10 TABBY CAT BREEDS 🐯 Cats with Striped Coats

While many think of a tabby cat being a breed in and of itself, tabby actually refers to a type of coat pattern many cat breeds possess. Not only is it beautiful, but it helps them stay safe via camouflage, something akin to their big cat-tiger relatives. In this video, Animal Wise brings you 10 of the best tabbies. American Bobtail One of the best known tabby cat breeds, our first is marked in particular for their small tail. They can have medium to short hair with various coat patterns, however tabby patterns and other wild colour combinations appear to be the most preferred. Toyger The breed of cat with a coat most similar to the tiger is the aptly named Toyger. This cat has coat patterns almost identical to those of the largest cats in the world. This is due to careful selection by Californian breeders of the late 20th century. The foundation breeds of this cat include the Bengal and even domestic mixed breed cats with tabby markings. Pixie Bob This cat was developed in the US during the 1980s. They are a medium-sized feline with a shortened tail, but they can have either long or short hair. They have brown tones, but are covered by small dark spots as part of the tabby markings. They have white bellies and may even display black ear tufts similar to the wild lynx. European The best known breed of tabby cat is the European. They can have many patterns and colours, but tabby is the most common. Unlike other breeds of tabby cat, the European's wild appearance is a result of spontaneous breeding, not selection. Our video here on long-haired cats shows pattern is not the only way to distinguish between breeds. Manx This breed arose as a result of the arrival of the European cat to the Isle of Man. On this island, a mutation appeared that made them lose their tail, becoming a very popular cat. Like their ancestors, they can be of different colours and have varied patterns. However, tabby is the most common. Ossacat Although it is a type of tabby pattern, the Ossacat's coat looks much like a leopard. Although it started out accidentally, the first breeders wanted to find one with a wild appearance. Starting with an Abyssinian and a Siamese, the American breeder Virginia Daly continued to cross individuals until a cat with dark spots on a light-haired coat was obtained. Sukuki This is a feline native to the Arabuku Sukuki National Park in Kenya. Although deriving from domestic cats, their populations have adapted to wild living where they acquired unique coat patterns. The Sukuki features a black marble tabby pattern on a light background, affording them better camouflage in the wild jungle. Bengal This is a hybrid between the domestic cat and the leopard cat, a type of wild feline from Southeast Asia. Their appearance is very similar to that of their wild relative, with brown spots surrounded by black lines on a lighter background. If you want to know more about the Bengal cat, don't miss the video we share here. American Shorthair The American Shorthair cat is native to North America, although it comes from European cats that travelled with the first settlers. These felines can have very diverse patterns, but more than 70% are tabby. The most common pattern is marbled, with varied colours such as brown, black, blue, silver, cream or red. Egyptian Mal Although there are still doubts about their origin, it's believed this breed comes from the same cats first revered in ancient Egypt. This feline arrived in Europe and the United States in the middle of the last century, when they left everyone amazed by their pattern of stripes and dark spots on a grey, bronze or silver background. If you want to continue knowing about other cat breeds, take a look at the playlist that we share here. Do you have a tabby cat? Share your story with us and we'll see you next time!