A tabby cat is a cat with a dark striped or spotted pattern on a paler background. Domestic cats exhibit heritable variation of tabby markings – mackerel vs. blotched.
Coat Colour Tabby can now be tested with test number K476, which analyses three recessive mutations that have a clear effect on the rise of the “blotched” pattern. Without mutations, the cat will display the mackerel tabby markings.
Tabby markings are a composite of two features: a light background component and a superimposed darker component. In mackerel cats, the dark component is organized into narrow vertical stripes with a regular spacing, while in the blotched cats (a.k.a. marbled), the dark component is expanded into less organized structure with wide whorls. The pattern of tabby markings are established during skin development and can change in size, but not in number during growth.
