Everything you need to know about orange tabby cats

Updated 06/09/2024

From the lasagne-loving Garfield to the daring Puss in Boots, orange tabby cats have always had a special place in our hearts. But what makes these fiery felines so special? Join us as we uncover everything from their striking appearance to their playful personality traits and find out if they’re really as mischievous as their internet fame suggests. 

Orange tabby cat characteristics

First things first, it’s important to know that there’s no such thing as an “orange tabby” cat breed. In fact, the term “tabby” simply describes a specific (ish) pattern on a cat’s coat, which is caused by the agouti gene. This unique pattern is made up of stripes, spots, swirls, and whorls of color.

Tabby cats can be found in all sorts of colors such as brown, black, gray, and, of course, ginger. No matter what color their coat is, these furry felines will sport one of five distinct coat patterns:

• Classic tabby: Called classic for a reason, the most common tabby pattern features marble-like swirls of light and dark color.
• Mackerel tabby: This might be why they’re known as “tiger cats”, but these markings actually share more similarities with the skeleton of a mackerel fish. A mackerel tabby has a single stripe which runs the length of their spine, with evenly spaced stripes branching off it.
• Spotted tabby: While striped tabby cats are more common, some tabbies can also have spots of various sizes along their sides.
• Ticked tabby: The rarest of all markings, ticked tabbies have a subtle speckled pattern all over their body and the classic tabby stripes on their face and head.
• Patched or bicolor tabby: You can also find orange and white tabby cats which have blocks of white fur mixed with patches of tabby orange. 
  

Another signature feature of the tabby cat is the distinct M-shaped marking on the forehead, which has inspired many legends and stories. In Christianity, it’s said that Mother Mary left the mark on the tabby that comforted baby Jesus and kept him warm. In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad had a tabby cat named Muezza who protected him from a deadly snake, and he left the ‘M’ on its forehead as a sign of gratitude. In other stories, the ‘M’ has also been linked to the Ancient Egyptian word ‘mau’, meaning ‘cat’. 

Orange tabby cat personality 

If you’re anything like us, “orange cat behavior” has likely been all over your social media lately. While perceptions of personality are very, well, personal, their behavior can range from loving and derpy to spicy and assertive. But do orange cats really behave that differently from other cats? Many pet parents swear their marmalade-colored moggies have a personality like no other, but studies show there’s no link between coat color and personality. A cat’s breed and environment are much better indicators of temperament, and since the orange tabby isn’t even a specific breed, it’s difficult to make concrete generlizations about its personality.  

Facts about orange tabby cats

• Finding a female orange tabby cat is rare – in fact, 80% of orange tabbies are male. Why? The gene that makes a tabby cat orange is carried on the X chromosome, and since female cats have two X chromosomes, both their parents must be orange. Males, with their XY chromosomes, need just one orange gene from either parent to inherit that fiery fur, hence why there are more of them. 
• Related article: What are tomcat cheeks?
• The orange tabby cat is not an actual breed, so your marmalade moggy could belong to any of the following cat breeds:

Abyssinian

American Bobtail

American Curl

American Shorthair

American Wirehair

Birman

British Shorthair

Egyptian Mau

Exotic Shorthair

Javanese

Maine Coon

Manx

Norwegian Forest Cat

Ocicat

Oriental

Persian

Ragdoll

Rex

Scottish Fold

Siberian

Somali

Turkish Angora

Turkish Van 

• Regardless of their breed, all tangy tabbies have the distinctive ‘M’ shaped marking on their foreheads.
• Don’t let trending videos of orange cat behavior fool you – your furry friend’s personality will be influenced more by breed and the environment they live in than the color of their fur.

• All orange cats are tabbies, but not all tabbies are orange. That’s right, you’ll never find a marmalade-colored mog with a solid coat, and tabby cats can come in all sorts of colors, including brown, black, gray, and ginger.  
• Orange tabby cats make countless appearances in pop culture, featuring as Garfield in the comic strip of the same name, Puss in Boots in numerous animations, Crookshanks in Harry Potter, and Bob in A Street Cat Named Bob. 
• Tangerine tabbies also have a knack for rubbing paws with politicians. Winston Churchill was such a fan that he ordered that his estate should always have a marmalade cat named Jock in residence. Over in Alaska, the town of Talkeetna had its own furry politician – a ginger cat named Stubbs served as honorary mayor for 20 years. 
• The red pigment which causes a fiery feline’s coat to be orange is called pheomelanin, and this same pigment creates red hair in humans. 
  

Whether you’ve got a fluffy orange tabby cat that resembles a little lion or any other furry feline, have you thought about what you’ll do with them when you have to go away? Here at TrustedHousesitters, there are plenty of in-home cat sitters who’d love nothing more than to take care of your beloved purr pal while you’re away. They’ll make sure your feline family members get all the love, care, and attention they deserve and keep them happy and comfortable in their own home, leaving you to jet off without a care in the world!

Meet our veterinary expert, Holly

This article has been checked by veterinarian Holly Anne Hills BVM BVS BVMedSci. After graduating from the University of Nottingham, Holly spent two years working as a farm animal vet. She then spent some time traveling and volunteering in India, working at neutering clinics and with injured street dogs. Holly now works in small animal practice, and balances this with writing, volunteering with the comms team at Vet Sustain, and she is also a marine mammal medic!