The four tabby patterns can be distinguished as follows:
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Often, people don’t realize there are 4 distinct tabby patterns, let alone how to tell them apart. It occurs in many purebred and crossbred cats alike. The most common cat pattern is the mackerel tabby (sometimes referred to as a tiger cat), followed by the classic tabby.
It is rare to see a solid red cat as there is usually a hint of tabby pattern somewhere, particularly on the face. White cats are slightly different as though they are also the result of a masking gene, it is a single color that is masked and not a pattern.