Do I actually have a female orange tabby?

[Kittle]

Hi, This kitten is about 6 months old and the neighbor decided they didn't want her or him anymore. So, we're adopting her and she seems like she might be pregnant, however I read that orange and white cats are male 80% of the time. Thanks

 

[Kittle]

 

[Willowy]

I read that orange and white cats are male 80% of the time.

Yes, but that means the other 20% are female .

So, yup, she's female, and very well could be pregnant. Call your vet to discuss options, prenatal care, what to do in emergencies, etc.

 

[Kittle]

Thank you

 

[VegasJeff]

I read that orange cats are mostly females so maybe it’s just all hearsay.

 

[Norachan]

I read that orange cats are mostly females so maybe it’s just all hearsay.

Orange tabbies are mostly male, calico and torbies are almost always female. But there are always exceptions to the rule.

 

[lutece]

Orange tabbies are mostly male, calico and torbies are almost always female. But there are always exceptions to the rule.

It's a little different in the two cases.

Red tabby females are perfectly normal females, they are just less common than red tabby males. Females need two copies of the sex-linked red gene in order to be red tabbies, while males only have one X chromosome, and therefore need only one copy of the gene in order to be red tabbies.

Tortoiseshell and calico males, on the other hand, are not normal males. A male can only be tortoiseshell or calico if he has two X chromosomes (such as an XXY male), or if he is a chimera (two fertilized eggs that fused accidentally during development and became one kitten).

 

[Norachan]

Yes, I know.



I just wanted to let the other posters in this thread know that we do get orange females and, less commonly, calico or tortie males. Thank you for explaining the differences.

 

[kittyluv387]

The poor little baby girl! Pregnant at 6 months. Thanks for taking her in. Looks like a girl.

 

[Willowy]

Nah, orange cats really are 75%-80% male and 20%-25% female.

It's because male cats only get one color gene from their mother, but females get one color gene from each parent. So a male can be orange if his mom is tortie or orange, doesn't matter what his father is, but females can only be orange if their mother is orange or tortie, and their father is orange, and that doesn't happen as often.

Torties/calicos are almost always female though.

Oops, I started writing this before the other replies and forgot to hit post for a while, looks like they covered it!