Curse of the Shared Brain Cell

Posted on September 1, 2025September 1, 2025 by Dusty Roads

photo Credit Deb Neumann

Curse of the Shared Brain Cell: Life With an Orange Cat

Orange cats have a reputation. If you’ve ever spent time in the cat-loving corners of the internet, you’ve probably heard the joke: all orange cats share one collective brain cell. No one really knows where this idea started, but after living with one myself, I can confidently say—it feels true.

Orange cats aren’t just regular cats. They’re extra. They’re goofy, unhinged, and somehow both lazy and chaotic at the same time. Just look into their eyes—completely empty. Nothing going on in there.

Banner- photo credit Deb Neumann

Take my orange cat, Banner, for example. He has recently developed a vendetta against bulletin boards. He cannot stand to see them on the wall. I live in constant fear that he’ll manage to pull out a push pin and try to eat it.

Playtime

Banner’s approach to playtime is equally on-brand. Most cats love to chase and climb, but not him. He prefers to play from a reclining position, lazily batting at toys that dare to come close enough. On the rare occasion he does chase something, it’s like watching a chonky orange tank rumble across the floor. The cat tree? Fun when it was new. Now? Too much effort. A crinkly paper bag with a hole in the bottom? That’s the real prize.

Cat in the Bag – photo credit Deb Neumann

Then there’s his way of “relaxing.” Banner loves to drape himself across tables and ledges with his head hanging completely upside down, as if letting gravity feed the lone brain cell he’s been allotted. My black cat, Balboa, would never be caught in such a position—he has too much dignity for that nonsense.

Just Resting – photo credit Deb Neumann

And it’s not just Banner. The internet is full of orange cat chaos. My personal favorite? The orange cat who only lets his owner carry him upside down. Classic.

So yes, orange cats may have to share that one collective brain cell. But they also share something else—pure entertainment. Today might officially be Orange Cat Appreciation Day, but in my house, every day is. Banner keeps life interesting, and brain cell or not, I wouldn’t trade him for anything.

Kitty Chaos photo credit Deb Neumann

Banner’s Another Year Older

Posted on June 12, 2025June 19, 2025 by Dusty Roads

Banner’s Birthday

Well my, my, my. Hard to believe my orange baby is 5 years old already. Happy Birthday Banner! Actually his birthday was June 6 but as usual I’m a little behind.

Roadkill

This is Banner’s imitation of road kill. He’s as flat to the floor as he can get. Look at his little legs all squished down.

Bag Boy

“Bag Boy, Bag Boy, what you going to do? And what you going to do when they come for you?”

All Banner wanted for his birthday was a paper bag so he could hide. Right? You really can’t see him at all! Please don’t tell him different. I’m sure he’d be crushed. If so Chewy sent him a 30% off discount coupon for a new toy. I’m sure that will help offset any disappointment that his bag isn’t really hiding him.

In Other News

I mentioned that I was a bit delayed with this post. That’s because I’ve been working on a new project. Yes once again I am trying to stretch my entrepreneurial muscles and we all know how that’s gone in the past. Still hope springs eternal so at my advanced age I am going to give it one more try. I want to have the project a little more along before I make the GRAND ANNOUNCEMENT. But you will hear it soon if all goes well. Stay tuned!

I’m very excited and hope you will be too!

Ginger (Orange) Cat Appreciation Day

Posted on September 1, 2023September 1, 2023 by Dusty Roads

Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Ah the Ginger aka Orange Cat appreciation day. Ginger Cats are the redheads of the cat world. Actually their coats can range from pale yellow to reddish brown but all gingers have stripes or swirls in their coats and an M on on their forehead. All ginger cats are Tabbies but not all tabbies are Gingers. Some things that make orange cats unique are:

Tabby describes a coat pattern and is not a breed.
80% of all orange tabby cats are male. The gene for orange color is riding on the X chromosome. Females need to have the gene on both of their X’s while male cats have only 1 X so the odds are better for them than their female counterparts.
There’s more than 1 type of stripe. There are four different types of tabby patterns that can occur: mackerel (tiger-like stripes), ticked (hair that alternates with light and dark bands), spotted, and classic (which gives a swirled look).
The pigment that gives your Garfield his ginger color is the same one that gives humans red hair.
M marks the spot.

Photo credit Deb Neumann

6. Orange cats Have Freckles. They usually start to show up at about 2 years of age. Don’t panic if your cat starts getting these black spots on their lips or nose. It’s normal for these guys.

They’ve got Purrsonality

I was a late comer to the ginger cat fan club. I was always drawn to black and tuxedo cats. Boy was I missing out! My first orange tabby was Rocky. Rocky was my constant companion for 19 years. He was quirky and funny and always loyal.

Photo credit Deb Neumann

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

You can see Rocky’s freckles in this picture.

Banner

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Banner is my current tabby. He got his name by the way he carries his tail on high.

Always straight up and confident. Banner is definitely all Garfield as far as his personality but not his eating habits. No lasagna for Banner. Banner is Mr. Fussy. The original finicky eater. But he has the prey drive in the family. When the toys come out get out of his way. He is 15 lbs of orange fur barreling across the floor to catch that feather toy! That’s not to say he doesn’t enjoy a snooze in the sun.

Photo credit Deb Neumann

Famous Ginger Tabbies

Morris the 9 Lives cat
Garfield
Crookshanks from Harry Potter
Marmalade from Cole and Marmalade
Heathcliff
Puss In Boots

So hats off to our Ginger aka Orange tabby cats. Lovable , cuddly doofus kitties

photo credit Deb Neumann

Photo credit Deb Neumann

Banner! I almost named you George

Posted on October 11, 2020October 11, 2020 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

His name is Banner, Not George

Looney Tunes got it right. He’s only been here since 8 pm last night and already I love him to pieces. I could kiss him and hug him and pet him and squeeze him but no, I didn’t call him George. His tail is just too much a part of his personality. It waives proudly like a banner or flag so his name is Banner.

Go Ahead, Say I told you so.

I know I said no more cats after Rocky but the house felt so empty without a furry friend. Then when covid came along and stuck us all at home it just wore me down. I have always believed that cats find me. I’ve never had to go looking for one and I didn’t really do much searching now. I told myself to be patient but the grapevine was quiet. I didn’t see any strays in the neighborhood. I didn’t even see my neighbor’s cat much.

Then out of nowhere a little kitten face popped up in my facebook feed! I see dogs for adoption all the time but this was the first kitty and I fell for that face.

The Shelter named him Teddy

I put in an application right away to Project Safe Pet- RI but Teddy was already spoken for. I didn’t want a different cat. I only wanted Teddy. Turns out my friend and former boss has connections there and she convinced them to give Teddy to me. The other adopters agreed to a different kitty. So here we are. I’ve renamed him Banner and we came home last night, October 10. I expected him to hide and left a lot of boxes around for him to explore but he wasn’t shy at all. He wandered all over the house. He found his food and litterbox and made himself at home. I imagine you’ll be hearing a lot more about Banner. Kittens are crazy fun but can be trying. All that energy! But they are oh so worth it.