What kind of tabby am I?

I recently adopted this cat. On her papers it says she's a DSH Tabby. But the rescue web site says she's a "brown and black" tabby. Except, since it's the black markings that make her a tabby, isn't that like saying she's a "brown and tabby tabby?" 
This one is slightly out of focus but shows her back markings. She's not really that red. It's a reflection from the comforter.


A final one just to be sure. I think this one shows the markings fairly well:


(Ignore the black cat for now. More about that one in a separate thread.)

And there are more at her page...http://www.thecatsite.com/a/tabitha

Anyway, she looks like a classic tabby to me. But sometimes she looks brown and sometimes she looks gray depending on the light. But mostly brown.

 I think the rescue was just describing the coloring of her pattern being both black and brown. 

   The person who commented on her lookalike was right .    The   official name most commonly used  would be Brown Mackerel Tabby.   It doesn't have to mean some very specific markings;   mackerel tabby just means narrow vertical stripes on the sides,  but there can be a variety within that category,  and often the stripes are somewhat broken up,  which could be described as a broken mackerel pattern.    But the word "broken" is left off documents like registration papers or show catalogues.   ( and yes, cats like her can be shown in the Household Pets class)

Actually she IS genetically a black tabby,  since her darkest markings are black.  She's a genetically black cat who has an Agouti gene that makes the tabby pattern show.  But these cats often have a brownish look to the 'background' agouti part of the pattern,  so they have traditionally been called "brown tabby".   

CFA still calls them Brown _____ Tabby .  ( with the blank space for the type of tabby pattern. )  and I believe the GCCF, the primary UK registry, also uses Brown Tabby.  These are both very old cat registries.

 FIFé  (mainly in Europe)   calls them Black ______ Tabby

TICA now calls them  "Brown (Black) ________ Tabby"   Some people in TICA would like to just change it to Black which would be genetically correct and avoid confusion with the gene for brown (chocolate) .   But other people are attached to the traditional term ( maybe especially breeders who breed for a very warm brown background color?)   so the registry just compromised and started using both words!  

re type of tabby pattern:  Classic Tabby means the ones with wider dark markings with odd swirly shapes, bull's eyes,  butterflies,  etc.    I think maybe "classic tabby"  became called that ( despite being less common than mackerel),  because  it makes for a very striking look so it has long been popular with cat fanciers and artists.  When the cat fancy got started in Britain in the 1800s and people started selectively breeding attractive shorthair house cats ( which became the British Shorthair breed) ,  classic tabbies were a popular choice.   Same with the Manx,  and, on the other side of the Atlantic,  the American Shorthair.  

  Classic tabby has been around for 500 years or so  but that's not nearly so old as mackerel tabby.

   Tabitha has a very ancient look.  This is "wild type" for cat coats,  and all dominant genes.   She's like  the wildcat ancestors.  Compare her with Felis silvestris lybica.   She is a pretty cat,  nice distinct markings on her face,  and it looks like she has a prominent brow that emphasizes the wild look.

Thanks for all the information! I am kind of an information junky so it's nice to know all the details. For some reason I thought the 'Mackerel" had broken stripes. In some pictures her stripes look broken but they really aren't.

Anyway, I think she's gorgeous and her fur is very soft.

Here is my Mackeral Tabby!

Aw!

MacMadame said:

 
Thanks for all the information! I am kind of an information junky so it's nice to know all the details. For some reason I thought the 'Mackerel" had broken stripes. In some pictures her stripes look broken but they really aren't.

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You will likely enjoy this site: COLOUR AND PATTERN CHARTS

Mackerel tabbies have stripes, then there are broken mackerels (like my Oliver), and spotted mackerels. It gets more specific from there, depending on how the stripes or spots look. It's all in those charts! I've had a lot of fun looking over them. All very interesting.

Slykat12 said:

Here is my Mackeral Tabby!

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GAH! Now I have to buy yet ANOTHER cuteness meter. That's the third one I've busted this week, and it's only Monday!

LaraLove said:

You will likely enjoy this site: COLOUR AND PATTERN CHARTS

Mackerel tabbies have stripes, then there are broken mackerels (like my Oliver), and spotted mackerels. It gets more specific from there, depending on how the stripes or spots look. It's all in those charts! I've had a lot of fun looking over them. All very interesting.

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I love this page!! Thank you for linking it

chiarabab said:

I love this page!! Thank you for linking it

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You're welcome! 

Oh, according to that page, most of the tabbies we had as kids were classic and a few were ticked. And mine has a few spots where her mackerel is broken but only on one side.

Oliver's stripes are only broken at the top, near the spine. They're solid from there. Not sure if that classifies him as mackerel or broken. 

LaraLove said:

Oliver's stripes are only broken at the top, near the spine. They're solid from there. Not sure if that classifies him as mackerel or broken. 

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If they are only broken at the very top and solid the rest of the way down. I think that would class him as a mackerel. I think the stripes need to be broken most of the way down to be classed as a broken mackerel. Hope this helps

GemsGem said:

If they are only broken at the very top and solid the rest of the way down. I think that would class him as a mackerel. I think the stripes need to be broken most of the way down to be classed as a broken mackerel. Hope this helps

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Good to know! Thank you.