Sometimes they appear to be broken mackerel stripes, and it may be hard to tell if you have a real spotted tabby or a mackerel tabby. The 'spotted tabby' has spots, which may be large, small, or of different sizes. There is also the 'mackerel tabby' which has narrow stripes, a bit like those of a tiger. The most common is the 'classic tabby', which has large swirling patterns all down its back. In addition to having different colours, there are different tabby patterns. So many different coloured cats are really tabbies. Then there are tortoiseshell cats which also have tabby patterns in their fur, and these are called tortie tabbies. A silver tabby has black stripes on a very pale background.

A cream tabby has cream strips on a pale orange background, and is often referred to as a pale ginger cat, or an apricot coloured cat. There are also blue tabbies, with grey strips on a grey or buff coloured background. The colour usually called 'ginger' is a red tabby, with different patterns in different shades of red and orange. However, there are a number of different colours of tabby cat. Most people think of 'tabby' as meaning the brown and black patterns seen most commonly, with black stripes on a brown or greyish background – the brown tabby. The details are complicated, but there is a specific gene for the tabby pattern, although different forms of it can be responsible for the various types of tabby pattern which are seen. The tabby pattern is carried in the individual cat's genes. Most people love tabby cats, and cat rescue organisations and adoption centres find them far easier to find new homes for than the black and black & white cats, which wait significantly longer to be chosen. Indeed, they are probably the most popular of all the cat colours. This could explain why tabby cats re quite common. Tabby is thought to have been the original colour of domestic cats, with all the different colours of present day cats having developed from the original wild tabby cats. Tabby is the Original Colour of Domestic Cats And many moggies have tabby markings too. Indeed, tabby cats occur in many different breeds, from huge Maine Coons to tiny Devon Rexes, from fluffy Persians to British Shorthairs.

Tabby cats are not a specific breed, contrary to what some people think. So let us take a look at some facts about tabby cats.

All tabby cats have distinctive stripes, spots, lines and other patterns of varying colours, though they can differ in many other respects. Most popular puppies for sale All puppies for sale Akita for sale American Bulldog for sale American Bully for sale Beagle for sale Belgian Shepherd Dog for sale Bichon Frise for sale Border Collie for sale Border Terrier for sale Boxer for sale Cane Corso for sale Cavachon for sale Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for sale Cavapoo for sale Chihuahua for sale Chow Chow for sale Cockapoo for sale Cocker Spaniel for sale Dachshund for sale Dobermann for sale Dogue De Bordeaux for sale English Bull Terrier for sale English Bulldog for sale English Springer Spaniel for sale French Bulldog for sale German Shepherd for sale Golden Retriever for sale Goldendoodle for sale Hungarian Vizsla for sale Jack Russell for sale Jackapoo for sale Labradoodle for sale Labrador Retriever for sale Lurcher for sale Maltese for sale Maltipoo for sale Miniature Dachshund for sale Miniature Schnauzer for sale Old Tyme Bulldog for sale Patterdale Terrier for sale Pomeranian for sale Pug for sale Rottweiler for sale Shar Pei for sale Shih Tzu for sale Siberian Husky for sale Sprocker for sale Staffordshire Bull Terrier for sale Toy Poodle for sale Whippet for sale Yorkshire Terrier for saleĮverybody has heard of tabby cats, although some people refer to them as stripy cats, tiger cats, and other similar descriptive names.

Facts about tabby kittens