Mackerel tabby: Also known as ‘ tiger cats‘, the mackerel is the original wild-type pattern and consists of a dark stripe along the back and a fishbone pattern down the side of the cat. The coat pattern of the grey tabby occurs in three patterns, mackerel, classic, spotted and ticked. Breeders have worked hard to eliminate this by selective breeding, and tarnishing is most frequently seen in random-bred cats. Occasionally, the yellow colour can be seen in parts of the coat, known as tarnishing. The absence of yellow makes the black tabby pattern stand out against the pale background. Normally, the background colour has areas of yellow and black banding (ticking) along the hair shaft. The silver is caused by the melanin inhibitor gene I/i, which suppresses the development of pheomelanin (yellow pigment) from the agouti areas of the coat. The silver/grey background is caused by an inhibitor gene If the cat carries a copy of the A gene, it will be tabby, in order for it to be non-tabby (a solid colour, such as black), it must inherit two copies of the recessive ‘ a’ gene, one from each parent.

The cat carries two sets of genes, inherited from the mother and father. The agouti gene (symbolised by an uppercase A) is dominant over its mutant form non-agouti (lowercase a). Pattern: Melanistic overlay of bars, spots, swirls and rosettes.Background: Alternating agouti hairs are made up of bands of black and yellow (brown tabbies) or black and off-white (grey tabbies).The tabby pattern is thought to have come from the African wildcat ( Felis lybica) and consists of two components. The grey tabby is not a specific breed of cat but is a common striped coat pattern that is found in purebred and mixed (random bred) cats. Cat lovers worldwide appreciate these gorgeous kitties for their stunning patterns and smoky to silver fur.

When it comes to beautiful cats, the grey tabby certainly makes the list.

Gray tabby cat white and caramel belly