Written by Michael Bryan
Modified & Updated: 23 Sep 2024
Reviewed by Jessica Corbett
Ginger tabby cats have become one of the most important animal companions in many households. It’s no secret that the majority of cat owners are guilty of treating their beloved pets as their own children. These playful and cunning creatures provide not only the company to alleviate loneliness and stress, but they also keep household pests in check. In general, some people are fans of the energy that cats emit. Although ginger tabby cats have a tendency to break things on purpose, they too have this kind of finesse and dexterity that would sometimes make us hold our breaths in awe and at the same time would leave us laughing uncontrollably. Check out these fun ginger tabby facts to get to know more about these cute critters.
- All ginger cats are tabbies as they all have the “agouti” gene.
- Not all tabbies are orange.
- A Tabby is not a breed of cat but a coat type seen in almost all genetic lines of domestic cats, regardless of status.
- Many of the official cat breeds have a tabby pattern. It is a hallmark of the landrace extremely common among the general population of cats around the world.
- The notion that tabby is indicative of a female cat may be due to the feminine proper name Tabby as a shortened form of Tabitha.
- These cats can grow into a maximum weight of more or less 18 lbs, while their maximum height is about 16 in.
- Orange tabby cats have a life expectancy of about 15 to 20 years.
- A genetic study of tabbies found five genetic clusters to be ancestral to cats from various parts of the world.
- There are sound genetic explanations for having a mackerel, classic, ticked, or spotted pattern in a tabby cat.
- A patched tabby is any of the four basic patterns with a patched pattern. This pattern adds up to the distinctive patterns of tabby cats.
- Before, humans rely on cats to control vermins that destroy their crops.
- Classic black tabbies tend to have dark browns, olives, and ochres in their fur that stand out more against their blacks.
- Classic orange tabbies have richer, fuller fields of red than their mackerel counterparts.
- Tabby patterns assist in camouflage when cats are hiding in tall grasses or bushes hunting for prey just like tigers and leopards.
- Tabby cats exist across a variety of breeds, their personality traits are more distinct to their breed rather than the markings that distinguish them as Tabbies.
- Ginger tabby cats are typically male. In fact, 80 percent of orange tabbies are male, making orange female cats a bit of a rarity.
- Ginger cats are always tabbies.
- These cats get their red coloring from the pigment pheomelanin, which is also the pigment responsible for people with red hair.
- The most common health issues for tabby cats are hyperthyroidism, vomiting, urinal trouble, upset stomach, and weight loss.
- The classic tabby pattern looks like swirls of darker color on a lighter-colored background known as a blotched pattern.
Ginger tabby cats are friendly.
Ginger tabby cats are social beings that would sometimes demand physical contact from trusted people. Naturally friendly and free-spirited, these creatures also showcase mesmerizing beauty. However, the claim that their coat color influences their personalities is still a question.
They have their own special day.
If you’re an owner or just a lover of ginger tabby cats, you should not forget to celebrate Ginger Cat Appreciation Day on September 1st of each year. It is to celebrate cats’ and humans’ mutual understanding on controlling vermin that protect agricultural inputs and prevent the spread of diseases.
They are intelligent too!
Tabby cats are unique creatures that are not only incredibly affectionate but also intelligent. They love to cuddle and get a whole lot of attention from their owners. They can get pretty cranky though if they don’t have their way. Owners are often outsmarted by these cats, hence the running joke that these cats think they rule over their humans.
People are naming tabbies based on their fur colors.
People have nicknamed orange tabby cats marmalade cats or ginger cats to provide distinction from the black tabby variety. It’s no wonder that so many orange tabbies end up with names that are related to the color of their furs like Ginger, Big Red, Marmalade, or even Tangerine.
There is only one female in five orange tabby cats.
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. Because females possess two Xs and males possess XY, male cats only need the orange gene from their mothers to become ginger —making them much more likely to carry on the trait.
These orange kitties have black freckles.
Imagine having an orange kitty with black freckles, wouldn’t that be adorable? These freckles develop along the tabby’s face, around the gums, lips, or nose. They’re usually harmless, but any change in pigmentation should be checked out by a veterinarian.
There is an orange tabby that has been blessed by Mary.
There is a common belief that orange tabbies bear the “M” mark on their foreheads because one curled up with the baby Jesus and helped him fall asleep. Because of that, many believe that tabbies are blessed by Mother Mary.
There are many orange tabby cats made famous by films.
The most famous one would be Garfield, but there are other orange tabbies that appeared not only on television but also on the silver screen. There is Crookshanks, Hermione Granger’s magical tabby cat from the Harry Potter series, Milo from Milo and Otis, Jones, Ripley’s cat from Alien, Orangey from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Puss in Boots who first appeared in Shrek 2, and Spot from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Ginger tabby cats like cuddles.
Tabby cats like to cuddle, but so do other types of cats with other coat patterns. If they decide to lie and cuddle with you, then they will be there for quite a while, so be prepared to not move for an uncertain amount of time!
Orange tabby cats need exercise.
Orange tabby cats are quite lazy and stubborn. You will often see them lying on mats or any place possible. They tend to not exert energy on movements compared to what other cats usually do, so they can get a bit overweight. It is the responsibility of the owners to keep their tabbies in check and provide them enough exercise to avoid complications and eventual diseases.
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