Tabby cat is also a light colored "butterfly" pattern on the shoulders and three thin stripes (the center stripe is dark) running along its spine. Like the Mackerel tabby, Classic tabbies have dark bars on the legs, tail, and cheeks. The Ticked (or Stripeless) tabby pattern produces agouti hairs, hairs with distinct bands of color on them, breaking up the tabby patterning into a "salt-and-pepper" or "sand"-like appearance. Residual ghost striping or "barring" can often be seen on the lower legs, face, and belly and sometimes at the tail tip, as well as a long dark line running along the back, usually
Cat body-type mutation Cat body-type mutation Cats, like all living organisms, occasionally have mutations that affect their body type. Sometimes, these cat body-type mutations are striking enough that humans select for and perpetuate them. This is not always in the best interests of the cat, as many of these mutations are harmful; some are even lethal in their homozygous form. This page gives a selection of cat body type mutant alleles and the associated mutations with a brief description. Jb = Japanese bobtail gene (autosomal dominant). Cats homozygous and heterozygous for this gene display shortened and kinked tails. Cats homozygous for the gene