The mix of colours results in a cat with patches of red and patches of black, chocolate or cinnamon. The size of the patches can vary from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of colour. Typically, the more white a cat has, the more solid the patches of colour.
Dilution genes may modify the colouring, lightening the fur to a mix of cream and blue, lilac or fawn. Occasionally brown or blue / grey tabby patterns are also seen (sometimes called "torbies"). Tortoiseshell also can be expressed in the point pattern.
The description "tortoiseshell" (also called "calimanco" or "clouded tiger" in North America) is typically reserved for cats with brindled coats that have little or no white markings, while those that are white with orange and black patches are described as calico (in the United States) or tortoiseshell-and-white (in the UK). Calicos with a tabby pattern are also known as caliby or more commonly torbie. Tortoiseshells and calicos are not specific breeds of cat. The tortoiseshell markings appear in many different breeds.
Tabby cat
A tabby is a cat with a distinctive coat that features stripes, dots and/or swirling patterns. Tabbies are often mistakenly assumed to be a breed of cat. In fact, the tabby pattern is a naturally occurring feature that may be the original colouration of the domestic cat's distant ancestors. Tabby colouration is found in many breeds of cat, as well as among the general 'moggy' (mixed-breed or mongrel) population. When cats are allowed to breed randomly, the coloration of the population tends toward brown mackerel tabbies with green eyes, like humans with brown hair and green eyes, of which leading geneticists to believe that this is the common wild phenotype of the domestic cat. phenotypes can be determined by multiple genes and influenced by environmental factors.
The word comes from French tabis, which was earlier atabis, and in medieval Latin attabi. The initial origin of the word seems to be from the Attabiyah section of Baghdad where a type of striped silk was made that was later used to describe cats.
Tabby patterns
There are three tabby patterns that have been shown to be genetically distinct: mackerel, classic, and ticked, and a fourth variation, spotted, that is still undergoing debate as to its cause.
The mackerel tabby pattern has vertical, gently curving stripes on the side of the body. The stripes are thin and may be continuous or broken into bars and spots on the flanks and stomach. Often, an 'M' shape appears on the forehead. Mackerels also feature a 'peppered' nose, where black spots appear along the pink tip of the nose. Mackerels also called 'fishbone tabbies'. Mackerel is the most common tabby pattern.