Few Soldiers Have Looked This Fierce in Feathers. This One Is a Tortoiseshell.

Few soldiers have ever looked this fierce in feathers. A tortoiseshell cat with a mottled coat of black, ginger, and caramel stares out with wide golden eyes beneath a gleaming gilded helmet, crowned by a sweeping cascade of crimson and cream plumes. Her tunic is a dazzling patchwork of green silk, blue velvet, and gold embroidery, with ornate epaulettes, braided cords, and a diagonal blue sash. Every inch of fabric is decorated with vines, flowers, and geometric borders, set against a dark, softly cracked background.

This cavalry officer is almost certainly a lady. Tortoiseshell cats, like calicos, get their patchwork coloring from genes carried on the X chromosome, and because females have two X chromosomes, nearly all tortoiseshells are female. Males do occur but are rare. Tortie owners often joke about 'tortitude,' a supposed sassy, spirited attitude, though personality really comes down to the individual cat. As for the outfit, highly decorated helmets with tall plumes were favored in the Tudor era for tournaments, parades, and ceremonies, when looking magnificent mattered just as much as protection.

With her plumes held high and that unblinking golden stare, this tortie looks entirely ready to lead the charge, or at least to inspect the troops with deep suspicion. Nobody in her regiment would dare to be late for morning drills, and nobody would dare touch her feathers either.