6/5/2023 0 Comments Mackerel tabby cat![]() ![]() The English term “tabby” originates from the translation of the French phrase “ striped silk taffeta,” the root of which is tabis, meaning “a rich watered silk.” This can be further traced to the Middle French atabis (14th century), which stemmed from the Arabic term attabiya. The “patched” tabby is a calico or tortoiseshell cat with tabby patches (also known as “caliby” and “torbie”). There is also a fifth pattern that includes tabby as part of another basic color pattern. Both large spot and small spot patterns can be seen in the Australian Mist, Bengal, Egyptian Mau, Maine Coon, and Ocicat breeds. Sometimes, the stripes of a classic tabby’s pattern may be broken into larger spots. Spotted tabby has a gene that breaks up the mackerel tabby pattern so that the stripes appear as spots. Some stripes or bars can often be seen on the lower legs, face and belly and sometimes at the end of the cat’s tail. These break up the tabby pattern into a “salt-and-pepper” look. Ticked tabby has a grizzly color of fur of dark and light bands or bars. Classic tabbies are the most common type of tabby in much of the United Kingdom and the Middle East, among other places, but they are a far second in number to mackerel tabbies in most parts of the world. Classic tabbies have dark stripes on their legs, tail, and cheeks. There is also a light colored “butterfly” pattern on the shoulders and three thin stripes running along its spine. The body is marked with a whirled or swirled pattern (often called a “bullseye”) on the cat’s sides. Classic tabbies have the ‘M’ pattern on their foreheads too. Mackerel tabbies are also called ‘fishbone tabbies’, probably doubly named after the mackerel fish.Ĭlassic tabby also known as blotched or marbled has a pattern usually in the colors of dark brown, ochre, and black – but sometimes grey. An ‘M’ shape appears on the forehead along with dark lines across the cat’s cheeks to the corners of its eyes. ![]() A mackerel tabby has narrow stripes that run in parallel down its sides. The legs and tail have dark bars as do the cat’s cheeks. Mackerel tabby is by far the most common tabby pattern. The four known distinct patterns, each having a sound genetic explanation, are the mackerel, classic, ticked and spotted tabby patterns. Tabbies may be brown, grey, orange, or calico, including dilute versions of these colors. ![]()
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