Tuxedo cats are perhaps the best-dressed felines in the cat world. Their coat pattern looks like they’re wearing a tuxedo; they’re always ready to attend a red-carpet event.
January 29th is Tuxedo Cat Appreciation Day, so I thought it would be fun for us all to learn more about these formal felines.
Tuxedos Aren’t Just Black and White
When you think of a tuxedo cat, you probably think of a mostly black cat with a white chest and feet. These cats may also have a little white on their face, on their chin or nose, making it look like they are wearing a mask. Did you know that tuxedo cats can also come in other colors, such as gray and white or orange and white?
Tuxedo Cat Breed
The tuxedo cat breed doesn’t exist. Rather, these cats have bicolor coats; this coat pattern can be seen in several breeds, such as Persian, Munchkin, American Shorthair, Norwegian Forest Cat, Manx, Turkish Angora, Maine Coon, American Curl, and Exotic Shorthair. Cats with the tuxedo coat pattern can be short-haired or long-haired.
It was once believed that the tuxedo coat pattern was a result of slow pigment cells that couldn’t reach all parts of a cat embryo’s body before the embryo was fully developed, accounting for the white parts of the tuxedo cat’s body. Scientists are now leaning toward a different theory – that bicolor cats are formed by a faulty “kit” gene. The gene is faulty because it doesn’t multiply at a typical rate.
Tuxies Are Equally Male and Female
Approximately 80% of orange cats are male. Nearly all calico cats are female. Only one in 3,000 tortoiseshell cats are male. These coat colors and patterns are sex-linked. The tuxedo coat pattern is not sex-linked, so there are an equal number of male and female cats with tuxedo coats.
Tuxedo Cats in the Media
There are several famous cats in the media. Sylvester the Cat is one many people are familiar with – he starred along with Tweety in the cartoon, Looney Tunes. Figaro is a tuxie that appears in the Disney movie Pinochio. Andrew Lloyd Webster’s musical, Cats, features a tuxie named Mr. Mistoffelees. The Cat in the Hat character from Dr. Seuss is another famous tuxedo cat. Did you know that this cat actually appeared in six of Dr. Seuss’s books? Felix the cat from the silent film era of the 1920s is still recognized as an important character in film history.
Tuxedo Cats in History
These well-dressed cats have played an important part in history.
Did you know that Beethoven, William Shakespeare, and Sir Isaac Newton were all owned by tuxies? I’m sure these cats were quite inspirational to their humans.
A tuxedo cat named Simon played an important part in World War II by protecting food supplies from mice and other pests for his British Allies. After the war, he received a medal for his service!
Socks was the First Cat of the United States. He owned former President, Bill Clinton, and his family. The Clintons adopted Socks in 1991. He visited hospitals and schools often, and he even had mail addressed to him that White House staff would answer.
In 2012, a tuxedo cat named Tuxedo Stan ran for mayor of Halifax, California. He advocated for a city-sponsored spay, neuter, and care program for cats. He didn’t win (but he should have in my opinion), but his campaign led to him becoming a worldwide sensation.
To the Moon and Back
Okay, so maybe tuxedo cats haven’t been to the moon (yet), but one of them made it to the top of Mount Everest.
The only cat who has ever made it to the top of Mount Everest was a tuxedo named Roderick, who was carried up the mountain by his human.
As you can see, tuxedo cats are not only well-dressed, they’ve played important roles in history, been to cool places, and have starred in the media.
What is your favorite thing about tuxedo cats? Please share with us in the comments!
Sierra M. Koester has been writing in the pet space since 2006. She runs the blog Fur Everywhere. She joined the awesome team at The Cat Blogosphere as Content Manager in June, 2022. She is currently working on editing her upcoming anthology, Purrseverance, a collection of stories about cats who have overcome challenges in their lives from their perspective. Sierra’s home is ruled by her two special needs cats, Carmine and Tylan, who are the center of Sierra’s world.
We love our tuxies ! One of our vets said that she has noticed that cats with some Siamese in them often are tuxies (as certainly a couple of ours were, judging by their talkativeness !)
Thunderbolt thanks you for celebrating tuxie cats
thank you for all these wonderful Tuxie facts
Hugs the proud Mom of Tuxie Angel Madi who was gray and white Tuxie.
Cecilia
Well, I’ll be! I was going to Google about Tuxedo cats this morning…not because I AM one, but because I see other cats of other colors being described as Tuxedo cats. I truly did not know that it was not “mandatory” to be black and white. I was unable to understand why ginger, tabby, and whomever, was described as Tuxies! I was just getting ready to do that and here you are…telling me information that I was about to seek. Thank you. ekll,