Orange Cat Behavior
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About
Orange Cat Behavior and Orange Cats Share One Brain Cell refers to the widespread notion and cliche that orange (ginger) cats are more chaotic, more affectionate and more stupid than other types of cats. The stereotype first started gaining spread online in 2019, and, supported by viral stories such as that of Jorts the Cat, achieved major recognition in 2022.
Origin
Social media posts singling out orange cats as more chaotic and stupid than other cats have been going viral at least since 2019. For example, on November 16th, 2019, Twitter[1] user @ulat_bulu_bulu posted a video of an orange cat fishing for items in a drawer, captioning it, "orange cat is the crackhead of cat." The video (shown below) received over 3,200 retweets and 4,900 likes in four years.
Orange cat is the crackhead of cat. pic.twitter.com/3MCbjmA991
— Bulu Bulu Kehidupan 🇲🇾 (@ulat_bulu_bulu) November 16, 2019
On April 16th, 2020, Twitter[2] user @AssholeGentlem1 tweeted that orange cats are the "true harbingers of chaos and destruction," with the tweet gaining over 280 retweets and 4,900 likes in three years (shown below).
On November 6th, 2020, Facebook[3] page All orange cats share 1 brain cell was created, accumulating over 126,300 members in three years, becoming a major driving force behind the spread of the stereotype.
Spread
The stereotype gradually drew more public attention through 2021. Most notably, on December 13th, 2021, Redditor throwawayorangecat made a post in the /r/AmItheAsshole[4] subreddit in which he described an obtuse orange cat named Jorts at his work, which then went viral (shown below).
![10.7k Posted by u/throwawayorangecat 1 year ago 5 3 3057 46 4 6 2 2 AITA for "perpetuating ethnic stereotypes" about Jorts? Not the A-hole [EDITED TO ADD:]This post is about 2 cats who are named Jean and Jorts, cat tax HERE : UPDATE is here THE STORY We have two workplace cats in one area of our worksite. They add value to the worksite, we all love the cats and the worksite cat presence is not the issue. One of the cats (Jean) is a tortoiseshell cat we have had for years. The other cat (Jorts) is a large orange cat and a recent addition. Jorts is just... kind of a simple guy. For example, Jorts can't open a door even when it's ajar— he shoves it whether he is going in or out, so often he closes the door he is trying to go through. This means he is often trapped inside the place he was trying to exit and meows until he is rescued. My colleague Pam (not her real name) has been spending a lot of time trying to teach Jorts things. The doors thing is the main example — it's a real issue because the cats are fed in a closet and Jorts keeps pushing the door closed. Jean can actually open all the other interior doors since they are a lever type knob, but she can't open this particular door if she is trapped INSIDE the closet. Tortie Jean is very nice to poor orange Jorts, and she is kept busy letting him out of rooms he has trapped himself in, so this seems easy to resolve. I put down a door stop. Pam then said I was depriving Jorts of the "chance to learn" and kept removing the doorstop. She set up a series of special learning activities for Jorts, and tried to put these tasks on the whiteboard of daily team tasks (I erased them). She thinks we need to teach him how to clean himself better and how to get out of minor barriers like when he gets a cup stuck on his head, etc. I love Jorts but he's just dumb af and we can't change that. Don't get me wrong-watching her try to teach Jorts how to walk through a door is hilarious, but Jean got locked in the closet twice last week. Yesterday I installed a cat cutout thing in the door and Pam started getting really huffy. I made a gentle joke about "you can't expect Jean's tortoiseshell smarts from orange cat Jorts" which made Pam FURIOUS. She started crying and left the hallway, then sent an email to the group (including volunteers) and went home early. In her email Pam said I was "perpetuating ethnic stereotypes by saying orange cats are dumb" and is demanding a racial sensitivity training before she will return. I don't think it's relevant but just in case, Pam is a white person in a mostly minority staff (and no she is not ginger/does not have red hair). TL;DR: AITA for 'enforcing an ethnic stereotype' by joking that orange cats are often dumb?](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/561/142/a55.jpg "AITA for “perpetuating ethnic stereotypes” about Jorts?")
In 2022, the meme received further spread on TikTok where users shared memes about orange cats sharing one single brain cell between all of them, with only one cat getting to use it each given day. For example, on August 26th, 2022, TikToker[5] @mildwestsami posted a video about her orange cat that accumulated over 25.9 million views and 6.7 million likes in seven months (shown below, left). On December 2nd, TikToker[6] @starlitmachine posted a meme that gained over 180,000 views and 13,200 likes in four months (shown below, right).
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7136290369683131690
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7172739063995190574
On February 18th, 2022, the /r/OneOrangeBraincell[7] subreddit was established for the purpose of collecting Orange Cat Behavior content. The subreddit accumulated over 330,000 followers in one year (viral posts[8][9] shown below, left and right).
Memes and jokes about orange cats being more chaotic and stupid than other cats maintained their presence online across all major social media platforms in 2023.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @ulat_bulu_bulu
[2] Twitter – @AssholeGentlem1
[3] Facebook – All orange cats share 1 brain cell
[4] Reddit – AITA for “perpetuating ethnic stereotypes” about Jorts?
[5] TikTok – @mildwestsami
[6] TikTok – @starlitmachine
[7] Reddit – /r/OneOrangeBraincell
[8] Reddit – the day I picked her out at the shelter
[9] Reddit – My brother-in-law helping his buddy Dobby look for the brain cell
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![10.7k Posted by u/throwawayorangecat 1 year ago 5 3 3057 46 4 6 2 2 AITA for "perpetuating ethnic stereotypes" about Jorts? Not the A-hole [EDITED TO ADD:]This post is about 2 cats who are named Jean and Jorts, cat tax HERE : UPDATE is here THE STORY We have two workplace cats in one area of our worksite. They add value to the worksite, we all love the cats and the worksite cat presence is not the issue. One of the cats (Jean) is a tortoiseshell cat we have had for years. The other cat (Jorts) is a large orange cat and a recent addition. Jorts is just... kind of a simple guy. For example, Jorts can't open a door even when it's ajar— he shoves it whether he is going in or out, so often he closes the door he is trying to go through. This means he is often trapped inside the place he was trying to exit and meows until he is rescued. My colleague Pam (not her real name) has been spending a lot of time trying to teach Jorts things. The doors thing is the main example — it's a real issue because the cats are fed in a closet and Jorts keeps pushing the door closed. Jean can actually open all the other interior doors since they are a lever type knob, but she can't open this particular door if she is trapped INSIDE the closet. Tortie Jean is very nice to poor orange Jorts, and she is kept busy letting him out of rooms he has trapped himself in, so this seems easy to resolve. I put down a door stop. Pam then said I was depriving Jorts of the "chance to learn" and kept removing the doorstop. She set up a series of special learning activities for Jorts, and tried to put these tasks on the whiteboard of daily team tasks (I erased them). She thinks we need to teach him how to clean himself better and how to get out of minor barriers like when he gets a cup stuck on his head, etc. I love Jorts but he's just dumb af and we can't change that. Don't get me wrong-watching her try to teach Jorts how to walk through a door is hilarious, but Jean got locked in the closet twice last week. Yesterday I installed a cat cutout thing in the door and Pam started getting really huffy. I made a gentle joke about "you can't expect Jean's tortoiseshell smarts from orange cat Jorts" which made Pam FURIOUS. She started crying and left the hallway, then sent an email to the group (including volunteers) and went home early. In her email Pam said I was "perpetuating ethnic stereotypes by saying orange cats are dumb" and is demanding a racial sensitivity training before she will return. I don't think it's relevant but just in case, Pam is a white person in a mostly minority staff (and no she is not ginger/does not have red hair). TL;DR: AITA for 'enforcing an ethnic stereotype' by joking that orange cats are often dumb?](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/561/142/a55.jpg "AITA for “perpetuating ethnic stereotypes” about Jorts?")
Top Comments
Quiet_boi
Mar 30, 2023 at 06:19PM EDT
Diceyed Liam
Mar 30, 2023 at 05:04PM EDT