Orange, red, yellow, ginger or marmalade cats

Red tabby Siberian cat
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

Red tabby Siberian cat (believed). Photo in public domain.

Different groups of people use different descriptive words for the red (usually tabby) cat.

  • Geneticists use orange
  • Breeders use red. Although I’d like you to read at the base of the page about Marc and the cat he loved and who he named ‘Red’.
  • The public use ginger
  • Story tellers use marmalade
  • In the old days people used yellow

The definitive book on cat genetics (a poor book in my view – sorry, just my personal opinion), Robinson’s Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians describes the orange gene as follows:

The recognised symbol for the gene is ‘O’. The action of the O gene is to eliminate all melanic pigment (black and brown) from the hair fibres.

Lady and her ginger tabby male cat

Dorothy and Marvin. Marvin was a semi-feral cat that DW adopted and brought inside. He adapted brilliantly to home life. You can see that his left ear has been ‘tipped’ meaning the top cut off to indicate that he was a feral cat in a TNR program.

Dr Morris tells us that:

In the early days, the term ‘orange’ was also applied to various pedigree cats by breeders, before they switched to the official term ‘red’.

Orangey

Orangey was a long-haired ginger cat with a temperament to match the color. He was a professional cat who featured in a number of films such as the title role in Rhubarb which aired in 1961. He appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) with Audrey Heburn. He was knows as ‘Cat’ in this film. Here he is…

Orangey in Breakfast at Tiffany's with the fabulous Audrey Hepburn

Orangey in Breakfast at Tiffany’s with the fabulous Audrey Hepburn.

Red

Red was the name of Marc’s cat. Marc is a great guy. He is or was living in Switzerland. He gave generously in spirit and financially. Red passed too early. Read about Red by clicking on this link.

Or see Marc’s memorial to Red – this is a big and detailed page.

And finally a touching video to Red and the friendship between Red and Lilly (click this to see it).

There are some great orange tabby cats on this website. Ten examples are below but there are lot more. If you like red cats please use the Google custom search tool at the top of the page.

SOME RED CATS….

Butterball a rescue cat.

Are male, orange tabby cats the most friendly?

Having read a lot about domestic cats, I sense that the general feeling is that male, orange tabby cats are, ...
Can bobcats be orange?

Can bobcats be orange?

Yes, the background color of the bobcat can be reddish or yellowish-brown which is effectively orange. It also varies to ...
Lentigo in an orange cat

Picture of lentigo simplex cat

You know those black freckles on the tip of the nose, gums, eyelids and the lips of an orange (ginger, ...
Red panda cat

Picture of Dwarf Red Panda Cat

This young cat looks like a red panda. This is also a dwarf cat in my opinion because the legs ...
Orange cats

Five Names For Red Cats

Geneticists call red cats 'orange'! Cat breeders describe them as 'red'. The general public say they are 'ginger' while story-tellers ...
Ginger cat on lawn is invisible to dogs

Ginger Cat on Lawn is Invisible to Dogs

As dogs cannot tell the difference between red and green they have great difficulty in detecting a ginger cat on ...
Garfield cat

Florida: Beautiful Red Tabby Cat Needs New Home

Hello kitty lovers! My name is Garfield. I am a two year-old neutered declawed male tabby cat, who lives in ...
Useful tag. Click to see the articles: Cat behavior

Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.
Useful links
Anxiety - reduce it
FULL Maine Coon guide - lots of pages
Children and cats - important

Michael Broad

Hi, I'm a 74-year-old retired solicitor (attorney in the US). Before qualifying I worked in many jobs including professional photography. I love nature, cats and all animals. I am concerned about their welfare. If you want to read more click here.

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