Scientists have confirmed that there is something unique about ginger-hued domestic felines. In a new study, Stanford Medicine researchers have discovered the long-posited but elusive genetic mutation that makes orange cats orange—and it appears to occur in no other mammal.

Scientists from Kyushu University have identified the long-sought “orange gene” behind ginger fur in domestic cats—a deletion mutation in a gene on the X chromosome. This discovery explains why most orange cats are male while tortoiseshell and calico cats are female,

From Tama, Japan's most famous stationmaster calico cat, to the lasagna-loving, ginger Garfield, cats with orange fur are both cultural