Ginger, orange, marmalade: all names for the same coat colour, produced by a pigment called pheomelanin. In Türkiye these cats are commonly called sarman.

Like tabby, ginger is a colour and not a breed. It appears in pedigree breeds and in cats with no pedigree at all.

Why most ginger cats are male

The gene for orange colouring sits on the X chromosome.

Male cats have one X chromosome, so a single copy of the orange gene makes them ginger. Female cats have two, and need the gene on both to be entirely ginger. That is less likely, which is why roughly three out of four ginger cats are male.

A female with the gene on only one X chromosome ends up with patches of orange and patches of another colour: a tortoiseshell or a calico. This is also why tortoiseshell cats are almost always female.

Every ginger cat is a tabby

There is no such thing as a solid ginger cat. The gene that masks tabby markings does not work on orange pigment, so all ginger cats show stripes, swirls or spots, even if faintly.

Look closely at any ginger cat in good light and you will see the pattern, along with the M shaped marking on the forehead that all tabbies carry.

Freckles

Many ginger cats develop small dark spots on the nose, lips, gums and eyelids as they mature. This is lentigo, it is harmless, and it tends to increase with age.

It is worth knowing about mainly so you can tell it apart from something that is not harmless. Lentigo spots are flat and stay flat. A spot that becomes raised, changes shape, bleeds or grows should be examined.

Temperament

There is no ginger temperament. The widely repeated idea that ginger cats are especially friendly is folklore.

Personality comes from the genetics inherited from the parents, socialisation between two and seven weeks of age, and later experience. What may lie behind the reputation is that most ginger cats are male, and neutered males are on average somewhat more relaxed and sociable than females, which is a sex difference rather than a colour one.

Care

The same as for any cat. A complete diet appropriate to age, current vaccination and parasite control, annual health checks and twice yearly once over ten, dental care, clean litter trays, and enough to do.

One point specific to pale coated cats: white or pale ears and noses are vulnerable to sunburn and, over years, to skin cancer at those sites. In a ginger and white cat, keep it out of direct midday sun and have any persistent scab or sore on the ear tips or nose examined rather than watched.