this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2025
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All Orange Cats Share One Brain Cell

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Pictures of orange boys and girls, with and without the cell.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I have six orange girls. Probably the largest collection on the East coast that isn't a shelter or rescue.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Clockwise 11:30 Charlie 1:00 Topaz 3:00 Papita 4:00 Tasselhoff 6:00 Lucy 9:00 Ellie

Charlie, Tasselhoff and Papita are also bobtails. So bonus rareness.

[–] AwesomeLowlander 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

We foster a lot of cats and and I had had orange girl on my list for a long long time. And then one day someone called me because in an area I was doing tnr my mom dropped off three babies on a porch. All three were girls. I caught the mom who was also orange. And then we picked up two more within a few months.

I went from years without a single orange girl showing up to a flood of them to a flood of them. I was only going to keep two but my wife made me keep all of them.

[–] AwesomeLowlander 6 points 1 day ago

I guess she's a keeper.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

I just started an audio book that I think you might enjoy as it co-star a couple of orange kittys: Starter Villain.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 days ago

TLDR: They are mutants just like Jean Grey in the X-people. Their superpower is being able to ignore their name being called from 2 feet away.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ok now why are they dumb as a box of rocks?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

Too much effort placed into handsomeness, no time left for brains.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Cool. On a related topic, I picked up a stray light orange cat on my first walk of 2025 and they turned out to be female! Won the cat lottery!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

20% is pretty common. I have one, my friend has two.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Except we already knew this, it's basically genetics.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

AI generated summary:

Orange cats are known for their energetic and mischievous nature, with a cultural belief in Italy that they are often leaders. This reputation is linked to the fact that most orange cats are male, a phenomenon explained by recent genetic research. Two independent scientific teams discovered that a mutation on the X chromosome is responsible for the orange coat color in domesticated cats.

Male cats have one X chromosome, while females have two, which accounts for the mixed coloration seen in female

tortoiseshell and calico cats. Unlike other mammals, where mutations in the Mc1r gene lead to red fur, cats have a different genetic mechanism. The gene Arhgap36, located on the X chromosome, was identified as the source of the orange coloration, resulting in a significant increase in RNA production. This finding sheds light on the unique genetic basis for orange fur in cats, making them a "genetic unicorn" among felines.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

That's interesting! Thank you