Hysteria in the debate about the color orange vs. gray cat: “Laughed so loudly at work”

A cat owner has gone viral on social media after sharing his theory that gray tabbies are just orange cats that are “printed in black and white.” But how much truth is there behind it?

In a Reddit post shared under the username u/TheVoiceOfCheese on Monday, two of the poster’s cats, Boots and Calypso, are pictured sleeping on the couch after a day of shenanigans. They lie on top of each other while Boots, the orange one, hilariously rests his butt on the gray kitten’s head. “Are gray tabby cats just orange cats printed in black and white?” reads a caption shared with the viral image.

Ryan Sweeney told Newsweek that he and his wife have five cats in their house: two orange tabby cats, Boots and Jack, a gray tabby kitten Calypso, a black kitten Noir and a grumpy old lady, brown tabby Yam.

“The joke is that all orange tabby cats share a single brain cell. “Our little gray tabby has a goofy energy that is reminiscent of the behavior of orange tabbies, so we just thought it was funny that she was just an orange cat with a grayscale filter,” Sweeney said.

“[However] I think there might be some bias against Orange Tabbies because so many cats, regardless of fur, are just absolute goofballs who bring people joy with their silly antics.”

Orange cats are known for being friendly, goofy, and generally more affectionate than other cats. White people are seen as shy and distant; and black cats aggressive and mean. But does color really affect a cat’s personality and behavior?

In a Catster article written by Dr. Amanda Charles has been medically examined and says the answer is no. Even if the color of the coat has no influence on the behavior of the cat, this is certainly the case with its breed. In fact, almost half of all behavioral differences between cats can be attributed to this.

For example, British Shorthairs have been found to be less sociable, while Korats and Devon Rexes have been found to be more friendly and Ragdolls have been found to be shy.

Another question the viral post raises is whether Gray Tabbies are actually the same as Orange Tabbies, and the answer to that is yes. Gray and orange tabbys are not a breed, but a color that can appear in different breeds.

Tabbies come in different color varieties including gray, orange and brown, and in different breeds such as American Shorthair, Abyssinian and many others. Most tabbies also have some kind of M-shaped pattern on their forehead, which is created by the pattern of the fur. So, yes, Gray Tabbies are the same as Orange Tabbies, just printed in black and white.

The post quickly went viral on Reddit. So far, it has received over 26,000 upvotes and almost 400 likes on the platform.

One user, Littlebookwyrm, commented: “The evidence seems to support it 100 percent.”

Flimsy-Turn-8995 posted: “I wonder the same thing about Black Tabbies. I have a black tabby named Taco and he is just as stupid as my orange cat TC.”

Smarty1017 wrote: “I laughed so hard at work…everyone was looking at me…”

Jupiter68128 added: “Yes, the cat distribution system clicked the grayscale button before printing.”

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