The Many Charms Of The Tuxedo Cat
January 29, 2020
One of everybody’s favourite colour cats is the tuxedo cat. Those adorable feisty felines have a high adoption rate and their piebald colouring can make for some beautiful and amusing markings.
Take Sylvester the Cat for instance, created by Friz Feleng. Perhaps one of the most recognizable tuxedo cats, Sylvester pounced into the hearts of Americans on May 20, 1939 in the Warner Brothers Cartoon, Naughty But Mice. A three-time Academy Award Winner, Sylvester the Cat starred in 103 cartoons along other famous Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters. Despite his wacky character, his classic tuxedo markings are perfectly symmetrical.
Unlike that famous French feline, Henri Le Chat Noir, who muses on the philosophical questions of life in a series of films created by cinematographer when he was a student. Henri is a rescue tuxedo cat living in Seattle, who became the musing subject of Braden’s now famous short series that have been viewed more than 5 million times.
If social media had been around in the days of Shakespeare, Beethoven, or Sir Isaac Newton, they may have posted their own series of tuxedo (lol) cats online. For each one of these famous men couldn’t resist the sociable, intelligent and lively nature of these beautiful bicolour cats, and were proud owners.
Tuxedo cats are not a breed but part of a group of cats called piebald (like the horse) or bicolor. White is the common colour in piebald cats and is the result of a recessive gene. Scientists believe this gene is slower than other colours to develop and as a result shows as white that masks the other colour. Without this recessive gene, tuxedo cats would be all black.
Cats were loved and worshipped by the Egyptians and one of the earliest tuxedo cats can be traced back to these times. Believed to possess magical, mystical powers, tuxedo cats were much revered in Ancient Egypt.
Tuxedo cats love to lounge and snooze, but if you sneak up on them, be careful of those claws. These adorable kitties take no chances and always aim with swift precision.
Who’s your favourite tuxedo cat?
References:
1. Anim Genet. 2006 Apr; 37(2): 163–165. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2052.2005.01389.x