Does my cat have ghost stripes or tabby markings?

[EricLikesThings]

Hi I know I posted a thread about this already but it is a few days or week old so I just wanted to make it with a fresh start and go kind of in-depth with it.

Whenever I look at him, he has stripes on his head maybe it’s because I can depict different colors quickly but I’m not sure. Also I don’t know if it’s a definitive tabby marking or if it’s a ghost stripingthat may go away. I also researched some more and ghost striping is the recessive striping gene, where if my kitten were to have offspring, they wouldn’t have stripes? I looked at his other patches and

Also when do you neuter a kitten before he gets a bit in the mood. People say 8 weeks some said 6 I’m not sure which is the safest before he does his thing. So I held off on it


thank you to all that respond in advance.

 

[EricLikesThings]

More images

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How old is he? What is his name? I am by no means any kind of expert, but it would seem to me that he is bi-color, which is his case is gray and white. I can't really see actual striping on his head, but these pics don't show the forehead. Is there a distinct 'M" marking on his forehead - that would denote tabby. His coat is very pretty, but not sure it is long enough to say he is long-haired - age has some bearing on that as well - as does the potential ghost striping you mentioned. As is usual, one of the resident experts will come along and correct me - which is OK!!!

There are many opinions about when to neuter. In my area, the rescues generally consider anything above the age of 8 weeks/2 pounds as appropriate. But, I am sure others on this site might say that is a bit premature. You certainly don't want to go as long as 6 months. See below for a TCS article on the subject.

Also, I wanted to ask about what that is on his right side, what I think is near his 'shoulder'. It looks like something is going on there - skin issue of some sort?

When To Spay Or Neuter A Cat?

 

[EricLikesThings]

The light makes the tabby markings show more

 

[EricLikesThings]

But it doesn’t have the M marking maybe because of the white color?

 

[lutece]

I agree with FeebysOwner , he appears to be blue and white. He's not a tabby. Ghost markings are normal for blue cats, especially when they are young like that. He's so cute!

 

[EricLikesThings]

I agree with FeebysOwner , he appears to be blue and white. He's not a tabby. Ghost markings are normal for blue cats, especially when they are young like that. He's so cute!

Why do you guys think it’s a ghost tabby marking because it does seem to be an M marking that dictates whether or not the cat is a tabby and it does seem to start making an M but it gets hidden by the white

 

[lutece]

Why do you guys think it’s a ghost tabby marking because it does seem to be an M marking that dictates whether or not the cat is a tabby and it does seem to start making an M but it gets hidden by the white

Ghost markings are lower contrast than regular tabby markings, but follow the same patterns. Ghost markings include an "M" on the forehead, as well as all the other markings that go along with the cat's tabby pattern.

 

[EricLikesThings]

Ghost markings are lower contrast than regular tabby markings, but follow the same patterns. Ghost markings include an "M" on the forehead, as well as all the other markings that go along with the cat's tabby pattern.

so are you saying the markings on my kitten aren’t definitive enough to count as a real tabby marking. Like 100%?

 

[lutece]

Blue ghost markings are dark gray on a lighter gray background, while blue tabby markings are dark gray on a beige background.

Here's a litter of young kittens in which there are two blue tabbies, and two blue solid kittens. Does this help you to see the difference?

 

[EricLikesThings]

Blue ghost markings are dark gray on a lighter gray background, while blue tabby markings are dark gray on a beige background.

Here's a litter of young kittens in which there are two blue tabbies, and two blue solid kittens. Does this help you to see the difference?

View attachment 333621

So do you think 100% that mine is a blue solid?

 

[lutece]

Yes, I'm confident that your kitten is blue (solid) and white.

 

[EricLikesThings]

How sure are you on a scale of 1-100

and thank you so much I do see the difference theres only like a shade darker for those tabby markings vs like 10 tens shades darker on a real tabby or idk lol. ButI can only see it in certain angles which means it’s not a real tabby I assume because when his head is looking straight at me the markings don’t appear well i mean it gets blended in with the gray coloring which should appear no matter what angle if it’s tabby?

 

[lutece]

I think you are getting it... but here's another example... this is a youtube video showing ghost tabby markings on a solid blue kitten.
Does this help?

 

[EricLikesThings]

Those tabby markings on the legs are exactly like the ones on the head!

 

[EricLikesThings]

But yea ty ty I think I am assured that he Is a solid blue and white kitten

 

[EricLikesThings]

I just love wanting to know every detail lol I feel like I this was such a small thing to talk about but I think small things are the ones that matter

 

[cataholic07]

Your baby still has his kitten fur too, by 6-7 months old he will have his adult fur coat so you will know more then. It's hard when they have a ton of white on their face to lol. But all kittens are born tabbies, many of them lose their stripes extremely early on, some not until they get their adult coat.

 

[lutece]

...all kittens are born tabbies...

I'm curious, what do you mean?

 

[jefferd18]

I'm curious, what do you mean?

It is true.