Tabby cat

A tabby is a coat pattern featuring stripes, dots, or swirling patterns, rather than a specific breed. Tabby patterning can appear in almost any cat breed, as well as in mixed-breed domestic cats.

Types of tabby patterns

• Mackerel tabby — narrow parallel stripes running down the sides
• Classic (blotched) tabby — bold, swirling patterns
• Spotted tabby — spots instead of stripes
• Ticked tabby — no obvious stripes, individual hairs banded with color

Origin

The tabby pattern is one of the oldest and most common coat patterns in domestic cats, believed to be closely related to the coloring of wildcat ancestors.