6 Fun Facts About Orange Tabby Cats
1. The orange tabby cat is not actually its own separate breed of cat.
Whether you call them orange, red, ginger or marmalade tabbies, orange tabby cats are not a specific breed of cat, rather it is referring to their fur color. Orange tabbies can be many different breeds, from Persian and Maine Coon to your standard Domestic Short Hair!
2. Many orange tabbies will develop little black freckles on their nose and mouth area.
Not only do ginger cats come with perfectly kissable pink noses, they may also develop adorable little freckles! These freckles will normally develop around the gums, lips, or nose area and can continue to appear throughout their life. These freckles are caused by a benign genetic called lentigo which increases the number of pigment-producing cells (epidermal melanocytes) around the lips, nose, and eyes and results in those little black freckles. They're like little sprinkles of joy! These freckles are normally harmless, but any change in size or pigmentation should be checked by a veterinarian.
3. They come in 4 beautiful coat types: Classic (swirled), Mackerel (striped), spotted and ticked (agouti).
- Mackerel: Mackerel tabbies are striped and may be tiger-like in appearance, with a classic ‘M’ shape on their forehead!
- Classic: the classic tabby pattern usually consists of a dark swirl or bullseye around your cat's midsection
- Ticked: Most common in breeds like Abyssinian, ticked tabbies can fool you into thinking that solid ginger cats exist - but they don't! Ticked tabbies have an almost speckled pattern with tabby markings on their heads.
- Spotted: Spotted tabbies appear, well, spotted! Their stripes or swirls are broken up and appear as ovals. This marking is most commonly seen in Bengal cat breeds!
4. Most orange tabby cats are males: 80% male, and 20% female - No wonder they are usually mischievous!
Interestingly enough, most orange tabby cats are indeed male! It's all thanks to their genetic makeup. According to Spruce Pets, the gene O codes for orange (referred to as Red in genetics) fur and is carried on the X chromosome. Because females have two X chromosomes, this means that a female orange cat must inherit two orange genes (one from each parent). But a male tabby only needs one O gene, which he gets from his mother.
5. All orange cats are tabby cats, they do not have a solid coat!
Without getting too deep into genetics (it's complicated, folks!), thanks again to their genetic makeup, all orange cats will have tabby markings of some kind. This is because of the agouti gene. The agouti gene determines whether a cat has a tabby pattern or not. However, when the red pigment gene is expressed, the non-agouti gene does not work. So you can't have a non-agouti gene with an orange cat - meaning they will have some type of tabby marking, whether it is classic, mackerel, or ticked.
6. Orange tabby cats get a lot of screen time!
Beyond the famed lasagna-loving Garfield, orange tabby have graced the silver screen - more than you may have realized! There are live-action kitties like Goose (Captain Marvel) Orion (Men in Black) and Jones (Alien), ... wow, there are a lot of orange tabbies in space, aren't there? And don't forget Orangey in Breakfast at Tiffany's. And you can't forget about Puss in Boots, who melted everyone's hearts with iconic big kitty eyes!
Does your orange cat have particular characteristics? Tell us about them! We love to learn more.
My sweet girl passed away a couple of years ago and the age of 15. She was a super chill, super smart long-hair orange Maine Coon tabby. She was born to a short-hair orange tabby that my mom owned. When I first brought her home, she was just a tiny kitten and rode on my left shoulder as I drove the 45 minute trip. I guess this sparked her love for car rides. She would love to go on rides, often standing on my lap to look out the window. When I would stop to get fuel, people would always do a double-take because she would stand with her front paws on the car door, looking out the window like a dog.
She would also greet me when I walked in the door from work and she would see me off at the door every morning. When I had to spend almost a month in the hospital, she would jump up in my partner’s lap so we could FaceTime.
She loved to keep company in the bathroom and one of her favorite games was playing fetch with the plastic milk jug cap rings. She also loved baths in the kitchen sink followed by a brush out under the hairdryer on the kitchen table.
She would also come running when I would whistle for her. Clearly one of the most dog-like cats I have ever owned.
She is missed daily, her ashes on the mantle with her photo. Such a wonderful girl and I hope to see her again across that rainbow bridge.
I am pretty sure our cat,Popcorn, has downs syndrome. His mom is multi color- orange, white black and brown ..and her mom was white with shades of grey calico pattern. Popcorn has a cute furry bump on his nose.. his eyes are farther apart, and we notice he just thinks differently from the others. He is obsessed with the bubbles the automatic water bowl randomly makes when the water fills and he always straddles the arm rests of our furniture with all four legs hanging over the sides. He was the runt of 3 born. weighing 2.4 oz while his sister the largest weighed 4.8 oz
I found I baby yellow tabby in a rat poison box. He was lost looking for mom. Must have been 4 weeks old. Brought him home and took to vet. If one knows why at 2 years , always between 8&10 pm he growls and hisses at his tale. Down right spooky sometimes. I let him out and he comes back around 11pm n he eats n goes to sleep until morning at 530. I wonder if he has an alarm clock. 😆🤔
I rescue a fluffy orange tabby someone dropped in the neighborhood. Tiffany had the sweetest disposition.
My orange tiger is a long hair with big fluffy tail ,he is the sweetest loveable cat,loves to roll over and have belly scratched.he never is mean,always gentle,love him.
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