Ticked tabby cat
Also called: Ticked tabby, Abyssinian tabby, Agouti tabby.
From a distance it looks like a plain cat of a warm shade, but up close each hair has several light and dark bands. It is the coat of the Abyssinian, the Somali and the Singapura: a tabby that has had nearly all the pattern erased from its body.
What it looks like
A body with no stripes or spots, with a speckled, salt and pepper effect, rather like a hare’s. The tabby pattern only remains on the face (the “M”, the eye line), sometimes on the legs and at the tail tip. A darker line may run along the spine.
The genetics, made simple
It is caused by a gene of its own, ticked, which is dominant and masks the other patterns: a cat with one copy is already ticked, sometimes with traces of stripes on the legs and neck; with two copies, the body is clear. A paper published in 2021 by the Stanford team that studies cat coats linked it to the Dkk4 gene. The agouti gene, which gives each hair its bands, is also needed.
Myths and what science says
“The Abyssinian is the cat of the pharaohs”
The Abyssinian resembles the cats in Egyptian paintings, and that is where the legend comes from. Genetic studies suggest the breed was formed in the 19th century from cats from South-East Asia and the Indian Ocean coast.
Fun facts
- The Abyssinian’s “sorrel” or red is really a ticked cinnamon.
- Each hair of an Abyssinian can have four or more bands of colour.
- The Singapura, one of the smallest cats, is accepted in only one colour: sepia ticked.
Does it affect its health?
The pattern is not linked to any disease. Ticked breeds have their own health profile (for example, the Abyssinian and Somali with some inherited eye and blood disorders): see their breed pages.
Breeds where it appears or is typical
This coat turns up in plenty of moggies. These are breeds where it is common, characteristic or accepted; under each one, the colours the breed comes in.
Abyssinian
Wild-looking · Ethiopia / United Kingdom
Ruddy (usual), red (sorrel), blue, fawn and their silver versions
Somali
Semi-longhair · United States / Canada
Ruddy (the usual one), red or sorrel, blue, fawn and their silver versions
Singapura
Oriental · Singapore / United States
Just one: sepia agouti (brown ticking on an ivory base)
Chausie
Wild-looking · United States
Black, brown ticked tabby and grizzled black (silver-tipped)
Australian Mist
Shorthair · Australia
Brown, blue, chocolate, lilac, gold or peach, spotted or marbled with a ticked veil
Oriental Shorthair
Oriental · United Kingdom
Over 300 combinations: solids, tabby, smoke, silver, bicolours…
Frequently asked questions
What does ticked mean in a cat?
That each hair has alternating light and dark bands, and the body has hardly any pattern. It is a type of tabby, the Abyssinian’s.
Is ticked the same as agouti?
The terms are used almost interchangeably, but they are not the same: agouti is the gene that puts bands on each hair, and all tabbies have it; ticked is another gene that also erases the stripes from the body.
Can a domestic cat be ticked?
Yes, although it is less common than mackerel or classic. Many ticked domestic cats keep traces of stripes on their legs and neck.
Educational content from Michipedia. The genetics of coat colour are simplified so they are easy to follow; colour tells you nothing about the personality of a particular cat.