If you’ve been an active user of social media in the past few years, you might have noticed a strange phenomenon surrounding orange cats. And why, you might ask, are orange cats in focus here, instead of black, white, or tortoiseshell ones? What’s all the fuss about, exactly?
Some self-proclaimed cat experts insist that orange felines specifically tend to behave in a strange, unorthodox, or simply “crazy” way. Some scoff at this theory, rejecting it as completely unfounded, while others find it entertaining, even true.
A lot of videos showing unusual behavior in orange cats have gone viral on TikTok or YouTube. These are clips of people’s pets acting funny, aggressive, or a tad too playful around the house. Little by little, this turned into a trend, leading folks to believe that orange cats are weirder than others. While this does sound intriguing, it needs closer inspection to see if there’s any merit to it.
What we know for sure is that looking for patterns, no matter how unusual, is part of human nature. Things we cannot explain amuse and baffle us, and we’re always ready to make a quick sensation out of something. But let’s see if this topic actually deserves our attention.
How it All Started
Thanks to the Internet, the “news” about orange cats being loonies spread like wildfire, amusing millions of viewers. Someone posted a video on Twitter of their orange furball messing around in a drawer, with the following caption: “Orange cat is the crackhead of cat.” As you might imagine, it became a real hit, getting thousands of likes fast. Many other orange cat owners followed suit, posting compilations of their pets fooling around, turning bottles over, being loud and hostile, etc.
Indeed, a single post intended to make us laugh soon turned into a trend. Without really looking for reasoning behind it, or maybe some scientific explanation, people worldwide jumped on the bandwagon, showing their furry oranges acting funny or ridiculous. Some of these clips are hilarious, no doubt about it, and they certainly helped increase the popularity of ginger felines.
We can agree that there’s nothing wrong with a meme trend that hurts no one. Okay, maybe save for the reputation of orange cats, but they hardly care about it. What we want to know is – does this make any sense at all?
Common Beliefs
Because of this online hype, some people consider orange felines to be, for lack of a better term, more special than others. First of all, orange is a visually striking color. These animals stand out, we notice them more and want to play with them. Maybe this is why we analyze their behavior more often.
Also, think of Garfield for a second. This globally popular cartoon character is orange, and besides Tom of Tom & Jerry fame, it’s probably the best-known cat in pop culture. It’s possible that we associate this legendary orange tabby with real-life gingers, at least subconsciously.
Some owners report that their gingers are super-friendly and affectionate. The videos are certainly there to show it. But, is this only an orange cat thing? That’s hardly the case. If you put five different-colored cats, one of them orange, in a room full of people, there’s no guarantee that this one cat will act strange.
Again, like people, cats are individuals, and their habits depend on many factors. Age, sex, parents, genes, the owner, how they’re treated, etc. It all varies from one animal to another, and it’s impossible to simply write off all Bengals as aggressive, or consider all Ragdolls to be affectionate.
Male or Female – There’s a Difference
If there’s something you can’t argue with, it’s stats. In our case here, stats show that four-fifths, or 80% of all orange cats, are male. If this sounds strange, hold on – there’s a biological explanation behind it. As you know, males have only one X chromosome, and females have two. Now, the gene for the orange coat only relates to the X-chromosome. What does that mean? If only one parent has this gene, the male kitty will be orange. Females, on the other hand, need it from both parents to be orange. If they inherit it from only one parent, they become tortoiseshell or calico.
Since it’s rare for both parents to have genes for orange fur, it only makes sense that most ginger furballs are male. And tomcats, being typically more energetic, playful, and “crazy”, will get into more shenanigans than females, no doubt about it. Based on this, we can safely assume that the majority of the viral cats getting into trouble are toms. Suddenly, this weird phenomenon somehow starts to make sense, doesn’t it?
It’s Fun to Believe
As we said, we humans simply love seeking patterns and meaning where there might not be any. Just consider astrology for a moment: is there any scientific proof backing it up? Anti-zodiac people are always ready to debunk astrology as something created out of thin air, something that has nothing to do with real life. But this doesn’t stop people from creating an entire astrological universe that can predict our destiny. Why? Because it’s fun to believe.
Confirmation bias is another strong point here. This means we seek evidence for beliefs we already have. If someone believes orange cats are nutcases, they will look for proof, dumb as it may be. We have this inherent need to be certain about things we like, it’s just part of human nature.
Or let’s consider animal-related superstition for a second. We’ve all heard that seeing a black cat cross the road brings bad luck. Nonsense? Perhaps, but it certainly lives in many people’s heads rent-free. In Japan, for instance, it is thought that seeing a snake is considered good luck. Animals can’t talk, they’re always enigmatic to us, so we do our best to make sense of them. Either that or it’s all simply in the name of good fun so we can have a good laugh together. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
