A black tabby is a type of coat color and pattern combination that consists of melanistic black stripes, sworls or spots on a lighter banded (ticked) ground color. The face of the black tabby cats consists of an M on the forehead as well as thin pencil lines on the cheeks.
Black tabby is the wild-type coat color/pattern of the African Wild cats (Felis Lybica), the ancestor of domestic cats.Robinson’s Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians describes the black mackerel tabby as follows:
The black-based mackerel tabby is the wild type, as defined earlier and has a genotype of A-B-D-Mc. In exhibition cats, the vertical striping should be well defined, evenly spaced and as unbroken as possible. The ground color (the color of the agouti band) of this form of tabby, should not be drab or cold in tone, but more auburn or warm.
Is the black tabby a breed of cat?
Tabby is a coat pattern and not a breed. The tabby pattern is widespread in both the domestic cat (moggy) and purebred cat.
Cat breeds permitted to have the black tabby color, pattern include:
- American Curl
- The American Shorthair
- American wirehair
- Cornish rex
- Devon rex
- Exotic shorthair
- German rex
- Maine coon
- Norwegian forest cat
- Oriental shorthair
- Persian
- Munchkin
- Scottish fold
- Scottish straight
- Siberian
- Somali (ticked only)
Types of tabby coat patterns
Mackerel – Also known tiger cats, the mackerel tabby is the default wild-type and the most common tabby pattern. The Mackerel tabby consists of a pale or grey or brown agouti (ticked) ground color with black fishbone stripes down the sides of the body.
Classic – Also known as blotched tabby, the classic tabby pattern consists of a pale grey or brown ground color with curving bands of black sworls along the body, with a bullseye on each side of the body. A recessive gene is responsible for the classic tabby pattern and the cat must inherit two copies of the classic tabby gene for the pattern to be expressed.
Spotted – The spotted tabby is thought to be caused by a modifier gene that breaks up the mackerel pattern into short bars or spots.
Ticked – The ticked tabby pattern consists of black-tipped agouti hairs with no black stripes, sworls or spots. Abyssinian and Singapura cats are the best known ticked tabby breeds.
Black tabby M
All black tabbies have a distinctive M-shaped marking on their forehead. There are several theories as to the origins of this characteristic marking.
- The baby Jesus began to shiver on the night he was born, the Virgin Mary wrapped Jesus in blankets, but he continued to cry. A tabby cat came along, and jumped into the manger and lay beside Jesus, purring loudly and the baby stopped crying. As a sign of gratitude, Mary drew an M on the cat’s forehead. There are different versions of this story, but a common theme is that the cat comforted the baby, after Mary and several farm animals had failed to stop Jesus crying. Interestingly, there is no mention of cats in the bible, so I’m not sure how this story has been shared.
- A snake crawled into the sleeve of Prophet Muhammad’s robe, and a cat quickly killed it. The Prophet affectionately stroked the back of the cat three times giving cats the ability to land on their feet, and placed his hand on the forehead, leaving his initial M as a sign of love for cats.
- Muezza was said to be Prophet Muhammad’s favorite cat, and one day, while preparing for prayer, he found a cat sleeping on the sleeve of his robe. Instead of waking the cat, he used a pair of scissors to cut off the sleeve.
Are tabby cats a favorite familiar of witches?
Tabby cats, specifically black tabby cats, have a long, interesting history and association with witchcraft. Because cats have been seen as nocturnal, independent animals, ancient peoples have always associated them with magic and mystery.
In Medieval England, many people believed that witches kept tabby cats as familiars, and they would turn into black horses at night that witches would ride. This led to the persecution of many black cats, a decline in their population, and many of the superstitions surrounding black cats today.
Other tabby colors
The black tabby is the most widespread coat color and pattern, but other colors are reasonably common too.
- Orange tabby – Also known as red tabby, the orange tabby cat has stripes of red on a pale cream ground color. Three out of four orange tabbies are male.
- Dilute tabby – The dilute gene washes out the color which changes black to blue, chocolate to lilac, cinnamon to fawn and red to cream.
- Grey tabby – The grey tabby cat (known as silver in the cat fancy) is caused by the melanin inhibitor gene I/i which suppresses the development of yellow pigment (pheomelanin). American Shorthairs are known for their beautiful grey classic tabby coat which has been developed by selective breeding.
- Patched tabby – This coat color and pattern combination of the patched tabby occurs mostly on female cats and consists of patches of red and grey or brown tabby. The orange gene is found on the X chromosome, as males only have one X chromosome, they will be orange or non-orange. Females have two X chromosomes, and if she inherits one copy of the O gene, and one copy of the non-orange gene, both colors will be expressed. The patched tabby can show any of the distinct patterns outlined above.
What is the rarest color of tabby cat?
Diluted tabby colors are the rarest colors of tabby cats, but lilac is the rarest. A lilac coat happens when a chocolate-colored cat also inherits a dilute gene.
Because all these genes are recessive, the cat would need to inherit a chocolate gene from both parents, as well as the dilute gene to become lilac. Statistically, this is unlikely to happen and is usually the result of selective breeding.
Black tabby cat personality
Because the black tabby is not a specific breed, but a coat color and pattern, it is not possible to characterize a personality as random-bred and purebred cats can have different personalities. For example, the Cornish and Devon Rex cats are highly active. The Persian and Exotic cats are much more laid back.
The early few weeks of a kitten’s life are critical for shaping the personality. If the kitten has a loving and attentive mother and has positive experiences with people, he or she can be expected to develop into a confident and outgoing cat.
Black tabby coat serves a purpose
Similar to wild cats like cheetahs and tigers, tabby cats have patterns on their coats that help them become skilled hunters.
The distinct markings act as camouflage for black tabby cats, helping them to blend in with surrounding trees and grass. If they remain quiet and still, their coats help them to disappear into the surrounding nature so they can sneak up on unsuspecting prey.
Ghost tabby
Genetically, all cats are tabby. However, some cats carry the non-agouti (hypermelanistic) recessive mutation. Normally, the base hairs consist of two bands of pigmentation. However, in the non-agouti cat, the hair appears solid, or self-colored.
Sometimes, the underlying tabby pattern can be seen on the solid colored cat, this is especially noticeable on young kittens whose coat color hasn’t fully developed. The ghost tabby can give the appearance of a black cat with a tabby coat.
Charcoal and melanistic black tabby cats
The charcoal and melanistic black tabby patterns are unique to the Bengal breed and is made up of a dark, almost black base with black spots, stripes or sworls (black on black).
The charcoal Bengal has a dark face mask with a thick dark dorsal stripe. Markings are darker than on non-charcoal Bengals. The gene responsible for the charcoal coat comes from the Asian Leopard Cat. It is known as Agouti Prionailurus bengalensis (APb) with incomplete dominance over the a (non-agouti) variant. The cat must inherit at least one copy of the APb gene, and may be heterozygous (A/APb) or hom*ozygous (APb/APb).
Melanistic Bengals have two copies of the non-agouti gene (a/a). This results in black pigment throughout the length entire hair shaft. This produces an almost black cat, but some ghost patterns can still be seen.
How big do black tabby cats get?
Because tabby is a coat pattern and doesn’t refer to one specific breed, it’s difficult to say how big tabby cats can get.
The average healthy cat weighs about 10 pounds, so many black tabby cats will fall into that range. However, many cat breeds can reach well over 10 pounds. Maine Coons, for example, can be black tabby cats and they can reach upwards of 17 pounds, sometimes more.
Frequently asked questions
Can a black cat be a tabby?
All cats are tabbies and still carry the tabby pattern. However, the agouti hairs aren’t bandied, which masks the tabby pattern, producing a solid colored cat. As noted above, sometimes it is possible to see the overlying tabby pattern on young cats. This generally disappears by adulthood.
Are black tabbies rare?
Black tabby cats are extremely common among random-bred and purebred cat populations.
Are tabby cats friendly?
All cats can have different personalities. How friendly your cat is will depend on how much socialization they were given as a kitten. Tabby cats can be many different breeds, so their personality will also depend on their natural breed temperament.
Most often, tabby cats are considered to be some of the most friendly, loving cats. This isn’t necessarily associated with their coat pattern, however.
Many of the common “tabby” breeds are also some of the most common breeds for people to keep as pets. Because of this, they’ve had many years as breeds to adjust to life with people. This helped them develop friendly, happy-go-lucky personalities.
Do tabby cats like to be around people?
Your tabby cat’s temperament and personality will depend on their breed and how well they were socialized as kittens.
If they were raised closely around people, they will likely be friendly and enjoy the company of humans. If they were a stray as a kitten, for example, they may be more shy or untrusting of humans.
In general, many of the breeds that are considered tabby cats, when they receive the proper amount of socialization, are very outgoing, social cats.
What is the average lifespan range for tabby cats?
The average lifespan for a tabby cat will differ depending on their breed, as well as a variety of other factors.
The average lifespan for an indoor cat of any breed is 10-15 years. The same is true for many tabby cats. However, it’s not uncommon for many breeds to reach 20 years old and beyond. This depends on their diet, how much exercise they get, as well as whether they’re indoor or outdoor cats.
Outdoor cats, for reference, live an average of just 2 to 5 years, depending on their circ*mstances.
What is the origin of the word tabby?
Tabby originally referred to a type of silk taffeta, a fabric made in Baghdad that featured an irregular, wavy pattern. The fabric was made in a specific part of Baghdad, known as Al-‘Attābīya. It was called ‘attābī after where it was made.
Over time, ‘attābī changed to attabi in Medieval Latin and then became tabis in French. When it reached English, the word became tabby, but it was still only used to describe a silk cloth with a wavy pattern.
As cats became more common to have as pets, more and more people would refer to the markings on their fur as “tabby,” and by the late 1700s, tabby became another word for the cats themselves.
Another contributing factor to the popularity of tabby for cats was the association with the name “Tabitha,” a popular name between 1718 and 1754. Because of this, tabby also became primarily another word for a female cat.
Do black tabby cats shed a lot?
How much a black tabby cat sheds will depend on their breed, as some breeds shed more than others.
Long-haired black tabby breeds, like Persians or Norwegian Forest Cats, tend to shed more and require more daily grooming and maintenance than shorthaired breeds. The dense undercoat of many long-haired breeds requires more brushing to remove excess fur.
The time of the year can also affect how much a cat sheds. Many cat breeds shed more in the spring and fall, especially outdoor cats, to cool off or make room for a new, heavier winter coat to grow.
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Julia Wilson, 'Cat World' Founder
Julia Wilson is the founder of Cat-World, and has researched and written over 1,000 articles about cats. She is a cat expert with over 20 years of experience writing about a wide range of cat topics, with a special interest in cat health, welfare and preventative care. Julia lives in Sydney with her family, four cats and two dogs.Full author bio
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