The vet said my cat is a tabby. He is Gray and black striped, with a white chest.
2007-10-26 09:30:13 · 6 answers · asked by aggiegirl94 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
Yes. It is not a breed at all.
2007-10-26 09:35:48 · answer #1 · answered by ARE YOUR NEWFS GELLIN'? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A tabby is not necessarilly a "mutt." In dogs, we think of a mutt as a mixed breed, often a *very* mixed breed & while mutts lack "snob appeal" they're often blessed with excellent health & temperment b/c of their mixed lineage.
Some tabbies can be purebred cats, but often they're not. I've read somewhere (sorry, can't recall my reference offhand) that tabby is one of the oldest coat types & is more or less the "default" cat patterns-- a group of cats left tobreed on their own will *eventually* revert to the tabby pattern after seversal generations, regardless of what colors/patterns the 1st generatioin of cats may have been.
If your cat *is* a mutt, this is not a bad thing @ all-- same as with dogs, mixed breeds can enjoy great health & wonderful personalities. All of our cats have been "mutts" & all have been awesome, including the tabbies.
2007-10-26 09:59:28 · answer #2 · answered by Catkin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, they aren't a mixture of breeds. They think the original domesticated cats were tabby-ish--most small wild cats have tabby strips (better to camoflage them in the grass). A basic tabby cat--dark strips with grey background and beige underside & face markings is the typical common cat though. I find common tabbies to usually be primo hunters, quite intelligent and just sexy as heck. Their strips often turn into spots toward their feet which is just so artsy. And tabbies come in other strippy patterns too, as well as colors. A great cat (like little tigers).
2007-10-26 10:45:57 · answer #3 · answered by Inundated in SF 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think tabby means striped or mottled. So a pure black cat wouldn't be a tabby, and a white cat with black patches wouldn't be a tabby, etc.
2007-10-26 09:57:46 · answer #4 · answered by this website is pointless 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, tabby refers to markings, while mutt refers to breed. tabby simply means striped, and while many mutt kitties are tabbies, so are many purebred cats.
2007-10-26 10:24:11 · answer #5 · answered by sleepycatz1972 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
probably your basic dsh... Domestic shorthaird cat.. with the markings being a grey and white tabby. pretty basic and yes it can be a mutt, but we only consider dogs as mutts... but who cares, mutts are the best breed ever!!
2007-10-26 09:34:37 · answer #6 · answered by animluv 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋