Orange cats are one of the most popular pets in the world. These felines are some of the cutest cats ever and a top choice for cat lovers. They’re super-friendly and gentle, plus make excellent pets if you can take good care of them. As a matter of fact, most cat lovers, at some point in their lives, have had an orange cat as a pet. Read on for more facts about these wonderful cats.
- Orange Cats Have Beautiful Freckles
- Orange Cats Are Very Affectionate!
- All Orange Cats Are Tabby Cats.
- Most Orange Cats Are Male!
- They Have Different Nicknames
- They Have Many Different Patterns
- ‘THE’ Winston Churchill Had an Orange Cat
- All Red Cats Have Different Personalities
- They’re As Lazy As Anything!
- They Often Look a Bit Like Tigers!
- 50 Shades of Orange…
- Tabby: The Name Itself
- They’re Not Particularly Diet-Conscious
- They Can Have Three Different Eye Colors
- All of Them Have a Common Forehead Marking
- Most Famous Tabbies in the World
- Final Words
These cats have a very distinct presence because of their colorful hue and beautiful beady eyes. Interestingly enough, they’re not technically recognized as a breed! These popular cat breeds often produce amber or ginger tabbies. But that’s not all. We have jotted down some of the most interesting facts about this beautiful creature, time for you to give them a read!
Orange Cats Have Beautiful Freckles
Many people find freckles very cute, be it on human beings or pets. These Tabby cats are famous for developing beautiful black freckles around their face, and it looks so pretty! What’s more interesting is that not all of them will have freckles.
But don’t you worry, that doesn’t mean the ones without freckles aren’t adorable! They also have a special trait, which is a soft pink nose that makes their face even more adorable!
The two types of Apricot Tabby’s do look significantly different face-wise, but rest assured, both of them would get a solid 10/10 when it comes to cuteness!
Orange Cats Are Very Affectionate!
While there are some felines that are reserved and like to be left alone most of the time, orange cats do not fall into that category. It’s true that each and every cat comes with his/her special personality, but in most cases, these cats are super loving and adorable. These cats tend to be very polite, social, and docile.
As a matter of fact, orange tabby cats are so affectionate that in most parts of the day, they’ll be the ones coming to check up on you, all the while purring and meowing for affection. The constant need for love might be too much for some, but most pet owners found it a beautiful gesture!
All Orange Cats Are Tabby Cats.
You might not realize it but all orange cats are tabby cats! But not all tabby cats are orange.
It doesn’t matter what breed they are or if they are a standard domestic shorthair – all orange cats have a dominant agouti gene which makes them stiped to some degree.
This means they are all tabby cats. Some may have a plain body but have striped legs and tails and the face markings of a tabby. Others will be fully striped in one of the standard tabby patterns – but all orange cats are tabby cats!
Most Orange Cats Are Male!
Now, this might come as a shocker, but according to a stat, at least 80% of all red tabby cats are male. Yes, it’s genetically possible, and we’ll tell you how.
It’s all about the chromosomes. For the female, the process of having a beautiful ginger coat color requires both their X chromosome to be red. However, male tabby cats require only one red chromosome – hence they’re a more common sight around the world.
They Have Different Nicknames
Yes, you guessed it right. Nobody’s supposed to call them ‘Orange Tabby Cats’; they have quite a number of nicknames. Truth be told, people know them more as ginger cats or marmalade cats than their actual names. As expected, the names are solely derived from their color, as they have very distinctive colored fur.
They’re also called Garfield cats by many since they have striking resemblances with the famous lead character of the 2004 movie named Garfield. The cartoonist of Garfield did take the idea for the character from his neighborhood Tabby cats, so I guess it’s justified?
They Have Many Different Patterns
Most people don’t realize this, but ginger tabby cats do have different patterns on their bodies, and four different patterns are recognizable clearly. They’re referred to as Classic, Mackerel tabby cat, Spotted and Ticked. You don’t have to be an expert on cats to figure them out; each of these patterns is distinctive and unique on its own.
The classic pattern is basically the original coat that has swirls of many different orange shades. It’s by far the most common pattern among these cats. Then there’s mackerel, which loosely resembles tiger stripes but looks very beautiful on the cat.
Next, we have the spotted pattern, which is basically the same as the mackerel one, but with spots, not stripes. Lastly, there’s the ticked pattern where there are classic stripes all over the body of the cat, including the face.
‘THE’ Winston Churchill Had an Orange Cat
We all know him as one of the most famous politicians of all time, but amidst all his battle plans and political debates, he did have time to pet a beautiful, furry marmalade cat. His cat was named Jock, and he was a very sweet one.
Jock used to be a part of Churchill’s cabinet meetings when the war was going on and was even a part of the dining table!
There’s a saying that a dinner party wasn’t allowed to start at Churchill’s place unless Jock arrived and took place in his seat. We won’t dig deep into that, but it’s quite clear that Churchill really loved his cat, and so do we!
All Red Cats Have Different Personalities
Most of the people who took these cats as pets have said the same thing– not one cat is like the other. Not in a bad way, though, as they’re very lovable and gentle in general.
But when it comes to personalities, each one is unique. There’s no particular process of categorizing these differences, but you don’t have to worry about that, because as pets, they’re excellent, regardless of their personalities.
They’re As Lazy As Anything!
Who doesn’t like a cat that will just quietly sit on his/her lap and purr for their love and affection? These cats are what we call borderline lazy because give them one space for resting- and they’ll lay down like there’s no tomorrow!
This low energy also makes them compatible to play with babies and older people.
But that doesn’t mean as a pet, they’d be boring pets. Absolutely not! Ginger cats tend to sympathize with your emotions. So, whenever you’re sad or feeling down, you’ll see them lying right beside you, trying to give you all the love and affection in the world!
They Often Look a Bit Like Tigers!
After all, tigers are big cats, so it’s no surprise that some of cats might have similarities to the tigers. When it comes to these tabbies, in most cases, it’s the mackerel tabby that has mackerel patterns that often look like tiger stripes.
Given their color and round face, we can’t blame people if they mistake a mackerel tabby with tiger cubs!
That being said, these cats don’t have any sort of relation to the tiger, so rest assured, they’re not living in your house to eat you at some point!
50 Shades of Orange…
No, Orangies do not have 50 different shades of color on their skin, but you get the reference, no? On top of their unique patterns, they also have a variety of tones and hues that range from light cream marmalade to the extent of rich red mahogany! These unique varieties of hues accentuate their features even more!
Tabby: The Name Itself
The name Tabby really doesn’t have any origin related to cats. Tabby is basically some sort of material with stripes, and it’s made from silk. It was produced in the Middle East and then sold throughout the world. Nobody clearly knows how the Tabby cats got related to the name, but there are different theories about it.
One common perception is that because the fabric pattern has stripes and the cat has similarly designed stripes – the cat became the orange tabby. There are other theories, but this is so far the most practical theory behind the naming of these cats.
They’re Not Particularly Diet-Conscious
Orange cats are naturally large cats, but that’s not just because of the genes; they absolutely love to eat. A hungry apricot cat can actually compete with a grown man in terms of eating amount!
If you’re a fan of Garfield, you should already know this. But the real-life Garfields are actually massive eaters. They’ll eat anything at any time, which often results in them being overweight.
Even though Ginger cats are bigger than most other cats, they tend to get even fatter if they’re given a lot of food. This is a concern for every pet keeper because obese cats are definitely prone to many health issues, so you must not let your tabby overeat and get overweight.
They Can Have Three Different Eye Colors
As we said, this type of cat is full of varieties. Even in terms of eyes, not all tabbies have the same eye color. These cats can have gold, copper, or green color. Then tones might vary, so at times the gold might seem like light amber, but they contrast well with the fur.
All of Them Have a Common Forehead Marking
Enough about differences; tabbies do have one thing in common. They have a distinct ‘M’ mark on their forehead. While the level of distinctness varies from one cat to another, the M is almost visible in all tabbies.
Most Famous Tabbies in the World
Needless to say, the animated cartoon character Garfield is the most famous tabby in the world. But there are real orange tabbies that are famous too!
Remember Crookshanks? Hermione Granger’s cat from Harry Potter? She happens to be an orange tabby as well! That super cool cat from Milo & Otis? That’s also an orange tabby cat!
Final Words
These cats are beautiful furry creatures that every cat-lover would love to have at home. We hope you enjoyed the 16 interesting facts about these cats! If tabby cats interest you why not check out some interesting facts about grey tabby cats?
