Tortoiseshell Cats

I've been googling information about "Tortoiseshell" cats, since the girl at the pet store said our Macy Mae is a Tortoiseshell. I found out that the word has to do with the coloring, not the breed. (Who knows what "breed" Macy is - American shorthair?) A tortie can be any type of cat, any length of hair, and can even be a white cat with tortie patches. Torties can only be female, with a very rare, and infertile male being born with the coloring. There are also some folklore and superstitions related to the Tortie color:

--The Celts believed that a tortoiseshell cat was good luck in a home. The English believed that torties could remove warts if you rubbed their tail on the wart during the month of May.

--In Scotland and Ireland, a stray tortoiseshell cat settling in one's home is a good omen.

--To dream of a tortoiseshell cat means luck in love.

--In Normandy, seeing a tortoiseshell cat foretold death by accident.

--Edgar Allen Poe was devoted to his tortoiseshell Catarina. She inspired his story "The Black Cat". She sat with his wife during her illness and frequently sat on his shoulder when he wrote."

All I know is, I love my kitten! She is SO cute and cracks me up many times a day. She and Diego (the Rat Terrier) are getting along really well now, after a week of slowly working them together. Macy likes to run up to the dog sideways, with her tail puffed up. Then, she raises up on her back legs and bats her front paws at him. The batting is when Diego tends to shy away. But, he's never growled or raised his lip. He has tried to chase her, but obeys us right away, when we scold him. I still don't completely trust the two alone, and Macy sleeps in her room at night and when we're away from the house. She's just so little, I'm afraid of her getting hurt right now. Anyway, it's so much fun to have a kitten around. Our whole family adores her....