Dominant Pattern

All cats inherit some form of the tabby gene, even those with solid, or "self “coats. Geneticists call the dominant agouti gene A. Any cat that inherits A from at least one parent will have a patterned coat, and is notated as A-.

Solid colors exist because there is a genetically recessive alternative to agouti, called non-agouti or a.

In cats that inherit this from both parents, which are notated aa, the coat appears to be a single, even color, but careful examination may reveal disguised tabby markings.  This "ghosting" is most apparent in young kittens, often disappearing with age.

There are four basic types of tabby markings in felines: mackerel or striped; classic or blotched; ticked or Abyssinian, and spotted. Although these four patterns look distinctively different they are in fact all mutated variations of the same naturally basic tabby gene.
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Mackerel tabby stripes are narrow, parallel, and run from the spine down the flanks to the belly. This pattern was predominant in Europe few centuries ago. It was superseded by the classic tabby pattern.

Classic tabbies have wide stripes that form "oyster" swirls on the flanks, centered on a blotch. The distribution of this pattern in the North American and Australian cats shows that it was a popular, if accidental, export from 18th-and 19th-century Britain.

Ticked tabbies are more subtle: clear markings are restricted to the head, legs, and tail, and the body is softly flecked. The African wildcat often carries overall ticking. Ticked coats appear to have spread eastwards into Asia, rather than northwards into Europe.

 Naturally ticked cats, often with striped legs, are found in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, down to Singapore. The Abyssinian was the first breed to sport this pattern. Spotted tabbies have spotted bodies, often combined with striped legs and tails.

Spotted patterns are formed when tabby stripes are broken up. The spots of many older European and American breeds follow mackerel tabby lines, but there are other patterns. Spots of the Ocicat fall in a blotched tabby configuration, while those of the Egyptian Mau appear random.

 The Spotted Mist has perhaps the most complicated combination of the newer breeds, including seemingly random: spots interspersed by ticking. All of these characteristics suggest that patterning may be more complex than breeders realize.

Fascinating new patterns, such as the rosetted and "'King Spangle" coats under development in the  California Spangled, often lead to heated debate among geneticists and breeders over the possible factors at work.