One Maine Coon color is popular with many people and is even associated with naughty behavior! Find out how many shades and patterns exist in this particular shade and discover if a Maine Coon with ginger genes is really naughtier than any other.
My orange Maine Coon ownership spans 20 years and I’ve used my first-hand experiences to create this ultimate orange Maine Coon fact file covering everything from color variations to characteristics. You won’t find a more honest guide written from the heart.
The Orange Maine Coon
Orange Maine Coons tend to be classic or mackerel tabbies, with or without a smoke coat. The shade of orange varies from the palest ginger to vibrant red. Solid orange Maine Coons do exist but even these tend to have a faint tabby pattern, particularly the dominant forehead M marking.
The Orange Maine Coon: is it a breed standard?
The orange Maine Coon cat is one of five standard colors for the breed and is officially known as red but sometimes affectionately referred to as ginger.
A Maine Coon with a solid orange coat is rare. Orange smoke and orange tabby cats are far more common.
Orange fur also occurs seen in varying quantities in many other Maine Coon coat patterns.
The Solid Orange Maine Coon
Solid orange Maine Coons are rare. This is because to be classed as solid their coats must be brilliant orange from roots to tips with no white present at all and no obvious shading or markings.
On most Maine Coons with supposedly solid orange coats, you will see slightly different shades of orange fur. In particular, the tabby cat ‘M’ can often be spotted on their forehead.
Solid orange Maine Coons have brick-red nose leather and paw pads. This coat is officially known as solid red and is often referred to as ginger.
Orange Smoke Maine Coons
An orange smoke Maine Coon has a white undercoat with orange tips. The official name for this coat is red smoke. A cat with this coloring has rose-colored nose leather, rims of eyes, and paw pads.
When an orange smoke is sitting still it can appear to be a solid color but as soon as it moves the white undercoat shows through to give the smokey look.
Our kitten Oscar, pictured above is a very pale example of a red smoke Maine Coon. This coloring can be a lot darker like his brother Fred (pictured earlier).
Orange Tabby Maine Coons
A Maine Coon with an orange tabby coat is often referred to as a ginger tabby but the official name is a red tabby.
An orange tabby Maine Coon has a pale orange background color and markings in a deep, rich orange.
There is a faint white trim around the lip and chin. The orange tabby’s nose leather and paw pads are often brick red.
The tabby coat can be classic (swirly), mackerel (stripey), or ticked pattern (barely patterned).
Other Maine Coon Coats With Orange Fur
The following Maine Coon coat patterns can also include orange fur:
- Silver Patched Tabby (classic, mackerel, or ticked patterns)
- Cameo Tabby (classic, mackerel, or ticked patterns)
- Shell Cameo
- Bi-Colored with orange and white fur
- Tortoiseshell
- Shell Tortoiseshell
- Shaded Tortoiseshell
- Calico
- Calico Smoke
- Shell Calico
- Shaded Calico
- Cameo Smoke
- Tortie Smoke
Orange Maine Coon Cat Facts
The Maine Coon is a unique breed of cat with some extraordinary personality traits.
They are fantastic companion cats and thrive on interaction with their owners.
They are friendly towards adults, children, babies, and other pets, which is one of the reasons why they are so popular as
The Orange Maine Coon (AKA red or ginger) has a very distinctive coat which is described by some people as an exotic, vibrant color.
We’ve owned four orange Maine Coons with extraordinary personalities. There’s more on whether a cat’s color has any bearing on its behavior in a moment.
Orange Maine Coon Kittens
Most orange Maine Coon kittens are males, in fact, approximately three out of four orange Maine Coon kittens are males.
If both Maine Coon parents are orange then all their kittens will be orange too. Most orange Maine Coon kittens are tabby cats.
The Science Behind the Orange Cat
The orange gene responsible for orange fur is found on the X-chromosome.
Its allele can have two forms: ‘O’ which will produce the orange color and ‘o’ which will produce non-orange fur.
As males only have one X-chromosome, if they carry the orange gene with an ‘O’ allele they will have an orange coat; if they carry an orange gene with an ‘o’ allele they will have black or brown fur.
Because she has two X chromosomes, a female with the orange gene can have the following combinations of alleles:
- Two ‘O’s and she’ll have orange fur.
- Two ‘o’s and she’ll be black or brown.
- One ‘O’ and one ‘o’ mean she’ll have a tortoiseshell coat.
If you’ve ever wondered why there are more orange male cats than females it’s because males have a 1 in 2 chance of being orange and females only have a 1 in 3 chance.
And in case you are interested, the red pigment that causes the orange color is known as phaeomelanin.
If none of the above made much sense, don’t despair – that’s the end of the biology lesson – I’m sure most people don’t want that level of detail anyway!
What is the rarest Maine Coon color?
The rarest Maine Coon color is solid orange (also known as solid red). This is followed closely by solid black.
Of course, at times, other colors can be rare because breeders can never guarantee the colors of their kittens. They can aim to produce certain types but cat genetics are quite complicated and not easy to manipulate.
How much does an orange Maine Coon cat cost?
Expect to pay anything from $1000 to $2500for a purebred orange Maine Coon kitten.
This price range is governed by how experienced the breeder is, what is included with the purchase and how much demand there is for an orange and white Maine Coon cat at the given time.
A new breeder may charge less for a Maine Coon until they feel experienced enough to charge more.
Some breeders spay or neuter kittens before selling them which adds to the price.
If a breeder receives a lot of interest in orange Maine Coon kittens, they may increase the price simple because they can.
Does a Maine Coon’s fur color affect its personality?
No, the color of a Maine Coon does not control its personality. However, it can (and does) change how we perceive a cat to behave for some reason!
How we act with a cat can change how it behaves and this can give the impression that certain colored cats act in a specific way when it’s actually our behavior around them that creates this illusion!
It’s as if we have a perception and then imagine those traits.
The orange Maine Coon cat is often perceived as more mischievous than other colors. Whether all owners feel this I don’t know, but having owned four I can definitely say they seem to possess a naughty gene.
However, our two tortoiseshell girls have attitude – often referred to as ‘tortitude’. Maybe all Maine Coons are all generally quite cheeky!
Other Maine Coon Colors and Patterns
Solid Colors
Maine Coons can come in five solid colors: black, white, orange (red), blue (gray), and cream.
They also come in a variety of patterns.
Tabby Patterns
The orange tabby Maine Coon has a coat that is either streaked with stripes or perhaps mottled and these appear to be the most
A tabby Maine Coon can be seen in the following five color combinations:
- Classic tabby
- Silver tabby
- Mackerel tabby
- Silver shaded tabby
- Silver tabby
Solid Smoke Colors
The smoke-colored Maine Coon looks, at first, like a solid color. However, when you look at the roots of its fur, you will notice the color is noticeably lighter. As the cat moves, the lighter undercoat shows through.
Bi-Colors
The Maine Coon can also be seen in a combination of two colors. However, one of these colors will always be white. This white color will always be seen on their belly, chest, and paws.
The bi-color Maine Coon can be white with either black, blue, red (orange), or cream.
What’s the Best Maine Coon Color?
No Maine Coon color or pattern is any better than the other. Every Maine Coon is unique and whichever color you have (or choose) you can be sure you will find it a pleasure to live with.
The way a Maine Coon behaves is heavily dependant on the way it is socialized and interacted with from a very young age.
Maine Coon Color Facts
Did you know that the male Maine Coon kitten obtains both its color genes directly from its mother?
Therefore, the male kittens found in a litter will always be the same color as their mother (occasionally a slightly diluted version of it).
Female kittens will have a combination of the colors of both parents. This is helpful to know and allows you to predict what colors the kittens might be.
Maine Coon eye color does not depend on the color of its coat. Only white Maine Coons or those with some white can have blue or odd-eyes. Other colors range through shades of green, amber, gold, copper, and orange.
Can A Maine Coon Be Orange? Conclusion
The Maine Coon has a variety of shades and patterns. Orange (red/ginger) is the most vibrant. There’s usually something quite edgy about the orange Maine Coon … a little twinkle in its eye.
I’ve never known a cat quite like the Maine Coon and I’ve never known a Maine Coon cat quite like the orange one.
Most likely a coincidence, but they seem to have this particular naughty streak that I haven’t seen in others – a naughty ginger gene perhaps?
Further reading
Our Complete Guide to Maine Coons is packed with facts and photos.
If you’re wondering if the Maine Coon is the right cat for you, Are Maine Coons Good Pets answers this question in great detail.
We are passionate about Maine Coons and all of our articles are based on first-hand experiences through owning Maine Coons for 25 years.