

Then there’s the common legend that orange tabbies bear the “M” mark on their foreheads because one curled up with the baby Jesus, helped him fall asleep, and was blessed by Mother Mary’s touch for doing so.Ĩ.

Let’s start with the verifiable, which is that Winston Churchill was well known for his love of orange cats: Earlier in life he owned one named Tango, and later in life one named Jock. Of all the orange tabby cat facts on our list, this one is somehow the most and least debatable. They’re usually harmless, but any change in pigmentation should be checked out by your veterinarian. The orange tabby color is commonly found in certain cat breeds, including the Persian, Munchkin, American Bobtail, British Shorthair, Bengal, Maine Coon, Abyssinian, and Egyptian Mau cats.īlack freckles on an already adorable orange kitty? It’s like sprinkles on top of the icing! These freckles will develop along the tabby’s face, notably around the gums, lips, or nose. Ginger fur is more likely to be found in certain cat breeds The Purrington Post explains that these cats have a predominance of a certain pigment known as pheomelanin-the same pigment that produces red hair in humans.ĥ. You’ve probably noticed a variation in felines’ ginger-colored hues, from reddish-orange to yellowish-cream. A specific pigment is responsible for their color Spotted, which breaks up the tabby patterning so the stripes or swirls appear as spotsĤ.Ticked (stripeless), which breaks up the tabby patterning into a “salt-and-pepper” or “sand” appearance.Classic (swirled, blotched, or marbled), which gives the kitty a tie-dyed look.Mackerel (striped), which makes the kitty look like a tiger, with an “M” shape appearing on the forehead.There are four unique tabby patterns, including: One of our favorite orange tabby cat facts is that, because all tabby cats carry the agouti gene, there has never been and never will be a solid orange feline. They have four different patterns - and none of them is solid orange All orange cats are tabbies, but not all tabbies are orange.ģ. Tabby cats are striped due to the agouti gene. The word itself is taken from a striped silk fabric made near Baghdad. Many people, even cat lovers, don’t know that “tabby” refers to specific coat markings, not a breed (and regardless of color). Because females possess two Xs and males possess XY, male cats only need the orange gene from their mothers to become a ginger - making them much more likely to carry on the trait. Scientists and researchers are fairly certain that orange tabbies’ color transpires from a sex-linked gene, with the X chromosome responsible for the orange coloring. Only about 1 in 5 orange tabby cats is female If you’re curious about orange tabby cat facts, we’ve compiled a few below.ġ. And do they all hate Mondays? Probably, but there is no conclusive evidence that they hate Mondays more than any other day of the week. Is it true that all orange cats have an insatiable desire for lasagna? Sadly, no.
