# Do you have an orange tabby??



## Claiken (Dec 18, 2007)

Or, do you know one? If so, are they 'chubby'??

Just wondering.

Every one i have come across is bigger boned/structured, and chubby (not obese, just not, ideal).

I have seen mine, his brother, my moms friends orange tabby and white one, and my brothers neighbours orange and white. Theyre all chubby.

Ive also heard that the bigger structure is typical of orange kitties?

With Simba and his brother both being chubby, while Simba is free fed and his brother is set mealtimes, i think for him its safe to say its genetics.

My brothers neighbours is outdoor indoor (hes actually rather rare though, wont leave his own lawn, and never walks on the street), but hes outside getting fresh air and stuff and hes still chubbier.

All the ones i know happen to be boys too, ive heard orange girls are rare?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I have an orange guy. His last vet visit he weighed in @ 13.6 (pretty sure that's what it was) and he's not heavy. The vet was happy with how he looked.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Ive always have called orange kitties the solid citizens of the cat world. That has been my experience with all my orange fosters, adult and kitten alike. 

A good friend of mine loves orange tabbys. She is drawn to them. 3 have found their way into her household of 8.

Its been my experience to that the orange kitties i come across are big cat. I know a lot of people whose favorite cats are the big tom cats. To say orange kitties that are large are not desirable just isnt true. I have friends who love torti cats. Other friends who love orange tabbys. I have a weakness for bobtails and no tail cats. Plus a special infinity for blind cats. The are groups of people which love each kind of breed or look.

I believe the orange tabbys have a healthy strong gene pool. That is why most of them are large.


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

Here's the orange cats that I know:

Rudy - male = slender, more like a 'runner' figure than body builder (if your going with human standards)

Orange Momma - female = Average. She's just about perfect for a cat, except for that "spay sway" at the belly.

Chirpie - female = getting fat. I might blame the junk food, but OM & Rudy both get the same kind, so I'm not so sure it's that. But she must have gained at least 5 pounds in the last year!

Vermillion - male = He was (before going over the Bridge) rather big. But more in a "sturdy" way, like strong and muscular, not fat.

Tangelo - male = He seems sort of petite, especially for a male. He's not really _skinny_, but just small-ish for an adult. (I sort of wonder if Zinny is his daughter...she's full grown and barely 6 lbs)


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

Sammy is a very big kitty. The vet has said he can't put on anymore weight but he's not too bad at the moment. (He's 6kg - not sure what that is in pounds).
BUT Meeka actually weighs 6.3kgs and the vet has said she needs to lose some weight so I think I just have big kitties. Hehe


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## Sophie123 (Jul 13, 2011)

Enzo is Orange & white...and he is twice the size of littermate Eddie who is black & white (from pics ive seen from when they were born, Enzo WAS the smallest of the litter!)

I can tell he is going to be big though, big paws and the amount he has grown in the last 5 weeks, even for a kitten is alarming!

I love big ginger cats though so i dont mind. Im pretty keen to get a long haired ginger at some point!


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

I have had several. 
Paws my male was very long and tall, but skinny always looked a bit under weight.

Squeek my female had short legs with a small front end but heavy muscular back legs. so she always looked amazingly shaped like a pear.


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

Claiken said:


> All the ones i know happen to be boys too, ive heard orange girls are rare?


I ended up with a litter of 7 born once. 3 female 4 male. and all were orange but 1 and HE was a buff.
so I would be inclined to say not rare enough not to look under the tail before saying its male.. 

But then I still check calicos, since i had one of those rare males once.

But then every Buff I have had was male.. isn't Buff related to the ginger gene?


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

I've known three:
Bigga-Boy - Despite his name, I'd say he was an average sized cat. Very muscular.
Rusty - Small. Skinny when we first got him, then he pigged out at the neighbors houses, and then he lost weight and is normal.
Noah - Also smallish. Normal weight.

So.. no, I don't think being orange means you are big or fat. I think it means that most cats are fat anyhow.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Mitts & Tess said:


> Ive always have called orange kitties the solid citizens of the cat world.


I love that.

I've asked this question before and was surprised that the responses were kind of mixed. I think of orange boys as being big, hearty cats. My Murphy is a very solid 16.3 pounds right now, and I don't think he seems fat at all. 

And while we're at it, I think orange cats are sweet, awesome kitties. A woman I didn't know came in our house last night to get something off of Freecycle, and Murphy walked right up to her, nuzzled her, flopped over to give her his best stuff, and purred. Gotta love that.


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

I visited the local petsmart, they had 3 orange brothers, 2 years old, owner had passed away. these guys were all large and in charge.. (at least 15lbs each) not fat but very solid...(also very sweet)


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Holly is supposed to be a big girl, and she is from a bone structure standpoint...but she's very thin. I finally put a little weight on her and she's not as bony as she used to be. But she's still a bit underweight.

Yes, orange girls are relatively rare. Statistics seem to range from 5-10% of orange cats. It has to do with the genetics...the red color gene is sex linked.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Muffin is orange, he is also a very solid boy. He's definitely not over weight, he's very muscular. He's the biggest of our four cats at around 15lbs.


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## tarah44 (Jul 18, 2011)

My mom has an orange male called Garfield and he is huge! I don't know what he weighs but she had to put him on diet food 2 years ago and he's slimmed down quite a bit. I agree though, most orange cats I have come across are big cats!


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Missy is OT and big. I keep her on a slightly restricted diet. But now that you mention it, the stray orange tabby that I fed for several years was quite big, and for a long time he was feeding himself. However, I have seen smaller OTs.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

October said:


> A woman I didn't know came in our house last night to get something off of Freecycle, and Murphy walked right up to her, nuzzled her, *flopped over to give her his best stuff,* and purred. Gotta love that.


I love that line. I would also like to be on the receiving end of Murphy's best stuff.

The special thing about my big guy Tuffy is not only his sweet nature but his gorgeous color. Orange...gold...it depends on the light, but it is always beautiful.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

love.my.cats said:


> Sammy is a very big kitty. The vet has said he can't put on anymore weight but he's not too bad at the moment. (He's 6kg - not sure what that is in pounds).
> BUT Meeka actually weighs 6.3kgs and the vet has said she needs to lose some weight so I think I just have big kitties. Hehe


2.2 lbs to the kilo is near enough.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Greenport ferals said:


> I love that line. I would also like to be on the receiving end of Murphy's best stuff.


Funny! Whenever I see a cat rolling around at someone's feet I think, "_Oh look!_ He's giving you his best stuff!" Really, I think they know they're extra special adorable at that time.


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## OwnedByIsis (Jun 21, 2011)

My kitty cat soul mate growing up was a huge male orange tabby. His name was Alfie. He weighed 24 lbs., not overweight, he was just a big boned, strong cat. He was an indoor/outdoor cat, used to go outside and catch his prey daily (mice or squirrels and the odd bird). He used to play fetch and could actually open doors that had the latch type knobs. He was such a great cat. Vocal, amazing personality, and very dog-like. My grandparents got him when I was 2 and he lived for 22 years. He died of pancreatic cancer.

All these years later, I still miss my munchkin.


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## Salemcat2 (Dec 28, 2010)

I had an outdoor orange cat once and he was huge and very handsome!!


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## Vivien (Jun 29, 2011)

My Rex is an orange cat. He used to weigh 14 lbs but I've cut down his dry food and feed him wet. He is now 12 lbs but he is big boned.


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## Luvkitties (Jan 22, 2009)

One of my closest friend have three cats and one of them is a big orange boy. He is big boned, really muscular and have big paws. He weighs around 15 pounds but he is not fat.


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## tarah44 (Jul 18, 2011)

My friend crystal has a really big orange cat. In the summer she takes him to a groomer and he gets a lion cut. He seriously looks like a miniature lion just a little more beige then orange. I keep teasing her about her matching pets. She has two red retrievers and and orange lion cat.


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## Claiken (Dec 18, 2007)

love.my.cats said:


> Sammy is a very big kitty. The vet has said he can't put on anymore weight but he's not too bad at the moment. (He's 6kg - not sure what that is in pounds).
> BUT Meeka actually weighs 6.3kgs and the vet has said she needs to lose some weight so I think I just have big kitties. Hehe


same with my vet too. But hes not 'fat'. Hes just like a bigger build/structure. He does have a little belly pouch, but far from dragging across the ground as he walks. 

Boo on the other hand is female (calico/tortie) and she is like, the picture perfect size for her build. But shes not orange tabby either. same food and everything.

Even if he is a little chubby, hes still my Bubster!


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## AmberH (Jul 20, 2011)

My Oden is orange/red and he's pretty large. He towers over my other cats. When he first found me and for about a year after that, he lived outside. He was rather athletic and muscular. Since he's come inside, he's gotten really fat. Poor guy misses it outside but I'm just to paranoid to let him go. I don't want something to happen to him.


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## duodallas (Jul 11, 2004)

Arnold is between 21 and 23 lbs. Not flabby. His rib cage is huge. He's an indoor-outdoor and very friendly. He will eat anything if he sees me or the dogs eating it (except leafy vegetables).


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

My Percy was just the most laid-back,friendliest,funniest cat you ever saw! When I 1st got him he wasn't very sociable ,but he gradually came to like me,then other humans,then other pussycats. He'd let me hold him,he loved pizza,and he'd do his mighty hunter routine on the windowsill when the birds were out.

Orange cats! There's a song/video called Orange Kitty.


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## Beckie210789 (May 9, 2011)

I have one now! His name is Waffles, and lord is he cute! 4 weeks old atm


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## christinaja (Aug 28, 2011)

Let's see. The Orange kitties I have known are as follows:

Big Tom- Pretty self explanatory here. I was five, and not super creative. He was a huge maine **** mix that just showed up at our house in the country one day. He was a big, massive kitty.

Cheese- My niece and nephew's cat. Before crossing the bridge, he had kind of a "swimmer's build," but in cat form. 

Copper- My brother's cat as a teen. He was a good, sturdy kitty. Kind of like a graeco-roman wrestler. 

Indiana(my mom's outside kitty)- He is a solidly built kitty, but not heavy. Kind of like a middleweight boxer. 

Brutus- neighborhood feral/stray that is a bit braver than most...he likes to hang out on people's porches and get an occasional ear rubby. He reminds me of Jason Statham. Smaller, but solid, and he has this intimidating face with a perpetual snarl. 

Charlie- My boss' cat. He was from a litter of feral babies that the mom had in our bushes. He's built a lot like Brutus, but a completely sweet face. 

Overall, the orange kitties I have met tend to be kind of middle of the road in size and weight. I think it depends a lot on what their nutrition has been like, and what breeds are in their background.


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## Jack&Harley (Nov 2, 2008)

Jack is a long hair orange tabby, perfect weight at 11.5lbs per the vet last week, very long bodied, but Pepper who is a blue and white bi color is the same weight and length and again perfect weight.


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

I think the question should be does anyone have a petite Red Tabby, I don't believe I've ever seen one.
All the red tabbys I've known have been good sized cats, Samantha father and half sister are red and being MMC are both quite large.


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