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 14 year old white with gray DSH became ill and had to go to kitty heaven in late September of 2017. My 12 year old calico was as sad and lonely as I was without our Einstein. I fought myself over getting another boy right away because I didn’t want it to seem like I was trying to “replace” Ein but my heart was broken and it hurt even worse to see my Girdle look for her brother and cry for him. So I did it. I asked 2 people if they knew of any kittens. I was only told about 2 orange kittens. Different litters; different people. I saw the pic of the 2nd one and I knew he was the one. When I got him, he was 4 weeks old and had been found on the night that Georgia had a tropical storm. The moment I picked him up, he kissed me over and over. So sweet and loving and we just met! It was a transition for sure for Girdie but she has come around and they play all the time. There was a time that I wondered if I made a mistake. I named him Stormy from when he was found. He is probably one of the smartest cats I’ve ever had. I bought him a really nice stroller that he LOVES to ride in. He plays fetch (LOVES balls of any kind) and has the kindest heart. My boss (who will be 70 this yeat) allows me to bring him to work everyday and Stormy loves my boss. Runs to him every morning like he’s not seen him in years. My mother will be 75 this year and he reacts the same way with her. When I had him neutered a couple of weeks ago, the vet was astonished at his size. He’s very big for his age. His tail goes all the way to the moon and moves like a feather when he runs or walks. So regal yet such a baby still of course. After spending time with him, the vet suggested I use him as a therapy cat. She said that his loving personality is what helps people heal. How ironic is that? I got him to help Girdie and myself heal from broken hearts and he did just that. I was always one to be partial to white male cats as pets and never thought about getting an orange tabby but how lucky I feel I am because he’s freaking awesome in everyway. I’ll only love him more the bigger he gets too. I just can’t wait to see how big that will be. I was definitely blessed to be able to become his mommy.
I’ve been a proud parent of 3 different orange (ginger) kitties so far. My first one was Busterpher Jones. At his most portly,he weighed 21 lbs. 3oz. He loved,loved to eat. I could hold him in my arms and dance to the music from the PLAY CATS. Even my vet still talks about " Budaber" and he passed away like 10years ago. He was an exceptional boy. Now I have a set of twins: Chopin and Vivaldi. They are very different than Busterpher. Not near as funny and don’t purr as loud or as much as he Did! But I wouldn’t trade them for the world!?
I would love to say I have an orange tabby cat and he’s just so playful and affectionate toward me and my family and love attention. And he’s going to be 2 years old this year and his name is cheddar and I m so happy he’s in my life I wouldn’t want it no other way I love my cat to death and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.
I recently adopted a 6 month old orange spotted tabby which I named Simba, he is absolutely hilarious and adorable. He just happens to get aggressive, a lot. He will let you pet him when he is asleep or too tired to gnaw your hand or sink his claws into your pressure points. I don’t know if it’s a play fight aggression or just aggression, I also had a random question; do cats have nipples? I know it’s odd but I saw two white dots on his underside. Me and him scare each other constantly throughout the day, I don’t intend to scare him, but I think he plans out new ways to make me scream or nearly have a panic attack. I would be extremely grateful for answers, thank you!! ?♥️
i don’t have a orange tabby but mine is a tiger striped calico tabby her name is charger she is 10 years old and has a bunch of energy i like to say daytona 500 when she runs because you can barely see her when she runs
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