tabby

The classic blotched tabby (infographic)

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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.
The classic blotched tabby

Agouti tabby (infographic)

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Common agouti

This is my infographic on the agouti tabby domestic cat coat which we all know. It is the original cat coat.

Infographic on the agouti tabby pattern and genetics.

We all know that the domestic cat tabby pattern is the most common and best known as it comes from the domestic cat’s wildcat ancestor the North African wildcat which has a less contrasty spotted/mackerel tabby coat. Domestication introduced the blotched tabby in the 19th century; a late arrival.

Are all domestic cats tabbies?

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Stunning black mackerel tabby male cat

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 …

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What does ‘agouti’ mean in cats?

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Common agouti

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 …

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Difference between tabby and domestic shorthair?

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Tabby domestic shorthair

As a tabby cat is frequently a domestic shorthair cat, the question doesn’t make sense as it is trying to ask the difference between two types of domestic cat when the two descriptions often apply to the same individual cat as you see in the photograph below. In fact, tabby is the most common …

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

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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 …

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New research into the domestic cat tabby pattern does not fully explain how the pattern is created

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Cat embryo developing its coat pattern thanks to the Dkk4 gene

The news media is having a field day in declaring to the world that we now know how tabby cats get their stripes. And they give thanks to the team of scientists at the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama, USA who conducted the research. I am sure, like me, the science journalists …

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