diff -ur vte-0.34.7.orig/src/vte.c vte-0.34.7/src/vte.c
--- vte-0.34.7.orig/src/vte.c	2013-06-28 16:44:33.000000000 +0200
+++ vte-0.34.7/src/vte.c	2013-09-04 22:04:33.762602849 +0200
@@ -10919,7 +10919,7 @@
 
 	/* Draw the cursor. */
 	item.c = (cell && cell->c) ? cell->c : ' ';
-	item.columns = cell ? cell->attr.columns : 1;
+	item.columns = item.c == '\t' ? 1 : cell ? cell->attr.columns : 1;
 	item.x = col * width;
 	item.y = row * height;
 	cursor_width = item.columns * width;
