Tabby Cat

A tabby, also known as grey tiger, is any domestic cat that has a coat featuring distinctive stripes, dots, lines or swirling patterns, usually together with a mark resembling an  on its forehead. Tabbies are sometime erroneously assumed to be a cat breed. In fact, the tabby pattern is found in many breeds, as well as among the general mixed-breed population. The tabby pattern is a naturally occurring feature that may be related to the coloration of the domestic cat's direct ancestor, the African wildcat, which (along with the European wildcat and Asiatic wildcat) has a similar coloration.

Tabbies come in a wide range of colors. This pattern occurs in variations of black, red, orange, blue, chocolate and cream. The most famous of these is the orange tabby, which consists of several colors of orange and light brown. Tabby can occur in bi-color coats, where there are striped splotches of orange or another color on a white background. Calico tabbies have tabby patterns that reach across red, black, orange and white sections. Tortoise shell cats are specialized tabbies with a unique blend of colors and patterns.