Partnerships between community cat caregivers and local shelters help save more cats’ lives. Or they simply come around because yummy food and a chin scratch feels pretty good. While there are some true feral felines who prefer to eschew human contact, many youngsters are friendlier to people. A Gray Tabby Cat Makes a Good HousemateĪs tabby patterns are prevalent across feline breeds, many community cats (a.k.a. So, it only seems fitting that the tabby pattern is linked to the same genetics that give cheetahs their spots! Timmy the gray tabby cat. And tabby is the coat of the “first” domesticated cats - the African wild cat, the Asiatic wild cat and the European wild cat. Lynx, the sand cat, Pallas’s cat and the Scottish wild cat are just a few whose appearance looks much like our domestic cat … but they’re best suited to hunt real prey, not catnip toys. In fact, many of our house cat’s closest wild relatives hew to their tabby patterns. This strategic coat helped Felis catus survive on their own before becoming indispensable to the humble human. The tabby stripes are also believed to be the best for camouflage. Tabby is considered a dominant trait, so it’s not surprising that the stripy tabby pattern is not only featured across breeds but also many members of community cat colonies boast the striking design. Unlike orange tabby cats, gray tabbies can be found in both sexes equally. Male cats get their coloring from their mother’s genes while female cats get a gene from each of their parents. Genetics determine those tabby nose colors … but cat parents should know that cat noses can change color! And tabbies are also known to have brick red or gray pads on their paws.

Eye ColorsĪ gray tabby cat might have a variety of eye colors. One mark of distinction for this fabulous feline is that Valspar has an interior paint color called Tabby Cat Gray! Gray is sometimes also referred to as blue - but let’s not split hairs. Gray is the more popular spelling in the United States while grey is more prevalent in England. Is it gray tabby cat or grey tabby cat? According to Merriam-Webster, both spellings are correct for these two adjectives. Let’s learn some fun facts about the gray tabby cat! Is he a gray - or grey - tabby cat? Photography © bebuntoon | iStock / Getty Images Plus. The striped tabby motif appears on almost every type of cat from the ubiquitous Domestic Shorthair to the rarer Scottish Fold. Remember - tabby is not a breed of cat, it’s a reference to a most recognizable coat pattern. Gray tabbies sport that striking “M” on their foreheads like crowns. Of all the cats in the world of felines, the gray tabby cat is arguably one of the best-dressed kitties around.

Gray tabby cat colors