Nope, a “tabby” is not a breed of cat, nor is it necessarily a female feline. I’ve heard folks use the term interchangeably.

Classic Tabby

Tabby refers to a coat pattern composed of darker stripes, spots or swirls on a lighter background. The “mackerel tabby” pattern consists of clearly defined stripes, while the “classic tabby” pattern is a combination of circles and stripes. Often these classic tabby cats sport a sort of “bullseye” pattern on their sides.

Mackerel Tabby

The third pattern is the spotted tabby, sort of a miniature leopard look. It’s probable that these tabby coat patterns were the original wildcat look, and better concealed the wily hunter hiding in the grass.

Spotted Tabby

Tabby patterns can come in nearly any color, in longhair or shorthair versions, and if you look closely in the right light, even the solid color cats can have a tabby pattern faintly seen.