News Genetics

What gene makes orange cats orange? Scientists figured it out

Calico and tortoiseshell cats also carry an X-chromosome mutation

An orange cat and a black and orange calico cat lying down, staring at the camera.

Orange fur in domestic cats usually arises from a specific DNA deletion in the X chromosome, two new studies suggest.

Stefano Stefani/Getty Images

By McKenzie Prillaman

Orange cats are so goofy that people joke that the chaotic kitties share one communal brain cell.

But most of these domestic felines — along with multicolored calicos and tortoiseshells — actually do share something: a single genetic mutation that makes their fur ginger, researchers report in two studies published May 15 in Current Biology.