What's This Kitten's Breed?

Newcatmomj

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Got this kitty a few weeks ago. I've never seen a cat like him before. He's "blue" but has dark stripes on his head, back and legs, with light grey stripes on his sides with a circle in the center! Pictures aren't the best because he won't stay still. He's such a sweetie, whatever he is ❤
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abyeb

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He’s very cute! I would describe him as a blue classic tabby Domestic Shorthair. “Classic tabby” refers to that swirly pattern that he has, which includes that circle on his side. That’s why the classic tabby pattern is also sometimes called the “bullseye” tabby pattern. Since he is still a kitten, and his tabby markings are pretty faint, it’s possible that they’ll fade and he will end up being solid blue. My Charlie had light spots as a kitten, but now he’s solid cream and white. So you’ll have to wait and see. :)
 

lutece

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He is definitely not a blue tabby... Blue tabbies have gray stripes on a beige background. He is either a solid blue kitten with ghost tabby markings (most likely), or possibly a blue smoke. When you part the hair, is it white at the base, or gray?

Ghost tabby markings are common on blue kittens. Here are a couple of pictures of one of my kittens (from a few years ago) that had a classic tabby ghost pattern. The pattern eventually cleared when her adult coat came in. Pictures were taken at ages 2 weeks and 3 months.

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Newcatmomj

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He is definitely not a blue tabby... Blue tabbies have gray stripes on a beige background. He is either a solid blue kitten with ghost tabby markings (most likely), or possibly a blue smoke. When you part the hair, is it white at the base, or gray?

Ghost tabby markings are common on blue kittens. Here are a couple of pictures of one of my kittens (from a few years ago) that had a classic tabby ghost pattern. The pattern eventually cleared when her adult coat came in. Pictures were taken at ages 2 weeks and 3 months.

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Oh wow that looks exactly like my kitten! So he'll be solid blue when he's grown? He's almost 3 months old now. I've always thought blues were so pretty, can't believe my luck. Stripes or no!
 
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Newcatmomj

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He’s very cute! I would describe him as a blue classic tabby Domestic Shorthair. “Classic tabby” refers to that swirly pattern that he has, which includes that circle on his side. That’s why the classic tabby pattern is also sometimes called the “bullseye” tabby pattern. Since he is still a kitten, and his tabby markings are pretty faint, it’s possible that they’ll fade and he will end up being solid blue. My Charlie had light spots as a kitten, but now he’s solid cream and white. So you’ll have to wait and see. :)
I wasn't sure blue tabby was a thing, but that's what I was thinking. I'm very curious to see what happens to his stripes over the next few months!
 
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Newcatmomj

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He is definitely not a blue tabby... Blue tabbies have gray stripes on a beige background. He is either a solid blue kitten with ghost tabby markings (most likely), or possibly a blue smoke. When you part the hair, is it white at the base, or gray?

Ghost tabby markings are common on blue kittens. Here are a couple of pictures of one of my kittens (from a few years ago) that had a classic tabby ghost pattern. The pattern eventually cleared when her adult coat came in. Pictures were taken at ages 2 weeks and 3 months.

View attachment 286117
View attachment 286118
Oh and his hair is gray at the base.
 

lutece

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He is definitely not a blue tabby. A blue tabby kitten would have gray stripes on a beige background. This is what a blue tabby kitten looks like from the front:

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Newcatmomj

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He is definitely not a blue tabby. A blue tabby kitten would have gray stripes on a beige background. This is what a blue tabby looks like in the face and chest:

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Ohh! Yeah that's not my cat at all. Thanks for your input! I'm starting to think I have a blue kitty!
 

lutece

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Just for another example, here is a litter of kittens (not mine!) that contains both solid blue kittens with ghost markings, and blue tabbies. You should be able to see the difference between the solid blue kittens and the blue tabby kitten.

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