How Do Red Tabby Cats Get Their Color? (2024)

FAQs

How do cats get their coloring? ›

Researchers discovered some of the genetics behind cat coloring, from Abyssinians and tabbies to leopards and tigers. Color patterns in cats are determined in part by a gene called DKK4. Your sedentary lap cat may not seem to share many similarities with its fierce relatives prowling the African savanna.

The red cat is a common type that is always tabby in pattern, and males far outnumber females. They are more commonly called orange, ginger, marmalade, yellow, butter, caramel, or butterscotch. Red cats are not their own breed and you can find them in many cat breeds as well as moggies (cats with no pedigree).

The co-dominant red gene (O/o), found on the X chromosome, determines whether there will be any red variations to fur color or not. This gene encodes phaeomelanin. The dominant allele O codes for orange tones, and the recessive allele o for the non-orange pigmentation (black or brown).

In a study published this week in Nature Communications, scientists report that the genes that set up the tabby pattern are activated in an embryo's skin cells before the cat's fur develops. The early skin cells even mimic tabby stripes under the microscope, a discovery never seen before in embryonic cells.

Since male cats only have one X chromosome, it means that male kittens get their coat color genes from their mother, so their mother's coat color will directly impact a male kitten's coat colors. Female kittens, on the other hand, can have coat color determined by both parents.

Of all the cats we discussed, the true albino cat is the rarest. These cats will have an all-white coat with blue eyes. The non-albino white cat is the next rarest, followed by other cats with white fur due to albinism, or the gene that prevents color from reaching the skin.

Red Tabby Cats Aren't a Breed

The tabby color is a coat pattern rather than a specific breed and can also be seen in other colors, including grey, brown, caramel, and silver. Cats with red tabby coats can be found in breeds such as Maine Coons, Persians, British Shorthairs, Abyssinians, and more!

When it comes to the Tabby cat origin, it's thought that the array of Tabby patterns seen today all started with the mackerel pattern, which is the natural coat pattern of the African wildcat.

Tabby Patterns

Orange tabbies, also called red or ginger, are white with any shade of orange, from the palest cream to the deepest red. Tabby markings come in four recognized patterns (classic, mackerel, spotted and ticked), but all have the typical tabby “M” on the forehead.

For females to be ginger they'll need the 'O' chromosome on both 'X' chromosomes, if they have 'Oo' instead, they'll be calico or ginger. Due to the fact females have so many more possible combinations, they're less likely to be ginger and as such only 20% are.

Are all tabby cats females? ›

No, they are just as likely to be male. The only colours I am aware of where the cat's sex is a factor are tortoiseshell/calico - almost always female - and ginger/orange/red tabby (without white) - more often male.

The recessive gene version, a or non-agouti, creates a solid-colored hair. Since the A is dominant and a cat only needs to inherit it from one parent to get the tabby pattern, most black cats are tabbies. In order for a cat to be solid black, it must inherit the recessive pattern gene (a) from both parents.

As we've seen, Tabby cats can have very different looks, but there is one defining feature that they all bear: the 'M' mark on their foreheads. This distinguishing feature is the stuff of legends and myths surrounding tabby cats around the world.

The "M" is said to have been left by the Prophet Mohammed as gratitude to his favourite tabby cat, who was named Muezza. This cat had once saved him from a venomous snake, and legend has it that when the prophet was called to prayer and went to pick up his robe, Muezza was asleep on the sleeve.

tabby! Rarer still, different coloured littermates with. ticked coats.

The Dilute Gene: Gray, Buff, and More

“But my cat is gray!” Yes, because there is another gene that is recessive, the dilute gene (d), which lightens a color. Because it's recessive, it must be inherited from both parents to be represented.

Cats can be even riskier to dye than dogs, even when safety precautions are in place. This is because they self-groom regularly and can easily ingest the coloring. In one exceptionally tragic 2015 incident, a kitten died from toxic ingestion after licking its fur that had been colored hot pink.

Some cats will go grey as they age but not on the scale that dogs and humans do. As our feline friends mature, they retain enough melanocytes – the cells in the hair follicles responsible for the production of the pigment melanin – to ensure that the colouring process does not significantly diminish.

Although they cannot perceive colours in the same way humans do, they are still able to identify contrasts and shades. Black cats may not have the same level of consciousness as humans regarding their physical appearance, but they can still distinguish variations in their appearance.