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Conference misery::feline_v1

Title:Meower Power is Valuing Differences
Notice:FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY
Moderator:MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO
Created:Sun Feb 09 1986
Last Modified:Tue Jan 11 1994
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5089
Total number of notes:60366

269.0. "TABBY? vs TIGER?" by FROST::BARBER () Tue Jun 24 1986 17:47

    
    
    Can someone tell me what the difference is between a 'tabby' and
    a 'tiger'? I hear people referring to yellow tigers and stripped
    tabbies, and I'm getting really confused.
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269.1Not much differenceSHOGUN::HEFFELTracey HeffelfingerTue Jun 24 1986 19:4730
    	I don't know that there is any difference between Tigers and tabbies
    except that a) Tabby is the "real" term for a striped, swirled or spotted
    cat and b) black/brown/grey striped cats are more likely to be called
    tigers than yellow/white or grey/white striped cats.
    
    	By the way, did you know that there are three distinct kinds of
    tabbies (actually 4 but most people don't call the last kind tabby)?
    The Classic Tabby has "necklaces and bracelettes" as well as the
    "M" on the forehead and has large swirls of stripes on the sides.
    (Our Sammy is a red Classic Tabby.)  The Mackerel tabby has the all 
    that but has thin straight stripes instead of swirls.  (Cinnamon
    is a Red Mackeral and Pippin is a black/grey Mackeral.)  The spotted
    Tabby's stripes break up into spots.  (Merry is a Brown Spotted
    tabby.)  The 4th kind is called Agouti.  Agouti cats have a necklace
    or two and the "M" on the forehead and sometimes some bracelettes
    but they don't have stripes elswhere.  Instead they have all over
    striping on each hair that produces a "ticked" coat rather reminiscent
    of a Mountain Lion.  An example of a cat with an Agouti coat is
    the Abbysinian.
    
    	The Book of the Cat, has more info about cat coats and colors
    and eye colors and so on.  When I get a chance, I put in some
    interesting things from that.  By the way, my vet thinks The Book
    of the Cat is the best overall cat book around.  He got it for his
    birthday this year and was afraid to show it to me for fear I would
    snitch it.  But I had bought it a couple of years before so he was
    safe...
    
    tlh
      
269.2WHAT DO I HAVE???SOFCON::MCDONOUGHWed Jun 25 1986 14:3924
    Hi..
     I'm a "newie" to this conference...although I'm active in others..
    
    I've got a "menagerie of six dogs and two cats...and the cats came
    along after the dogs..and one moved in on her own.
    
      The other one is the 'question' I have...
    This one was found abandoned at birth by it's mother. Three of my 
    dogs found her the morning after St Patrick's day and we bottle
    fed her till she was old enough to eat on her own...actually, my
    75 lb. 1/2 German Shepherd/ 1/4 Doberman/ 1/4 Greyhound "adopted"
    her and took over the duties that the mother usually performs..
    Her name is "Annie" (as in 'Little Orphan') But I call her "Bitch-Mew",
    because she's always complaining about something...and Mean!! she's
    as cute as anything though...and the name's affectionately used...
    
      Anyway, to get to the point...
    This cat is grey striped on the paws, tail and face..complete with a
    double "M" on the forehead, has red stripes on her belly, and the
    rest of her is what I was always told is "Calico"--red, white, grey
    and brown/beige mottled everywhere else. She's got green/yellow
    eyes. 
      What is the proper terminology for this color scheme??
    John McD
269.3SHOGUN::HEFFELTracey HeffelfingerWed Jun 25 1986 16:4511
       In technical terms we call that a mess. ;-)
    
       Actually, I don't think there is any one term that describes
    that coat.  (I have seen them before by the way.  They look like
    some one got crazed one night and patched together parts of coats
    from several kitties. :-))  I'll look in the cat book tonight to
    see if they have anything to say about that kind of pattern in case
    I'm just forgetting it, but think what you've got is a "Unique cat".
    
    tlh
    
269.4SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT SHE IS EITHER!!SOFCON::MCDONOUGHWed Jun 25 1986 17:548
    Re .3
     Hmmm..Maybe that's why she's so nasty sometimes...
    How about "Calico-Tiger"??
    Actually, since she was "raised" by my pups, I really believe that
    sometimes she forgets that she's a cat...she chews rawhide doggie
    chews, and absolutely loves to steal a dog kibble or two now and
    then...and her and my Dachshund "Willi" are best buddy playmates!
    JMCD
269.5PUZZLE::CORDESJAMon Nov 17 1986 23:0515
    re .4
    
    It sounds like you have yourself a Torbie.  A torbie is a tortoiseshell
    cat that displays the tabby markings in his tortie pattern.
    
    In case you aren't familiar with the tortie pattern, a tortie is
    similar to a calico.  A calico is a white cat with unbrindled patches
    of orange and black on its body (undrindled meaning unbroken).
    A tortie has brindled patches of orange and black and sometimes
    tan and white.
    
    If a tortie has an M on the forehead and/or stripes or swirls on
    the flanks then he/she is a torbie.
    
    JoAnn
269.6I made a mistakePUZZLE::CORDESJATue Nov 18 1986 20:1611
    Reading over my previous reply (.5) I noticed I made a BIG mistake
    without realizing it.
    
    Calico, tortie, and torbie are sex linked colors.  They occur in
    females only.  There are cases where male calico's etc. have been
    born, but these are exceptions to the rule.  If males are born,
    they will usually be sterile.
    
    JoAnn
      
    
269.7more on geneticsUSHS01::MCALLISTERTARDIS Sales and Service Co.Tue Nov 18 1986 22:349
    The reason behind the sex link is that the X chromosome carries
    the colors orange and black, but only one per X chromosome.  Therefore,
    a female cat can normally have one copy of each, and it's interaction.
    A male cat normally cannot, usually a variant of XXY produces the
    relatively rare male tricolor cat.  such cats are usually sterile,
    and even if they aren't, usually aren't all that valuable.
    
    Dave ( a smoked tortie/torbie Maine coon breeder, if you think tricolor
     genetics are bad, figure out that combination!)