Orange Cats

[This has been reposted here:  Orange Cats | Popular Cats | Facebook Cats with a winnowing of dead links, and a few additions -- including a talking orange cat. See also: Orange Cat Inca[n]tation.]

 

Everyone knows that orange cats rule. Just ask an orange cat. Or a ginger cat, a marmalade cat, a tangerine cat, a red cat.

But there may be some things you don't know about these kingly cats. For example, did you know that most orange cats are male?

Like humans, cats have one pair of sex chromosomes. These are the ones that make them male or female and they play an essential role in determining a cat’s colour. In females, both sex chromosomes are X making girl kitties XX. Males are XY, the Y making them male. A kitten gets one chromosome from Mom and one from Dad. Moms only have X’s so the variable is given by the Dad, if he gives his X, the kitten is a girl, if he gives his Y, it is a boy.

The gene which makes a cat ginger (orange) is located on the X chromosome. The gene for ginger will override all other colours. Since males have only one X, they either are or aren’t ginger - no halfway about it. Girl cats have two X’s in each cell. As far as the cells are concerned two X’s is one too many, so each cell deactivates one of the X chromosomes in a fairly random fashion . . .

Since males only need to have the orange gene on one chromosome to become ginger, and females have to have it on two, ginger males outnumber females 3 to 1.

And, from the same source, the explanation for why we have so many orange and white cats:

. . . Because white isn’t a colour but the absence of colour. The genes that cause the suppression of colour are stronger than the genes for any colour including the mighty orange. Since white isn’t a colour and is merely hiding the genes for colour, white cats often produce coloured kittens.

Friends of Fat Orange Felines believes that orange cats have more than their share of cattitude:

cat ti tude (cat' i-tood')  n. 1. a state of mind or a feeling of superiority, which is highly annoying and endearing, simultaneously.

I've lived with Spike for twelve years now, and I have to agree. Humans owned by ginger cats tend to form support groups, like the Flickr Orange Cats Group, the Catster Orange Cats Club, or the previously mentioned Friends of Fat Orange Felines.

We also seek out badges of our servitude, which several businesses are happy to provide. We can decorate our walls with orange cat artworks from Best-Cat-Art.com; we can purchase orange cat mugs and t-shirts from cafepress (there is even an orange-cat t-shirt for dogs); and we can ornament ourselves with orange cat pins and earrings.

Orange cats are oddly inspirational. In addition to more than enough orange cat photographs (Webshots; Acclaim Images; Flickr) we have a handknitted orange cat coin purse (it's really quite charming); an Exceptionally Cute & Soft, Absolutely Adorable, Unbelievably Cuddly Plush orange cat stuffed toy; and a hybridized Angel's Trumpet cultivar named after: Orange Cat.

If you are owned by an orange cat, or any other cat or critter, you might enjoy:

Friday Ark
I and the Bird
Carnival of the Dogs
Carnival of the Cats - Halloween Edition

Today's kitty animations are all from Lucy Rand. Winter is coming; curl up with your cat for the weekend and stay warm!

Comments

[Mensa B]

Excellent, and very cute.. & great info to know. Now Butterscotch understands the why part of it. ;-)
Meo-o-why-y..

[SB]

Butterscotch!

We should start a collection of orange cat names: Marmalade. Caramel. Red.

[qB]

Dr B's ginger cat is called Jasper. Unfortunately he lives with Dr B's brother and poor poor Dr B hardly ever sees him any more. The used to live together and Jasper owned both of them. He's a very stupid cat, btw.

[Jilly]

that is fascinating. one of our 7 cats is a ginger tabby.

[SB]

But is it a he ginger tabby or a she ginger tabby? What is his/her name?

We want to know!

[PJ]

My orange cat and I thank you for the great information and links.

[Nio]

My childhood cat, Kitty, was a big ol' ginger tomcat--probably Maine Coon as he was about 20 lbs. Matter o' fact, my mother's husband wanted to name him Ginger, but I refused on the grounds that my paternal grandmother's name is Ginger. Kitty can bee seen here

[Janis Keck]

Orange cats are special! I've shared my home with many wonderful cats over the years, but the orange ones that chose to live with us have been memorable! My first one was a stray, "Bobby" - big ol' guy, loved to lay beside me & have me check for fleas. He had urinary issues & he had more than one operation to open up his urinary tract. Had t' wear collar & couldn't clean himself so he cleaned his"dog-sister",our cock-a-poo. Very accomodating. Second orangy was named Frodo. Had him when he was weaned too early, & he was so intellegent! So loving! So great with my new born children. Lived long enough to let them play "dolly" with him. What a champ. Years & years passed & we had many other cats live with us. Two years ago,a very young orange male appeared at our door. He was covered with sand burrs & ticks. We named him Fred & he has been with us ever since. He's ever so the wonderful personality of the other orange cats we've known. Funny, goofy, smart & lovable. Orange cats are truly special. Our family always has something to talk about, 'cause we have Fred. I believe he has many traits of a maine coon (not knowing his linage- but guessing) & he co-exixts with his house brother who has traits of a siamese. He's so laid back! Lovey dovey - but don't hold me. His house-brother will bring in the mice --i.e; do all the work -- and he gets the fun of playing with the "stunned" prey until he poops out or loses interest. He's so fat that we can "see" him thinking twice before he decides to make a jump from one counter to the next. He's not designed for "flight." Poor baby, we laugh our butts off when we see him calculate a jump from one counter to another -- and he falls short! He's so embarrased! BUT! he lets us love him anyway. However, he can open doors, knows the time of day, stays with us when we need comforting & Always is vocal when something is not right in our (his) world. Love our orange cat. In the 30 plus years I've had cats in my home - the "orangies" have been memorable!

[dbe]

I recently adopted a ginger kitten from our local shelter. HER name is Blaze. (Actually, I took the 3 sisters because I just couldn't separate them). Blaze is all ginger, her sister, Lily, is white and orange, and her other sister, Annabelle, is a calico. We call Blaze our "catfish" because not only is she a female ginger cat, but she loves water!. She will empty the water dish by splashing and playing. Another interesting thing about Blaze is that she has a visible goatee!

[Max]

I have a female maine coon named Ginger. I only recently found out that female's are rare. Can you imagine those 3 attributes combined in one tiny cat? She is quite small, but very stocky(not fat at all). She has me quite well trained I must admit. She has made herself the Queen of my castle. If cats could talk, I can imagine this conversation.
'Ginger, I'm talking about you on the internet.'
'Of course you are. Don't stop.'

[Diane]

HI ALL,
MY NEIGHBOR RECENTLY MOVED TO OREGON AND COULD NOT TAKE HIS VERY BEUATIFUL AND OLD BIG ORANGE CAT(BUDDY)HE KIND OF JUST LEFT THE OLD KITTY...AND THAT MADE ME SO SAD I AM NOT A GENUINE CAT LOVER BUT I LOVE ANIMALS OF ALL SORTS( I HAVE ALLERGIES TO CATS)BUT FOR SOME REASON I AM REALLY OKAY WITH THIS BIG KITTY...AND I AM REALLY GETTING TO LIKE HIM...I RAN INTO HIS PREVIOUS OWNER AND ASKED HIM WHAT WAS UP...GUESS THE CAT WAS TOO OLD TO TRAVEL THAT LONG OF A DISTANCE(CA TO OR) AND HE DID NOT HAVE THE FUNDS TO PUT HIM UP AT THE NEARBY SHELTER ANYWAYS HIS ONLY OPTION WAS TO PUT HIM DOWN.. MY KIDDOS LOVE THE CAT AND SO DO I...WHAT AND HOW IS HE BEST WAY TO TAKE CARE OF THIS LITTLE OLD MAN...HE IS 19 YRS OLD IN HUMAN YEARS..I JUST WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY IN HIS LATER YEARS AND LOOKS LIKE HE MIGHT NEED A LITTLE TLC..

[Heather]

I am a big fan of orange cats. I have an orange cat named Bengal. I named him that not only because he reminded me of a tiger but because I am also a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals. Anyway, I also have a black and orange Calico named Cincy and of course she just had kittens and Bengal just so happens to be the daddy. She had 2 orange kittens, 1 boy and 1 girl, along with a grey and white tabby (which is a boy) and another girl that looks like both parents. She is a black and orange calico with white paws and orange stripes on her legs. Her face is half black and half white with an orange stripe running down her nose. :) Even though I love orange cats, Im glad that she had 2 that were different.

[Livia]

I just brought home my orange kitty named Mimosa (Mr Mimi). He is the sweetest kitty ever! He was very good at the vet (shots) and let me wash him w/ out scratching or biting or even complaining. I love my orange kitty!
His mom Pumpkin is also a ginger, although she is brighter than Mimosa. Pumpkin had 4 kitties, 1 orange (mimi), 1 black white orange calico, 1 grey w/ white paws, and one speckeled black grey orange & white.

i tried to post photobucket pics but the site wouldnt let me :(

[Actorgirl]

I was adopted by a little orange tabby female (with white chest and sox) a couple of years ago. She was out on the street (stray or abandoned, I don't know), only about 5 months old. She came up to me, followed me for a block and a half ('til she was scared away by someone else), and when I came out several hours later, she was waiting UNDER my car, just chilling. She jumped up into the car as soon as I opened it and rode the whole way home in my arms. I had NO choice.

She is called 'Secret,' because she HAD a secret-- she was pregnant when she found me, and NO-ONE knew-- not even the VET. She had other medical issues, so it was a couple of months before she could be spayed. The NIGHT before she was to be spayed, I woke up to 'mew, mew, mew' and four little miniature versions of her (all orange, all looking JUST like her!). They found good homes, and she has taken over this house. :) It wasn't until I tried to find homes for the kittens that I was informed that orange tabby females are apparently very rare, and was even asked, "When is she having another litter?" Um, NEVER! As soon as it was possible (after kittens had been weaned), she was spayed. And she's been a lovey little girl! :)

[LizzieUK]

Got an orange cat called... er... Orange Cat. There was just no name big enough to fit him! I've never known a cat with so much character. And mischief. And fat. Putting him on a diet does no good at all- he just takes matters into his own hands. The other day, after a scaled-down ration of Iams Light, he stalked off outside in disgust and came back with a roast potato, which he ate (very pointedly) on the doorstep. I have no idea where he got it from, but judging by the way he was patting it about, I think it was still warm! His coat has these beautiful dark red sparks where it catches the sun, and his feet (all twenty-six toes full) and belly are sort of the colour of cinnamon cake. And then he's got these random blonde stripes that look like they were crayoned on by a six-year-old. I love him. He is trouble, though.

[Kendall]

My girlfriend and I absolutely love orange cats. We own two males. Hobbes who is orange and white and incredibly lazy. Pumpkin who is all orange with a small black spot on his belly (rare to see in males because black is usually a female gene that results in calicos). You would swear he thinks he's a dog, he plays fetch, comes when he is called, and wakes me up by licking my face every morning.

Even more rare though is the kitten we are currently fostering named Marmalade, she is an all orange w/ long hair. Both recessive genes only occur in about 1-100 cats from what I've read. She's absolutely adorable and will be very hard to let go of.

[Tawney]

My boyfriend and I adopted a one year old orange and white cat from our local no kill shelter over a year ago and he is the coolest cat ever! We both love cats and I adore all my furbabies. We have five babies all together and each have their own prrrsonalities!! My boyfriend named our orange tabby "Nefarion", which is a dragon from the World of Warcraft game. He is sure a fiesty creature, always tearing through the house, stealing all the air conditioning, not to mention my pillow and my side of the bed! He is such an awesome cat that loves to play with my beautiful grey girl Mica, Wrestle with my big black boy with green eyes (George), and always finds his way into trouble. Recently we have had to make the heartwrenching choice to put our beloved tuxedo baby girl down. Akilah ia a Mamma's girl and always will be. In her honor I thought I would adopt from a kill shelter. I discussed this with a friend, not knowing her situation. New owners brought her apartment complex and she is now only allowed to have two fur children. She had to find a new home for her new kitten named Isis. So I am taking Isis into my home, not as a replacement to Akilah, but hopefully to help heal the void I will have after letting go to a beloved companion that I hadpicked as a kitten. Isis is a tiger striped orange cuttie pie. Her eyes are filled with adventure and her spirit is filled with playful abandon. So today I get a new baby and say goodbye to an companion I have had for 8 years. Talk about mixed emotions! So we are going to have two orange cats in our household...look out! I can already see the trouble the two of those will find together! LOL. Oh boy am I an heap! :)

[Collen]

I have two orange kitty brothers named Puma and Rusty. Their mother is orange. She was a pregnant stray a friend of mine took in, and she still has the mom and four other siblings from the same litter. Only the males came out orange. One kitten died. Rusty is the next runt of the litter, built wiry and spunky. He is hugely intelligent, opens doors, watches tv, and talks all the time. He is not physically the most adept cat, but he attempts to run the neighborhood. His brother is aquiline, a lighter shade, more yellowish. His coat is less lush than Rusty's. He is quite able physically, but he's not the smartest cat on the block, and he scares easily. I've been scratched a hundred times. Both boys absolutely adore humans. At three months old we had a Christmas party, and the cats loved it! They were ecstatic and extremely happy by the end of the evening. Recently I was having a meeting at my house and Puma sat in each person's lap. He laid back like a child in the crook of one man's elbow and very delicately ate cookie crumbs off his chest. The man beamed. I can't bear life without cats, and I must say these boys are the sweetest, most loving cats I've lived with!! I wasn't working when I first got them, and started working full time when they were seven months old. I went through terrible separations during the day. If I'm at home they want to be on me. I often tell Puma I need a pouch carrier so I can carry him around when I cook and do chores. My nicknames for them are Pumpkin and Squash, because one is a darker shade than the other.

[PamelaEL]

Interesting reading, my ginger kitty found me on a golf course, on a Par 3, he was half grown. I told my playing partner that if he was still there when I came around to hole 17, I was going to take him home with me. (This was a rural golf course, no homes near the course) He was still waiting on me, I brought him home and he has remained with me, I posted "found" signs, no responses. I had him neutered. Checked for all the feline illnesses and he has a clean slate. Then, the other day a man told my husband that male ginger kitties are sterile! Is this true? Anyway, it's interesting reading you all!
Thanks from Pam and Stretch (His original name was Scotchie aka Butterscotch, but spouse thought it sounded too much like a sissy name, he is Stretch now because he stretccccccccches into a room, a door, your lap....)

[megan may]

i had a orange cat that died from a diesies

[Colleen]

I have an orange beast.. He's getting big, almost a year old now.
I had 2 pretty gray striped girls gotten from my little sister who adopted a stray who was too sick to be spayed.
They were almost 1 year old.. Then my older sister called me on March 31 of last year..
She had hit a cat and orphaned 3 gorgeous babies.. turns out they were 6 days old.. only the girl had ONE eye open.. the rest had closed eyes..

I named them before I knew the sexes so now I've got Clingy & Peachy. hmm who's the orangey brat!!
I love that ALL my cats have different personalities. I have Aurora the tomboy, Esmeralda the debutante, Clingy the momma's boy and Peachy my big ol'jock.
Both of the little guys still try to suckle!!
I can't say I'm partial to orange, but I do love him !Oh ya.. whenever he sleeps he "cuddles" he HAS to wrap his front legs around whatever body part he feels like, and then rest his head on that body part also.. Precious weirdo!

There are pictures (teeny tiny baby pictures of me feeding them and such and pictures of my girls) on the url I listed, I like to spread the ewwwey gooey feeling you get looking at such adorableness! enjoy!
looks like the url isn't coming up by itself..

www.myprettykitties.myphotoalbum.com

[kaitlin folsom]

this place stinks all im looking for is a cat name for an orange cat and all im finding is human names !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[a.o.c.o. (argentinian orange cat owner)]

I didn't know there were so many people crazy about orange cats! I'm so happy :)
I'm owned by Conejo, I found him in my yard 8 months ago and he changed my life in a way. I hadn't had any animals before, for I didn't like them... But now I love orange cats!
Your blog is great, nice job!

Tamara

[aimee m rundles]

i got 2 orange tabby i would like to know are orange tabby kitten's worth any thing

[renee mejie]

we have 2 big orange kitties that are brothers that we have had since they were kittens. they both have such personality. wolfie waits for me to get out of the shower. I think he worries about me in there. he is always so happy when i get out. Nod is my nighttime buddie. He sits next to me and purrs but doesn't like it when i try to put him on my lap. Our orange kitties have given us so much joy and they love it when we talk to them. They come to us when we whistle for them and they know their names. i have been a cat lover for years and have had many cats, but i so love the orange cats i have now. They are so amazing. they have become a part of our lives and our family.