by Lila
(Topeka, KS)
Orange Maine Coon cat added by Michael (Admin) to illustrate article - this is a tabby MC - photo krisandapril (Flickr)
We found our princess as a stray in Arkansas. She was young and had fleas and worms and was very thin, so we had no idea she would be so beautiful. After vet visits and good care, her fur began growing and her beautiful tail emerged, as well as all the paw and ear tufts!
On our first vet visit, when they found out her name was Bridgette, and saw her, they all (receptionist to the Dr) tried to tell us she was probably a boy because she's completely orange.
Of course, they looked, and she's a girl. Even the vet had never seen an all-orange girl before. So we knew she was special. We all adore her trills and chirps, and her playful habits and marvel at how high she can jump!
Obviously, no one would dump a purebred female Maine Coon, so we're pretty sure she must be a mix, but she so perfectly fits the descriptions.
Wondering how many Orange (no white spots) female Maine Coons are out there?
She seems to dominate my Chartruese and Tuxedo neutered males, who are 6 and 15 respectively.
She's about 10 months and very large. She loves to play tag and fetch!
Lila
Hi Lila... Thanks for visiting and sharing. I admire you for rescuing Bridgette. The genetics as usual are complicated, very complicated but this is how I think it comes to pass that males are more often orange (there are some some great male orange cats - see Orange Persian cat for instance).
The O gene that produces the red (orange or sometimes called yellow) colouration is sex linked being carried by the X chromosome. Males have only one X, females have two.
Males only need to have the orange gene on one chromosome to become ginger, while females have to have it on two chromosomes. For this reason ginger males outnumber females 3 to 1. For a cat to have both orange and black (
for instance) it has to have two different X chromosomes per cell, which leads to calico (or tortoiseshell) female cats outnumbering males by between 200 to 1 to 3,000 to 1. This is a simplified explanation and may require refining.
The O gene eliminates all the eumelanistic pigment (black, chocolate and blue etc.) from the hair strands. The pigment granule is lighter with "different optical properties" (Robinson's Genetics 4th edition).
Here is another orange Maine Coon cat:
Photo copyright Helmi FlickPlease email me a picture of Bridgette if you have one:
mjbmeisteratgmail.com
substituting at for @
See also: Yellow Cat (an orange feral cat)
TAFFY IS A PERTTY MARLED ORANGE LONG LONG SWUSHING TAILED KIT-KAT
SORRY,FOR SPELLING … LETTERS SO SMALL, DARK HERE.
Thanks for commenting. Where are you? Somewhere in Asia?
Love my quiet orange female kit kat …her Dads was a main coon brother orange & her mom is the only female long haired maim coon. Torie kitten that lived out of a litter of 6. … mostlylong hared pertty boys but one orangr big male like his dad. 2 dads to this litter. Main cion kittens all but one.
She “Taffy ” has her grandma, walks just loke a dancer with a long iong swishing back & forth tail .
I have a 3 month old orange maine coon
I envy you!
we also have a much loved ginger female main coon/cross too ,she also was abandoned by somebody we live in the bush in outback australia.
she walked out of forest and into our house about 4 years ago and never left again she is very spoilt now. one of the first things we noticed was different about her was her voice not like any other cat id heard before. loves showing off by running up trees we spend time in the bush together if im standing looking in one direction she stands between my legs and looks in the opposite direction. we live on 40 acres she walks with us everywhwere but we have to carry her on the way home.if she doesnt like somebody that comes to our house she growls like a dog beautiful breed of cat.
We think our ginger and white cat is a mixed Maine Coon Cat mixed our Trouble has the *M* mark on his Head.. But he also has alot of white, he also has the stripes legs Does this mean he may be a mixes Coon cat? How would I know for sure does anyone know???
Purebred Maine Coons can have tabby ginger and white coats because they are allowed under the breed standard. But the coat type does not tell you if your cat is a Maine Coon mix or not as many other cats, random bred and purebred, have a similar coat. You won’t know if your cat is a Maine Coon mix unless you have first hand evidence as to what his parents were or grand parents. If there was some purebred Maine Coon in the family then he is a Maine Coon mix. Appearance of the cat can give you an idea that he may be a Maine Coon mix but it is a bad test because purebred mix cats can look like moggies (random bred cats). In short you can’t be sure he is a Maine Coon mix. You have a really nice cat though and thanks for asking.