What does Tabby mean?

Answer 1

A tabby cat usually refers to a cat of any colour with stripes on its coat as opposed to flat colour. They are noted for the 'M' marking on their forehead. You can tell which are tabbies by looking at one of their outer hairs; if it has bands of two or more colours on a single hair then it is a tabby. The ticked tabby has no stripes on its body, but it has the 'M' on its forehead and bands on its hairs.

Answer 2

The tabby coat colour on a cat can be incredibly varied. The "Tabby" term means dark markings (stripes, swirls, spots) on a paler background. The stripe colour is solid (goes right to the hair root), but the background colour is banded with colour on each individual hair. Cats with the Tabby pattern come in all shapes, sizes and breeds.

Here are most colours:

• Blue Tabby - Cream/ivory-blue base, slate blue markings.
• Brown Tabby - Coppery-brown base, black markings.
• Cameo Tabby - Cream base, pale red markings.
• Chocolate Tabby - Ivory/white base, medium-dark brown markings.
• Cream Tabby - Pale cream base, fawn/buff markings.
• Lavender (Lilac) Tabby - Milky cream base, frosty grey markings.
• Red Tabby - Pale red (ginger) base, deep red (ginger) markings.
• Silver Tabby - Silver base, black markings. Silver Tabbies with coloured markings on a silvery background are called Blue Silver, Red Silver (aka Cameo Tabby) etc.

Answer 3

No. The term "Tabby" just describes a certain pattern on a cat's coat. The patterns are dark markings (stripes, swirls, spots) on a paler background. The stripe colour is solid (goes right to the hair root), but the background colour is banded with colour on each individual hair.

Answer 4

The term "Tabby" is a coat pattern found on many cats; not a breed or type.

All domestic cats, no matter on coat pattern, size or breed come under the Scientific name of Felis catus.

Answer 5

The "Tabby" term does not mean a breed of cat; it is in fact a certain coat pattern found on many cats: Dark markings (stripes, swirls, spots) on a paler background. The stripe colour is solid (goes right to the hair root), but the background colour is banded with colour on each individual hair.

There are four basic types of tabby: Mackerel, Classic, Ticked and Spotted, with variations on each of these types.

The two most common tabby patterns are Mackerel tabby and Classic tabby. These two patterns are common in random-breeding pet and feral populations. In the mackerel tabby, the vertical stripes are thin and may break up into bars or vertically aligned spots. In the classic tabby, there are broad bands, whorls and spirals of dark colour on a paler background, usually with a "bulls eye" pattern on the flank. Sometimes the markings are extremely broad and fuse together, especially on the cat's back and sides.

Both the mackerel tabby and the classic tabby have stripes and bars on the legs and tail and the classic "M" marking on the forehead.

The Ticked Tabby pattern, instead of distinct stripes, has individual hairs with distinct bands of colour on them. This gives the cat a salt-and-pepper appearance. There is almost no striping except possibly for thin, pale stripes on the legs, face and tail.

The fourth type of tabby is the spotted tabby. In some mackerel tabbies, the stripes have a natural tendency to break up to form bars or vertically aligned spots. This is caused by a modifier gene which is responsible for turning stripes into spots.

Cats with the Tabby pattern come in all shapes, sizes and breeds.

Here are most colours:

• Blue Tabby - Cream/ivory-blue base, slate blue markings.
• Brown Tabby - Coppery-brown base, black markings.
• Cameo Tabby - Cream base, pale red markings.
• Chocolate Tabby - Ivory/white base, medium-dark brown markings.
• Cream Tabby - Pale cream base, fawn/buff markings.
• Lavender (Lilac) Tabby - Milky cream base, frosty grey markings.
• Red Tabby - Pale red (ginger) base, deep red (ginger) markings.
• Silver Tabby - Silver base, black markings. Silver Tabbies with coloured markings on a silvery background are called Blue Silver, Red Silver (aka Cameo Tabby) etc.

Answer 6

While the term "tabby cat" are often used describe a certain type of cat, they are not a breed. The word "Tabby" refers to a cat who has a certain pattern on its coat. The Tabby pattern has dark markings (stripes, swirls, spots) on a paler background. The stripe colour is solid (goes right to the hair root), but the background colour is banded with colour on each individual hair. Many different breeds of cat can have the tabby pattern.

Answer 7

All domestic cats (not wild) are descended from the tabby. Tabbies are not a specific breed. The term refers to a pattern on the cats. Tabbies have an M-shaped marking on their forehead.

Answer 8

Tabby is the term applied to a domestic cat coloured grey or brownish which is mottled or streaked with dark stripes.