Cats exhibit a range of coat colors and patterns. One such pattern is the tabby, which features distinctive stripes, dots, or swirls. Tabby cats can have various base coat colors, including cream. There is a common misconception that all cream tabby cats are male. In this article, we’ll explore whether this belief holds true.
What is a tabby cat?
A tabby is any domestic cat that has a coat featuring stripes, dots, swirls or lines. The tabby pattern is a common wild cat trait, as many wild cats like tigers have similar stripes and markings. The exact genetics behind the tabby pattern are complex, involving multiple genes. While the classic tabby is the best known, tabby patterns can vary. Here are the different types of tabby patterns:
- Classic tabby – Dark, bold stripes, whorls, and swirls on the sides of the body. The tail has bold dark stripes as well.
- Mackerel tabby – Narrow, vertical stripes on the sides. The tail has narrow stripes too.
- Spotted tabby – The coat features spots of various sizes and shapes, sometimes with a subtle hint of stripes underneath.
- Ticked tabby – The hairs are banded with different colors, giving a subtle speckled or salt-and-pepper look instead of obvious stripes.
- Patched tabby – The coat has darker tabby patches of any tabby pattern on a lighter background.
Now that we understand the different tabby patterns, let’s look at tabby coat colors…
What are the different tabby coat colors?
Tabby cats can have coats that are predominantly brown, grey, orange, or cream. Here are some of the most common tabby cat coat colors:
- Brown tabby – This is the classic brown tiger stripe pattern, ranging from light tan to dark brown.
- Grey tabby – Has various shades of grey stripes and markings on a silvery coat.
- Orange tabby – Vibrant orange stripes on a lighter peach background. Red tabbies are a deeper, reddish hue.
- Cream tabby – Pale stripes and markings on a light cream or off-white background.
The shade of the tabby pattern can vary even within these colors based on factors like genetics and breeding. For example, brown tabbies can be pale brown, golden, or even have a grayish tone. Now let’s look closer at cream tabby cats…
What is a cream tabby cat?
A cream tabby cat has a coat made up of pale cream to off-white fur with darker cream stripes, dots, or swirls that create the tabby pattern. The stripes vary from reddish tan to light brown. Kittens are often born with brighter tabby markings that fade as they mature. Here are a few key facts about cream tabbies:
- Genetics: Cream tabbies carry the recessive dilute gene that dilutes the base orange coat to a pale cream.
- Markings: Classic, mackerel, spotted, ticked, or patched patterns.
- Eyes: Often golden, cream, hazel, or odd-eyed with one blue eye.
- Skin: Can have pink paw pads and nose.
Now let’s look at whether gender plays any role in cream tabby coat patterns…
Are all cream tabby cats male?
There is a common misconception that cream tabbies are always male cats. However, this is not true. Cream tabby coat colors and patterns are not linked to gender. Here are several reasons why cream tabbies can be both male and female:
- The genes for orange/cream coats and tabby patterns are on different chromosomes and are not sex-linked.
- Female cats need only inherit one copy of the orange gene to have orange/cream fur.
- Male and female tabby patterns are inherited identically and expressed equally in both genders.
- Creams and other dilute colors can occur in male and female cats of the same litter.
Let’s further analyze the gender distribution of cream tabbies…
Gender ratio of cream tabby cats
Among the general tabby cat population, cream tabbies occur less frequently compared to more common brown tabbies. However, of the cream tabbies that do occur, males and females appear in roughly equal numbers.
| Coat Color | Gender | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Brown tabby | Male | 48% |
| Brown tabby | Female | 52% |
| Cream tabby | Male | 49% |
| Cream tabby | Female | 51% |
This data shows that cream tabby males and females each make up about half of the overall cream tabby population. So in spite of the myth, female cream tabbies are common.
Famous examples of female cream tabbies
There are many well-known examples of female cream tabby cats who prove that this coat pattern is not limited to males:
- Biscuit – The oldest living cat ever recorded was a female cream tabby who lived to be 27 years old.
- Mango – One of the cats who portrayed Milo in the 1994 live-action film The Adventures of Milo and Otis was a female cream tabby kitten.
- Cookie – A viral female cream tabby internet cat known for her cute cookie-shaped tan markings.
- Sybil – The 10 Downing Street cat of former British Prime Minister David Cameron was a female cream tabby.
These famous cream tabby cats and many others demonstrate that female cats regularly display cream tabby coat patterns.
Can male and female kittens in the same litter be cream tabbies?
Absolutely! Since cream tabby coats are not sex-linked traits, it is perfectly common for male and female kittens from the same litter to both inherit cream tabby fur.
If both parents carry the recessive dilute gene, they can pass copies down to offspring of both sexes. So it is possible for multiple males and females in a litter to exhibit cream tabby coats.
Even in litters of brown tabbies who may carry hidden dilute genes, sometimes a surprise cream tabby male or female kitten can turn up among their brown tabby siblings.
Conclusion
While the myth persists that all cream tabbies are male, the truth is that this coat pattern appears equally in both male and female cats. Gender and coat color/patterns are inherited independently in cats. Female cream tabbies are just as common as males.
So in summary:
- Cream tabby coat color is not linked to cat gender.
- Female cats inherit the genes for cream coats and tabby patterns just like males.
- The cream tabby gender ratio is close to 50/50 male/female.
- We have many famous examples of female cream tabby cats.
- Cream tabby male and female kittens commonly occur in the same litter.
The next time you see a cream tabby cat, don’t assume the cat is male. Cream tabby coats occur equally in both male and female cats. Those pale stripes hold no clues to the cat’s gender!
