Tabby cat
A coat pattern, not a breed
- Size
- About 25cm at the shoulder; 3.5 to 5kg
- Lives for
- 12 to 16 years
- Suits
- Almost any home
A brown-grey cat striped in black, with a ringed tail, lined cheeks and a letter M on its forehead.
The tabby that follows you
This page is the back garden, which every cat regards as its own. Move your pointer and your cat will stroll after you, if it feels like it. Choose a different cat at the bottom, and tap the notes to open them.
01 · PatternThe oldest pattern
Tabby is the coat of the cat's wild ancestor, the African wildcat. It is superb camouflage.
02 · LetterAn M on its forehead
Every tabby has a mark like the letter M above its eyes. Many legends explain how it got there.
03 · KindsFour kinds of tabby
Stripes like a mackerel's, swirls like a marble cake, spots, or tiny flecks on every hair.
04 · NameNamed after silk
The word comes from a striped silk once made in a district of Baghdad.
05 · CommonThe commonest cat
Tabby is the most common pattern in the world, and turns up in many breeds.
06 · HiddenEvery cat is a tabby underneath
All cats carry the tabby pattern. In a black cat you can sometimes see ghostly stripes in bright sun.
The sunny spot
Bring your tabby into the sunny spot to play
Move your pointer into the sunny spot and wait for your pet to arrive.
Meet them all
Six short-haired cats
Black cat
A colour, found in many breeds
- Size
- About 25cm at the shoulder; 3.5 to 5kg
- Lives for
- 12 to 16 years
- Suits
- Almost any home
A sleek cat that is black all over, with golden-yellow eyes.
Ginger tom
A colour, found in many breeds
- Size
- About 25cm at the shoulder; 4 to 5.5kg
- Lives for
- 12 to 16 years
- Suits
- Almost any home
An orange cat with darker orange tabby stripes and a pale chin.
British shorthair
Pedigree breed · from Britain
- Size
- About 30cm at the shoulder; 4 to 8kg
- Lives for
- 12 to 20 years
- Suits
- Calm homes, including flats
A stocky, round-faced cat with a dense, plush blue-grey coat, small ears and copper-orange eyes.
Siamese
Pedigree breed · from Thailand
- Size
- About 25cm at the shoulder; 3 to 5kg
- Lives for
- 12 to 20 years
- Suits
- People who are home a lot and like to be talked to
A slim, cream cat with dark brown ears, mask, legs and tail, a wedge-shaped head and vivid blue eyes.
Bengal
Pedigree breed · from the United States
- Size
- About 30cm at the shoulder; 4 to 7kg
- Lives for
- 12 to 16 years
- Suits
- Active homes with space to climb
A muscular, golden cat marked like a leopard with dark rosettes and spots, and a ringed tail.
Good to know
Six things about cats
Sixteen hours a day
Cats sleep for twelve to sixteen hours in every twenty-four, and are most lively at dawn and dusk.
Not only when happy
Cats purr when content, but also when hurt or frightened. It seems to soothe them.
Microchips are the law
In England every pet cat must be microchipped by the time it is twenty weeks old.
They must scratch
Scratching keeps the claws healthy and leaves a scent mark. A scratching post saves the sofa.
A bell saves birds
A bright collar with a bell, and keeping cats in at dawn and dusk, cuts the number of birds they catch.
Fresh water, not milk
Most adult cats cannot digest cows' milk. Water is all they need to drink.
Cats: 1 more group
Where next?
Photo gallery
Real photos of the pets on this page. Tap one to see it bigger.
Tabby cat
Black cat
Ginger tom
British shorthair
Siamese
Bengal
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under free licences. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews. Open a photo to see who took it.
The cat that walks by itself
Cats moved in with people about ten thousand years ago, to hunt the mice in the first grain stores. They have never quite stopped being wild.
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