In this article
What is a tabby cat?
Tabby cat generally refers to cats showing one of four specific tabby patterns on their fur. The tabby pattern comes in many different shapes and occurs in many different breeds. The one thing all tabby cats have in common, is an ‘M’ marking on the forehead.
Types of tabby patterns
Mackerel tabby
Mackerels are the little tigers among the tabby cats! The thin, vertical stripes on the sides of their body mirror the beautiful orange coat of their tiger cousins. However, seen from above these stripes, in combination with a thicker line along the spine, seem to resemble a fish skeleton – hence the fishy name.
The mackerel pattern is not only the most common pattern among tabbies, but it’s also believed to be the original tabby pattern because of its similarity to the coat of the African wildcat, the legendary ancestor of all domestic cats.
Gyoza
Odín & Yuna
Romeo
Classic tabby
The classic tabby (although not the most common pattern type) is also known as the blotched tabby because their coat pattern can be compared to a marble cake. The different colors create a dramatic swirling pattern and sometimes create a mark on the side of the body that resembles a bullseye.
Besides thick and thin stripes on the body extremities and the spine, classic tabbies display a light-colored butterfly on the shoulders.
Eliot
Hector
Michigo Kurasaki
Spotted tabby
While mackerel tabbies have vertical lines running alongside their body, spotted tabbies have vertically arranged spots. In 2009, it was discovered that a special gene is responsible for the stripes turning into spots. On their legs and tail, these cats however do have horizontal lines, just like their mackerel friends.
Wiley
Luna
Po
Ticked tabby
The ticked tabby is by far the hardest type of tabby to identify because its pattern doesn’t show any distinct stripes, swirls, or spots. Ticked tabbies have a sand-like appearance, due to agouti hairs, which are all individually striped with multiple colors that ‘dilute’ the otherwise recognizable tabby patterns. However, these ‘salt-and-pepper’ kitties can still show bands or stripes on the face, legs, belly, and tail tip.
Penny
Jersey
Kika
