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A mackerel tabby, with characteristic vertical stripes and "white socks"

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 coloration of the domestic cat's distant ancestors. Tabby coloration 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, leading geneticists to believe that this is the common wild phenotype of the domestic cat.

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.

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 The word comes from [[French language|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==
-===Descriptions===
-[[Image:Kamee01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Abyssinian (cat)|Abyssinian]]s have a ticked tabby pattern.]]
-[[Image:KittenAgiosGeorgiosCrete.jpg|thumb|Classic tabby, showing the bullseye pattern]]
-There are three tabby patterns that have been shown to be genetically distinct: mackerel, classic and ticked. A fourth variation, spotted, 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 are also called 'fishbone tabbies'. Mackerel is the most common tabby pattern.
-Classic (or 'blotched') tabbies have a similar 'M' pattern on the head, but the body markings are very different, having a whorled and swirled pattern with thicker stripes that make what are referred to as "butterfly" patterns on their shoulders and usually a bulls-eye or oyster pattern on the flank.  The legs and tail are more heavily barred and the pattern is variable with respect to the width of the bands.
-The ticked tabby pattern produces hairs with distinct bands of color on them, breaking up the tabby patterning into a [[salt-and-pepper]] appearance. However, ghost striping or "barring" can often be seen on the legs, face and belly.
-[[Image:Egy mau.JPG|thumb|Spotted tabby pattern on an [[Egyptian Mau]].]]
-The spotted tabby may not be a true pattern, but a modifier that breaks up the mackerel pattern so that the stripes appear as spots; the stripes of the classic pattern may be broken into larger spots.  Both large spot and small spot patterns can be seen in the [[Australian Mist]], [[Egyptian Mau]], and [[Ocicat]] breeds.
-All of those patterns have been observed in random bred populations.
-Many tabbies have a distinct 'M' marking on their forehead. There are several legends about where this came from. One relates that the [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] bestowed an M on a tabby's head after it helped keep the [[Child Jesus|baby Jesus]] warm. In reality, the historical Mary would have spoken Aramaic and the first letter of her name is the Hebrew letter Mem (מ).
-The Tabby is a coat pattern and not a color. It can show up in combination with a variety of coat colors. A cat's coat can be described as red tabby or gray tabby. Black and blue are colors that usually show up without tabby markings, but with some cats, a faint tabby pattern can actually be noticed. White is the only color that never has any tabby markings.
-Bi-colors can have the tabby pattern show up on the colored patches of their coat. [[Tortoiseshell cat|Tortoiseshell]] cats sometimes display a pattern where the three-colored tortoiseshell pattern is mixed with tabby markings. These cats are known as "torbies".
-The most commonly identified breed of Tabby - the Classic Tabby - by the public tends to have a blotched pattern of dark browns, ocres and black.  With this breed uniform or nigh on uniform striping around the circumference of the tail defines feral origins in that particular cat's family tree.
-The Silver Tabby as it is often known is a distinctive white/black tabby often in a Mackeral or Blotched pattern.  The steel-white of the fur is what gives it its name.