The tabby cat set

A tabby has an M up top!

A tabby has an M on its forehead, like a name tag!

A tabby has an M on top of its face. Like a name tag, it can not come off!

Tabby cats wear a dark letter M on their foreheads, drawn right in their fur. The M works like a name tag the cat never takes off. Striped, swirled or spotted, every tabby has one. So the M tells you the pattern, even before you see the rest of the cat.

Tabby cats wear a dark letter M on their foreheads, drawn right in their fur, like a name tag they never take off. Every tabby pattern shows it.

Tabby cats wear a dark letter M on their foreheads, drawn right in their fur, like a name tag they never take off.³

Tab the cat has stripes!

A mackerel tabby has thin stripes down its sides. Its legs and tail wear rings, like bracelets. Its chest wears necklaces!

A mackerel tabby cat has thin stripes down its sides. It has rings on its legs and tail. Its chest has stripes, like a necklace!

A mackerel tabby has thin stripes down its sides, like a striped sweater. Rings circle its legs and tail like bracelets, and dark stripes cross its chest like necklaces. On some cats the lines look crisp, and on others they look a little fuzzy.

A mackerel tabby has thin stripes down its sides, rings around its legs and tail, and striped necklaces across its chest. The whole coat looks like a striped sweater with bracelets to match.

A mackerel tabby has thin stripes down its sides, rings around its legs and tail, and striped necklaces across its chest, as if the cat were dressed in a striped sweater with bracelets to match.¹³

Some tabby cats have swirls!

Change one gene, and thin tabby stripes become big swirls. That is a classic tabby, with a round bullseye on each side!

Change one gene, and thin stripes get big and swirl! A tabby cat with swirls is a classic tabby.

Change just one gene, and a tabby cat's thin stripes turn into big swirls. On each side of the cat sits a large dark blotch circled by rings, like a bullseye. This swirly cat is called a classic tabby, or a blotched tabby.

Change just one gene, and a tabby's thin stripes turn into big swirls, with a round blotch circled by rings on each side, like a bullseye. That is a classic tabby, and the gene is called Taqpep.

Change just one gene, called Taqpep, and a tabby cat's thin stripes turn into big swirls, with a round blotch circled by rings on each side, like a bullseye. That is a classic tabby.²²

The big cat is a rare king cheetah. The same gene that shapes a classic tabby’s swirls gives the king cheetah its coat, whose spots join into blotches and stripes.

The rare king cheetah shares a coat gene with tabby cats! Its spots join into stripes and blotches.

The rare king cheetah has the tabby cat swirl gene! Its spots run into big blots and stripes.

The king cheetah is a rare cheetah with an amazing coat. Its spots join into big blotches, with dark stripes along its back. The very gene that gives a classic tabby its swirls also gives the king cheetah this coat. Wild king cheetahs have been seen in only one small part of Africa.

The king cheetah is a rare cheetah whose spots join into stripes and blotches. The very gene that turns a tabby's stripes into swirls also gives the king cheetah its coat.

The very gene that makes a classic tabby's swirls also gives the rare king cheetah its coat, with spots that join into stripes and blotches.³⁷

A tabby kit gets big. Its stripes get big!

A tabby kitten's stripe map is set in its skin before birth. Not one hair has grown yet!

A tabby kitten's stripes begin in its skin. They are set while it is still inside its mom. It has no fluff yet!

A tabby kitten's stripe pattern is laid out in its skin before it is born. Even before a single hair has grown, the skin has thick and thin zones. The thick zones mark where dark fur will grow later. It is like a map drawn before the town is built.

A tabby kitten's stripe pattern is laid out in its skin before it is born, even before a single hair has grown.

A tabby kitten's stripe pattern is laid out in its skin before it is born, even before a single hair has grown.⁴⁷

Sit. Let a cat come to you.

Want to say hello to a tabby? Sit quietly nearby. Let the cat choose to come to you.

Some tabby cats like hugs. Some like to sit next to you, not on you. So sit still, and let the cat come to you.

Some tabbies love cuddles and some like more space. Every cat is different. So sit quietly nearby, low and still, and let the cat choose to come to you. A cat that walks over on its own is saying hello in its own way.

Some tabbies love cuddles and some like more space, so sit quietly nearby and let the cat choose to come to you.

Cats differ in how much contact they like, and tabby cats are no exception: some love cuddles and some like more space. So sit quietly nearby and let the cat choose to come to you.⁷⁰