blotched tabby – Michael Broad

The classic blotched tabby (infographic)

February 9, 2024September 12, 2023 by Michael Broad

Silver classic tabby Scottish Fold kitten with a WOW appearance

Scroll down for an infographic on the classic tabby cat coat which is also referred to as the blotched tabby. Of the three types of tabby coat: the mackerel, spotted and classic, as stated in the infographic, the classic is believed to have evolved the last in the Elizabethan era due to a genetic mutation. But domestic cat tabby coats have evolved from the original domesticated cats which were all stripped/spotted tabbies as they were domesticated wildcats. Back in the day there was only one type of tabby.

Agouti tabby (infographic)

Click the link above for an infographic on the agouti gene which is responsible for the tabby coat.

Are all domestic cats tabbies?

August 18, 2022 by Michael Broad

When you look at domestic cats today, you see a very wide range of coat types and colours. You would be deceived into believing that all domestic cats are not tabbies but technically they are. It seems that tabby cats are only one part of the wide spectrum of coat types but genetically the …

American Shorthair cat ‘Piper’ and one other, both silver tabbies

January 4, 2022January 4, 2022 by Michael Broad

I believe that the American Shorthair is an underrated purebred cat. This is a cat with a long American history, similar to the more famous Maine Coon. This was a cat of American barns, a kind of working cat; a moggy to use the vernacular. They were and still are to be honest street …

What does ‘agouti’ mean in cats?

November 22, 2021 by Michael Broad

We see the word ‘agouti’ used a lot in the world of cats, particularly the world of cat breeders. This is because it is a word that indirectly refers to a very common type of coat; those with the tabby pattern. These are ticked, classic (blotched), striped (mackerel) and spotted. In the cat world …

What is the most common cat coat type in the UK?

September 25, 2021 by Michael Broad

The blotched tabby is the most common UK cat

The blotched (classic tabby) pattern is the most common for domestic and stray cats in the UK today. It is unclear why the classic tabby is more common than the striped (mackerel) tabby. As the domestic cat’s wild ancestor has a faintish striped tabby coat you might have thought that the striped tabby would …

Evolution of the blotched tabby pattern of domestic cats

May 9, 2022November 13, 2020 by Michael Broad

Development of the blotched tabby domestic cat

The time when the blotched or classic tabby pattern, as it is called, emerged among domestic cats is of interest to people in the cat world. The tabby coat is the most common in domestic, stray and feral cats. This is unsurprising because the wild cat ancestor of the domestic cat, the North African …

Half a dozen facts about the grey tabby cat

August 29, 2020 by Michael Broad

Here are 6 facts about the grey tabby cat… Spelling I am dictating this. The software spells “grey” rather than “gray”. That tells you that I’m in the UK although I nearly always write about American cats! That is because the best stories about domestic cats come from America and there are more domestic …

What is a tabby cat?

July 15, 2020July 13, 2020 by Michael Broad

A tabby cat can be any one of the following: a random bred domestic cat, a feral cat, a stray cat, a community cat or a purebred, pedigree cat and even a wild cat; all of which have or can have a certain type of coat. That coat is the original domestic cat coat …