Conclusion: the latest incarnation of Puss in Boots is a male orange tabby-and-white random bred cat (moggy).
The question in the title is wide open to interpretation as there are very many Puss in Boots characters. Old and recent history is littered with them. The original Puss in Boots appears to have been a character in a 1697 Italian-French fairy tale by Giovanni Francesco Straparola. That fictional cat is at the base of this page in an 1843 illustration. There is nothing in that image which helps identify the type of cat. Therefore, this is a moggie as it was well before formal purebred cats existed.
Following that original there are about 16 other Puss in Boots featuring in animated short films, and feature films which were made in various countries. Clearly the title ‘Puss in Boots’ is very attractive to film makers.
The most recent films featuring this fictional feline character are:
- Puss in Boots (2011 film), an American animated film featuring the version from Shrek
- Puss in Boots (Shrek), a main character in the Shrek franchise
- The Adventures of Puss in Boots, a 2015 Netflix animated television series featuring the version from Shrek
- And due for release this Christmas (2022) is DreamWorks Animation’s new adventure in the Shrek universe. The film is titled: Puss in Boots THE LAST WISH.
This is a humanised (anthropomorphized) domestic cat that we can identify by type with some accuracy.
Firstly, Puss in Boots himself says that he is a tabby cat. That is a good start, and it is pretty obvious by the markings.
Secondly judging by the appearance this is a:
Male ginger tabby-and-white random bred cat (moggie or moggy).
I say that Puss in Boots is a moggie as there is nothing to state otherwise. As moggies outnumber pedigree, purebred cats by a factor of many hundreds it is far more likely that Puss is a moggie and any in case he is a street fighter, it seems to me, although I have not seen the Shrek films. The classic tomcat street fighter is an unsterilized non-purebred.
Ginger tabby cats are also called red tabbies, orange tabbies, marmalade tabbies and yellow tabbies. ‘Red’ is probably the pro name.
The interesting aspect of choosing this coat type is that male ginger tabbies have a good reputation for having good characters. Somewhat predisposed to being leaders which fits in nicely with the narrative.
And most ginger tabbies are males as the coat colour is sex linked. That fits in nicely too.
An illustration from 1843 of the original Puss in Boots from 1697:
P.S. Garfield is a ginger tabby too.
