a result of the white spotting gene), the more "patched" the colours on the cat become. So you get bigger and more distinct areas of colour as opposed to the brindle mingling you get on a tortoiseshell that has no white on them at all.
* my father ran an upholstery workshop. I grew up around fabrics, leather, tools and furniture
P.S. Tell Mrs GA that at least cats don't chew the furniture. Or your shoes
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