Their stripes can also be broken into dotted or dashed lines. Mackerel tabby cats have an ‘M’ pattern of stripes on their forehead, and ‘eyeliner’ stripes from the outer corner of their eyes to the edge of their face. On their flanks, the stripes are vertical, with a slight curve in them – on the legs and tail they switch to horizontal bands. Mackerel tabbies have even, regular stripes in their fur. So what is so special about the mackerel tabby pattern?Īnd how can you recognize a mackerel tabby cat when you see one? Tabby patterns are unique to domestic cats. Ancient Egyptians were among the first civilisations to keep pet cats, and the paintings of their cats clearly show mackerel tabbies.But the modern mackerel tabby pattern is genetically unique to domestic cats – no other species also has it!.It is similar to patterns of the wild cats from which they descended from around ten thousand years ago. Mackerel tabby is the original and the oldest coat pattern on domestic cats.The mackerel tabby pattern is so-called because it resembles the striped pattern in the scales of mackerel fish.Some of the cats most associated with mackerel tabby patterning are Maine Coons, Norwegian Forest Cats, American Curls, domestic shorthairs and domestic longhairs. Since mackerel tabby is a type of coat pattern, it can appear in lots of different domestic cat breeds.

They can also present in a huge spectrum of colors.

Orange mackerel tabby cat