Tabby identification?

[nyghthawk]

Here is Lilith. She's a moggie and currently heavily pregnant. I'm wondering what sort of tabby her coat is..I get very confused trying to figure it out.

IMG_1057.JPG

• nyghthawk
• Feb 21, 2014

I am also wondering what her kittens will look like, but I am not 100% sure on the father. I know that the main tom from the farm she came from has Siamese markings in a rich chocolate colour. But he may not be the father.

If he *is*, what would I possibly be looking at for kitten colours?

 

[StefanZ]

I suppose she can be called for broken mackerel.  Color seems for me to be blue (or grey in everyday language).   Very pretty girl.

Unless she herself is a carrier of point gene, her children wont be points.  IF she is a carrier, they will be half of them each.

 

[nyghthawk]

 
I suppose she can be called for broken mackerel.  Color seems for me to be blue (or grey in everyday language).   Very pretty girl.

Unless she herself is a carrier of point gene, her children wont be points.  IF she is a carrier, they will be half of them each.

Thank you!
I don't know what genes she has..she and a sibling were found by my mother in law in the ditch not far from their farm. They had been dumped there. So this could be just about anything, I suppose.
 

 

[GemsGem]

What a pretty cat

Lilith is a actually a brown mackerel tabby. I know she looks like a silver/blue colour, but it's actually brown. Just what is known as a cold shade of brown rather than a warm shade which is almost red.
The black colour stripes of the tabby pattern is how you tell she's a brown. Genetically a brown tabby is a black tabby - which explains the black stripes. They have just always been know as brown not black tabbies. - confusing I know !! ( blue tabbies have blue stripes and silvers have dark grey stripes.)

As for kitten colours it's very much a guess without knowing the fathers colour.

The tabby pattern is dominant over solid. So you can expect most but not necessarily all of the kittens to have a tabby pattern of some sort.

 

[nyghthawk]

What a pretty cat

Lilith is a actually a brown mackerel tabby. I know she looks like a silver/blue colour, but it's actually brown. Just what is known as a cold shade of brown rather than a warm shade which is almost red.
The black colour stripes of the tabby pattern is how you tell she's a brown. Genetically a brown tabby is a black tabby - which explains the black stripes. They have just always been know as brown not black tabbies. - confusing I know !! ( blue tabbies have blue stripes and silvers have dark grey stripes.)

As for kitten colours it's very much a guess without knowing the fathers colour.

The tabby pattern is dominant over solid. So you can expect most but not necessarily all of the kittens to have a tabby pattern of some sort.

No, she doesn't look particularly silver/blue. In her undercoat, I can see the buff/tan colour.
And yes, it is confusing! lol But I am learning slowly.

My best guess is that the father is the dominant male at the farm, which has Siamese markings..dark points, etc. He chases any other males off, so I can't see him allowing to get to Lilith. But I don't know anything about his background. Just that he came from a mother (on a different farm) who consistently had one kitten in each litter with Siamese markings. But keep in mind that we're talking about farm/barn cats out in the country. So in the end, the genetic backgrounds are anyones guess.

 

 

[GemsGem]

Well if the Siamese colourpoint looking cat is the father. Unless your female carries the colourpoint gene as well ( which we don't know for sure but it's very unlikely ) the kittens will not have a colourpoint pattern. Both the parents have to carry this gene for the kittens to have this pattern.

If you say the father looks like a Siamese I'm guessing he's a " seal " colourpoint. Seal means black so basically he's a black colourpoint.

So father is (black) seal colourpoint and mother is brown tabby. This means kittens could be -

Brown tabbies or solid black it's also possible there could be some blues tabbies or solid blues.

 

[nyghthawk]

Just wanted to update on this. Lilith has had two kittens, so far. I don't know genders, but kitten #1 is black with a white cross on the chest and a white diamond on the belly. Kitten #2 is a type of tabby, but more spotted than striped.

I don't think she's done yet, so I'll update in the morning if there are any more.

IMG_1121.JPG

• nyghthawk
• Feb 26, 2014

 

[oneandahalfcats]

I am also wondering what her kittens will look like, but I am not 100% sure on the father. I know that the main tom from the farm she came from has Siamese markings in a rich chocolate colour. But he may not be the father.

If he *is*, what would I possibly be looking at for kitten colours?

She looks like she has some 'ticked' qualities which I think are part of the 'agouti' gene mixed with the typical mackerel stripes of mackerel tabbies. Here is a link to some of the different types : http://meoowzresq.org/the-glorious-tabby-cat/

Max, my male tabby is a typical mackerel tabby, whereas my female Maggie, has quite a bit of 'agouti' characteristics mixed with her mackerel markings.

 

[Willowy]

I can't really tell from the pics but does she have red/orange-ish spots mixed in on her side or is that just the brown underfluff showing? She would be a torbie if she does have red. If she had a little red boy kitten we'd know for sure .

 

[nyghthawk]

I can't really tell from the pics but does she have red/orange-ish spots mixed in on her side or is that just the brown underfluff showing? She would be a torbie if she does have red. If she had a little red boy kitten we'd know for sure

.

That's the buff/tan undercoat.

Her kittens (both male, by the looks of it) are a gorgeous tabby and a black and white.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, boys get their color from mama, girls get their color from both parents (as color is linked to the x chromosome). So the tabby is obvious, but she also must carry the solid color gene to get a solid black boy. And it's recessive so I think that means the daddy cat needed to carry it too. I'm not very well-read on the solid/tabby gene thing but I think that's how it works .

 

[nyghthawk]

Yeah, boys get their color from mama, girls get their color from both parents (as color is linked to the x chromosome). So the tabby is obvious, but she also must carry the solid color gene to get a solid black boy. And it's recessive so I think that means the daddy cat needed to carry it too. I'm not very well-read on the solid/tabby gene thing but I think that's how it works

.

Actually, I've been looking more closely at the little black one. He doesn't quite look like a solid black and white. Rather, the black seems to be a black on black tabby pattern. Spots or stripes, I'm not sure. I need to get them into sunlight to figure it out and get a good picture.

 

[nyghthawk]

IMG_1141.JPG

• nyghthawk
• Feb 28, 2014

IMG_1143.JPG

• nyghthawk
• Feb 28, 2014

IMG_1140.JPG

• nyghthawk
• Feb 28, 2014

 

[nyghthawk]

Here's a (purposefully) overexposed picture of the black one to show the striping. He also has the white Y or T on his chest and a white splotch on his belly.

IMG_1140.jpg

• nyghthawk
• Feb 28, 2014

 

[GemsGem]

This is called "ghosting" ( ghost tabby markings ) these will disappear or get extremely faint so that they can only be seen in bright sunlight as the kitten gets older.

This is very common in solid coloured cat especially black cats. So completely normal and would still be classed as a black and white solid.

 

[Willowy]

Yep, baby solid colored kittens always have slightly visible tabby markings. They fade as the kitten gets older but sometimes, in just the right light, you might be able to see some tabby marks on an adult solid-colored cat, especially on the tail .

 

[nyghthawk]

I've been taking a peek online..it seems there are some where the markings don't disappear? I doubt he'll be one like that, but I'm sort of hoping he is. :-)