What's So Special About Orange Tabby Cats?

September 18, 2017

If you redheads out there are feeling a certain affinity for the orange tabby cat, you’d be right. These auburn tiggers get their hair colour from the same pigment, pheomelanin, as humans.

And you know that makes them pretty special.

But it doesn’t make them a distinct breed. Ginger cats can be found in a number of different breeds, including Maine Coon, American Bobtail, Abyssinian, Persian and Munchkin cats.

While the striped, tiger coat is a common feature, the orange tabby cat can be found in four distinct patterns, including striped, ticked or spotted, classic, and mackerel.

Perhaps the most classic of all the orange tabbies, at least on this side of the globe, is Garfield:

The Special Thing About Orange Tabby Cats

Now, if you’re thinking there’s something special about the orange tabby cat, you’d be right. There’s an old story dating back to when Jesus was a baby about a marmalade cat who became his friend. The cat would snuggle up to the infant boy in his crib and soothe him to sleep. His mother Mary was so happy that the ginger tabby was such a comfort to her son, she blessed the cat with a kiss on the forehead. To this day, the mark of the letter, ‘M’, is still worn by every orange tabby on their forehead. Remarkable!

Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;
His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he's half asleep, he's always wide awake. ~ T.S. Eliot

Orange Tabby Cats Are Lazy By Nature

Ginger cats are known for their laidback natures. They love nothing more than to laze around the place, watching all the goings-on around them. If they’re not snoozing, they’re eating. Yes, these marmalade felines love their food and will eat just about everything and anything. So make sure you watch those waistlines. You don’t a tubby tabby.

Each orange tabby will have their own personality, but of the many I’ve met and owned, they’ve been super cuddly, playful, and attentive. But what you might be surprised to learn is that male marmalade cats outnumber females by four to one. 

Sir Winston Churchill and his Orange Tabby Cat

Many famous people have owned orange tabby cats, including Winston Churchill. He adored his cats and had two ginger toms by the names of Tango and Jock. The latter was a gift from his Assistant Private Secretary, Sir John “Jock” Colville. In his memoirs, Colville recalls this story about the prime minister and his beloved cat, Tango: 

“I had lunch with the PM and the yellow cat, which sat in a chair on his right-hand side and attracted most of his attention.” Even though the two men were discussing grave matters to do with troubles in the Middle East, Churchill still had time for his cat. Colville wrote, “While he brooded on these matters, he kept up a running conversation with the cat, cleaning its eyes with his napkin, offering it mutton, and expressing regret that it could not have cream in wartime.”

So now you know. The orange tabby cat has a long history of living with some pretty special humans. It’s no wonder we love them so dearly.

by Natalie Secretan
PuppyDogCapers.com

Photo credit: Kerri Lee Smith ~ Pretty in Purple