Crossword Genius

Ginger, pet? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tomcat

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'ginger pet?' is the definition.
'tomcat' can be an answer for 'pet?' (I have seen 'Male pet' mean 'tomcat' so perhaps 'pet' could also mean 'tomcat'). I'm not sure about the 'ginger' bit.

'ginger pet?' is the wordplay.
'ginger' becomes 'tom' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pet?' becomes 'cat' (cats are often kept as pets).
'tom'+'cat'='TOMCAT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tomcat that I've seen before include "Male pet" , "Male moggie" , "Domestic male feline" , "Male mog" , "Asparagus, perhaps" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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