Black Tabby Cat

A black tabby cat doesn't really exist. The word "black" and "tabby" are mutually exclusive. The cat can be one or the other but not both unless the cat is not quite black and the tabby pattern can be seen in ghost form. In which case the cat would not really be black.

Melanistic cats are black and they have ghost tabby patterns, usually spots and/or joined up spots. This is the case with many wild cat species. Although you don't see the word "tabby" used in conjunction with wildcats. It is very much a domestic cat concept.

However, many wild cats are tabby cats. The classic is the tabby coated Scottish wildcat. This cat species looks like a large, grey domestic tabby cat. The wildcat species (a small wild cat) looks like a domestic tabby cat.

There is no trace of a tabby coat in a jet black cat such as the Bombay cat - a purebred cat.

Another type of tabby cat that has black pigmentation in the fur and tabby markings are black smoke coated cats. These cats have coats that give the effect of smoke because there is black pigment (melanin) at the top of the hair strands but lower down the hair is white or pale. This is due to the inhibitor gene.

The black smoke cat is not really black though as you can see the pale undercoat. That is about it on black tabby cats! It all depends on how flexible you want to be on defining what a black cat should be. For me he or she should be evenly black with no markings or patterns. Tabby cats must have a pattern to be a tabby cat. The pattern is spots, stripes or blotches.


From to Home Page

Mackerel Tabby Pattern

Show cat with mackerel tabby coat
Photo copyright Helmi Flick

Here is a rescue cat that has a really nice mackerel tabby pattern. A nice visitor to my site submitted the article that I reproduce below:

"I have this "different" kind of kitty and her teenage kitten. When we got her she was all alone.

Her momma and her were wild. She still is kinda. My 8 year old son found and saved her from people trying to catch (kill) / get rid of her.

Twi a grey mackerel tabby cat

You see her mother was run over by a car and she didn't know where to go or what to do, other than hide under the house where the momma died.

The people that were renting the place didn't appreciate her crying for her mom all day and night. So they tried many different ways of capturing her and didn't care how. They just wanted her away!

My son (Zen) was watching as they were trying to catch her one day. He didn't like how they were trying to get her. So he asked if "he was able to get her, would they mind if he took her home?" They were thrilled to hear him ask that so they let him do what Zen does best..'talks' to them (animals). And I'm not even sure how he did it but he did, like he always does!

He got her in his arms and in the car. And so we took her home. He named her 'Twilight'. Don't ask why. I'm not even real sure why. My son is a breed of his own;~).

"Twi" as I call her is still wild in her own way. She never wants to go outside but when she does she takes her time coming back. The first time she did go she was gone for 4 days (broke my son's heart as he says "she just warms my heart". But she did return... and pregnant!!

I helped deliver her 5 kittens, all looking like her but one black one. We had gotten rid of them faster than I thought we would but they were sooo cute. No one could resist.

Well we did keep one. He is cute and funny. He will stand on his back hind legs and try catching bee's and flies with both front paws, like a child catching a ball - so cute.

Twi and kinky have a strong bond as mother and baby. See, he has this kink in his tail, kinda like it's broken, but that's why I call him 'kinky'. I knew that Twi was a different kind of breed but wasn't sure what kind.

Kinky

A friend told me to look up "California Spangled Cat" on this site. Sure enough there is no doubt in my mind that they could be anything else but the beautiful and unique California Spangled Cat! (editor's comment: this is a gorgeous mackerel tabby random bred cat but not a California Spangled cat - don't be upset, Twi is a fine cat equally as good as a purebred cat).

I added a picture of 'Twi' and her babies. 'Twi' is the gray one and 'kinky' the darker one. If you would like to see more pictures of the two as I like to call them 'The unique-kies kikies'. OK after owning these loves, I haven't been the same...=\'' - ''/= ) but if you would like to see more of them don't hesitate to ask. They like their pictures being taken... and i don't mind showing them off!! So go ahead and ask!

Twi's kittens showing great mackerel tabby coat.

But as for now, Twi is wanting attention. So here you go. Here are the pictures of the "rare" but yet still living California Spangled Cat's."

By by T. (Longview,WA.)

---

Hi T...as I say Twi is not a California Spangled cat as she is not purebred but she is a great cat with a fine mackerel tabby pattern. Tabby cats are not necessarily purebred cats. And I published this article because I like your son. Nurture him as he is a great kid.

Please look after Twi. Make sure she is neutered and ideally build an enclosure so she can get out but safely. I am thinking about both your son and Twi. Your son loves Twi and he would be desperately upset if he lost her to a road accident or some other horrible fate.



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Tabby Cat Personality

Tabby British Shorthair cat sleeping on grey cat litter
in his cage at a cat show - Photo by Michael

There is no such thing as a tabby cat personality. There really can't be. The tabby cat is not a breed of cat  - see Tabby Cat Breed. The tabby cat is a cat with a tabby coat and this coat type is found on a large number of different cat breeds and is the most common type of coat for random bred cats (mixed breed cats).

The tabby cat coat is everywhere. The tabby coat is found on a large percentage of wildcats too. In fact nearly all the wildcats have tabby coats. If there are 500 million domestic cats in the world, about 300 million would be tabby cats!

It is absurd to think that these 300 million cats all have the same or similar personality and also odd to think that the type of cat coat also dictates the cat's character. Also if there was such as thing as a tabby cat personality the wildcats would have the same character as the domestic cats.

People also think that calico cats have the same personality. Calico cats are also not a cat breed. "Calico" is the American name given to cats with a totoiseshell and white coat. I don't think that the calico coat affects the personality.

It is possible that people search for tabby cat personality thinking that the "tabby cat" is a cat breed - it is not. It is a very ubiquitous cat coat, no more, no less. It is worth pointing out that the difference is personality between the cat breeds is quite small. Most are in the middle ground. There is a difference between the most static (e.g. Persian) and the most active (e.g Bengal) but most are in the middle.

If you would like to read more about the tabby cat coat and see a wide range of photographs of different types of tabby cat, please go to this page: CAT COATS TABBY.

Even if there was such as thing as tabby cat personality, the character of individual cats would have a greater impact on behavior. Individual cats have quite a wide range of personalities.




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Metallic Tabby Cat

Nice photo - which has disappeared - sorry. It has a seriously metallic look. This chunky golden metallic tabby cat has eyes that are reflecting light sufficiently to cause a reflection on what seems to be a stainless steal surface surrounding the sink.

A cat's eyes have a reflective layer behind the retina which boosts the light impacting on the retina. The gets gets two bites of the cherry so to speak.

The "M" tabby mark on the forehead is no so much an "M" but lighting! This is a very special M mark. Cats are often seen in sinks curled up. Cats often like hard surfaces to sleep on. The idea of a cosy warm basket of some sort looks good to us but not always good to a cat. I think it is because cats are perpetually in full winter clothes. It must get hot on a soft surface that prevents air flow around the body.

See more on the tabby cat. The photo is by -PhotoRoberto- and despite being fully protected by copyright it is published here because this website is part of the Pictures of Cats org website and the photo is on the cat-photo-technique Flickr group and photos that are part of this group can be published on PoC under the user conditions of the group.



From to Home Page

Mackerel Tabby and Salmon

This is Emerson. He is a mackerel tabby cat. I am not sure if he is brown or grey because I think there is a slight blue or cyan cast over the picture due to the room light which is the main source of light for this photograph. As the light is blue, the brown tabby coat may have been neutralised to look grey. Not sure if I am correct. Maybe the white balance could have been adjusted? What do I know about white balance!

This photo is interesting, however. It is different from the usual cat photograph. It looks set up. The fish is salmon. Does Emerson like fish? Probably yes but not all cats like fish. My Charlie prefers Marks & Spencer roast chicken for example. He will eat fish but only as a backstop food. Cats rely heavily on smell to get an appetite for a certain type of food so even a favorite food may be just sniffed at and left if it is cold and has no smell. When Charlie leaves a bit of human food (I only give him a limit amount of it) I micowave it if it has been standing for a while to put some smell back into it. He then eats it. But it only requires about 12 seconds heating. Anymore at it might burn a cat.

The salmon is raw too. Should we feed raw or cooked food to our cat if we are giving human treats? Well, either/or is the answer but it must be limited. The fish I give to my cat is cooked but some of it is partially cooked and he eats both, no problem. If raw, though, it must be stored properly. Homemade cat food is raw mashed up human food such as chicken with added supplements. The supplements are important as they contain essential vitamins and amino acids etc. without which the cat's body functions will not work at an optimum. Omitting them will cause ill health. Home made cat food is the best potentially but care needs to be exercised. Human food most of the time if definitely incorrect as it does not contain all the required ingredients demanded by a cat.

The gene that produces the mackerel tabby pattern is Mc. Emerson has a goreeous tabby "M" on his forehead. They are not as good as that normally. There are some nice legends about how the tabby cat got the M mark. All wild cats are tabby cats in one form or another. Spotting is a form of tabby coat.

The picture is a link to the original on Flickr by the way.



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Tabby and white cat in the best cat sanctuary

This is Neena at a private cat sanctuary at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. This is an extraordinary cat sanctuary. It is private so I presume that they are funded by donations although I sense that in this case that might not be the way it is funded. It is not a cat shelter in the classic sense (i.e. cats rescued and rehomed) but a true sanctuary where cats that are rescued can call it their home. It is instant re-homing!

That said the cats are available for adoption but apparently the sanctuary owners don't allow most of the cats to go to new homes (perhaps the offers from prospective owners are not good enough, which wouldn't surprise me as the sanctuary seems to be better than most homes!) "Super premium" cat food is served and medical care is available twice weekly. Forget the private cat keepers of Brazil, forget the USA or anywhere elese, this is the best cat home in the world. There are a staff of 4 and about 300 cats as far as I remember.

And what about this fine photograph and beautiful cat? Well, firstly it is by Giane Portal, who lives in San Paolo, Brazil and she is the best amateur cat photographer anywhere I think. She is also involved in cat rescue.

For me, the impact from this photograph comes from the fact that it seems that this beautiful cat is lying in the road, against the curb!  This is not true as it was taken in the sanctuary but this impression creates a tension and a contrast between the soft beauty of the cat and the cold danger of the concrete road. I sense that Neena is very vulnerable yet she is completely safe and in good hands. Well, that is how I analyse it.

This cat is a long haired cat or medium long haired and Neena has a tabby and white coat. You can see the classic tabby "M" mark on the forehead. Neena is a random bred cat.

By the way, Giaine Portal, uses the Flickr name, fofurasfelinas. You can click on the photo to go to the original one on Flickr and see some more of her work. This photo is part of the cat-photo-technique Flickr group.



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Silver Tabby Cat Finnegan

Finegan. Click on the picture to go to the Flickr original

What about this cat? Well, he is an ordinary but extraordinary cat as all cats are extraordinary, certainly in terms of their agility. I feed a stray cat, who I named, Timmy, who comes about once a day. He comes over a high brick wall (about 7 feet in height). He simply ambles up to it and jumps to the top. Cats leap their way to about two thirds up the wall then almost climb the remainder with their claws and momentum.

Finegan looks like an athletic cat as he is slender and probably not too heavy. He has blue eyes, Blue eyes are eyes where the pigment has been taken out of the iris. Cats that are white and coloured (bicolors) sometimes have blue eyes as the piebald gene or whiting gene turns the eyes blue as well as parts of the coat white. All white cats sometimes have odd-eyes, one coloured and one blue. The famous white Turkish Angoras have odd eyes sometimes as I recall.

Finnegan has a beautiful tabby "M" mark on his forehead - nice and symmetrical and a very nice looking M it is. I feel that I have become a bit of an expert on the tabby M as I have seen a lot of them!

He seems to be a silver tabby and perhaps a mackerel tabby judging by the stripes on his legs but I don't believe that stripes on legs means that the cat is a mackerel tabby.

He has a nice square and quite long muzzle which is a bit like the muzzle on the Chartreux and which makes the Chartreux look like it is smiling all the time.

The silver tabby is caused by the presence of the Agouti gene (A) that produces the tabby appearance by colour banding each individual hair stand and the inhibitor gene (signified by the letter I) that supresses the production of pigment that is fed into the growing hair. There is also the mackerel tabby gene (if Finnegan is a mackerel tabby) Mc. In the silver tabby the expression of the inhibitor gene is at a fairly low level. In the chinchilla silver, which is produced by the same gene combination there is a high level of expression of the inhibitor gene and the cat is much more silver looking as a consequence. A feature of the inhibitor gene is its wide range of expression.

Finnegan is a great looking cat and this photo is part of my Yahoo cat-photo-technique group.




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British Shorthair Cat

Tabby British SH cat. Photo: copyright Helmi Flick.

This page is a bit about the genetics behind the Brit SH coat. Here is a great photograph of a great looking British Shorthair Cat, a show cat. The photograph is by Helmi Flick, the best cat photographer. His name is Krystofer, a Cream Mackerel Tabby British Shorthair male kitten. Krystofer is standing on his back legs with a great expression and full of life. Fantastic capture Helmi.

The great positioning has been organized/teased out by the best cat wrangler, Ken Flick, who is holding a "tease" over his head and Krystopher is very interested and dying to get to it; look at his outstretched claws ready to grab the tease.

Krystofer,  the cat at the top of the page is a mackerel tabby cat. The term "mackerel" comes from the appearance of a mackerel fish. Other tabby markings are the classic (blotchy) and spotted (think Bengal cat and Savannah cats as good examples). See a full description and some great examples of tabby cat coats on a wide range of cat breeds.

Cream is a beautiful color. It is a dilute color. Krystofer is actually a red (orange in layperson language) cat but the red color has been diluted by the presence of a dilution gene in homozygous form. This is symbolized by the lower case letters dd. This gene is positioned on the chromosome on what is called the "maltese locus". The process is also called "maltesing". This is because blue cats imported into Britain in the early days of the cat fancy were called "maltese cats. Blue is a dilution of black.

The genes dd washes out the original color (in this case red) by affecting the production of color pigment when the hair is growing for the first time. Parts of the hair are sparsely pigmented if at all.

If another gene is present, a gene called a dilute modifier (signified by letters Dm or dm) double dilution occurs and the color cream becomes apricot. Krystofer looks a bit apricot or am I seeing things?

The red color comes by way of the O gene. This is a sex linked gene and carried by the X chromosome. The presence of this gene changes the production of black pigmentation (the substance is called eumelanin) to orange pigment (a substance called phaeomelanin). The full genotype of the cream cat is ddOOdmdm.

A classic color for the British Shorthair cat is gray or in cat fancy language "blue" meaning blue/gray. Two of the kittens below are blue British Shorthair cats. The two in the middle are blue and white or have solid and white cat coats. The blue color is a dilution of of black. The full genotype of the blue cat is aaBBdd dmdm, where aa is the recessive non-agouti gene, represents the Browning gene, Bdd is homozygous dilution genes and dm the modifier

Above: British Shorthair kittens - photograph copyright Helmi Flick. To see this image in very large format please click this link: British Shorthair cats kittens or the image.

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