Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK

Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: Christine (Blip) on December 20, 2008, 17:52:09 PM

Title: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Christine (Blip) on December 20, 2008, 17:52:09 PM
Whaddya fink, Purrs peeps?
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: blackcat on December 20, 2008, 17:55:50 PM
well, in my book he is a tabby as the stripes are still clearly visible. But he is also ticked (and I want him! :Luv: ) so depends on where you place the emphasis really. He is a stunning cat, and a really unusual marking - sort of silver tabby with them emphasis on the dark side, but .......... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :Luv: :Luv: :Luv:
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: blackcat on December 20, 2008, 17:56:51 PM
Guessing his mum was 'frightened' by an abyssinian ... ;)
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Kittybabe (Ruth) on December 20, 2008, 18:17:06 PM
Guessing his mum was 'frightened' by an abyssinian ... ;)

:rofl:

He's gorgeous!!
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on December 20, 2008, 20:43:23 PM
Hard to tell from the pic, but means there are bands of colour on each individual hair - dark and light colours alternating.  It is a tabby pattern and doesn't just occur in pedigree breeds (tabbies can be classic, mackarel, spotted or ticked).  A separate gene masks the other tabby patterns in cats with the ticked gene.  Jaffa has some ticking and he is 100% moggy  ;D

http://www.messybeast.com/spotted-cats.html
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: koscha (Ruth M) on December 21, 2008, 02:40:20 AM
Look like there's a touch of ticking there....

Koschas (the kitty on my avatar) an interesting one......she's a ticked torbie!  :shocked:

It earnt her the name hotchpotch puss!  :Luv: :evillaugh:
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: fluffybunny on December 21, 2008, 18:01:16 PM
Can I be ignorant and ask what ticking is, please  :shy:

Whatever he is, he's very puuurrrty  :Luv2:
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on December 21, 2008, 18:14:26 PM
Can I be ignorant and ask what ticking is, please  :shy:

I just told you above  :P ;D

It's a tabby pattern.  Genetically, it's complicated but is related to the amount of agouti protein present. In cats with ticking, the tabby striped pattern is minimised leaving the underlying agouti colouration.  Each individual hair has bands of colour, and will be lighter at the base and darker at the tip.  The number of bands varies and in pedigree cats that have ticking, it's usually expected to have several bands of colour, but where ticking has occurred naturally and not been specifically bred for, there may not be so  many bands and the hair may be just light at the base and tipped at the end with a darker colour.  It's sometimes referred to as an abyssinian tabby pattern, as it is a pattern that was selected for in Abyssinians.  Look for some pics of Sam's Foxy and Zephyr and you'll see what ticking is!  Mosi has ticking but because he is red, there isn't a huge contrast between the lighter red undercoat and the darker red bands, so the ticking effect isn't as obvious.  Ticking is found in Abyssinians, Somalis, Singapuras and some oriental breeds (ocicats?).  But as with all characteristics of pedigree cats, they can occur in the moggy population too.  Pedigree cats can only contain characteristics that occurred naturally and then were selectively bred for.
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on December 21, 2008, 18:50:22 PM
Here ya go - ticking in action!

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,8717.0.html

Sam's Zephyr and Foxy are usual (ruddy) Abyssinians - that means they have a warm brown undercoat and are ticked with black - so the black is effectively the ticking. The dark areas of the fur have bands of the brown alternated with bands of black - that is what gives the ticking effect.  If it was just brown at the base and black at the tips, the ticking would be less clear as the brown wouldnt show through as well.

In answer to the original post - yes I do think there is some ticking there but I am finding it difficult on my monitor to distinguish between camera effect and coat effect  ;D
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Mojo on December 22, 2008, 09:08:06 AM
Looking at those pics I believe Mango is a ticked tabby with residual markings!! :wow:
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Ticky on December 22, 2008, 15:53:50 PM
Here ya go - ticking in action!

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,8717.0.html

Sam's Zephyr and Foxy are usual (ruddy) Abyssinians - that means they have a warm brown undercoat and are ticked with black - so the black is effectively the ticking. The dark areas of the fur have bands of the brown alternated with bands of black - that is what gives the ticking effect.  If it was just brown at the base and black at the tips, the ticking would be less clear as the brown wouldnt show through as well.

In answer to the original post - yes I do think there is some ticking there but I am finding it difficult on my monitor to distinguish between camera effect and coat effect  ;D

Oh absolutely gorgeous cats!!  I love Abys.  Tell me, do they "talk" a lot?  I'm thinking, as someone else suggested here, that my Sydney has some Aby in him.  He is so expressive, vocally.

Also, thanks to all who helped identify Sydney's moggie-ness.   ;)
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Christine (Blip) on December 22, 2008, 18:18:14 PM

Oh absolutely gorgeous cats!!  I love Abys.  Tell me, do they "talk" a lot?  I'm thinking, as someone else suggested here, that my Sydney has some Aby in him.  He is so expressive, vocally.

I have an idea that Abyssinians tend to be quite athletic (although I may be making this up  :evillaugh:) but I have no idea about their chattiness.  Anyone got any thoughts?
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: blackcat on December 22, 2008, 18:23:30 PM
Smidgen is not particularly talkative, but Samantha, my first (and only) pure abby could talk up a storm. She maintained a continual commentary on life the universe and everything and did so in a variety of vocal tones that was quite extraordinarily broad.

Since I have mentioned him in passing, I am afraid I can not resist the urge to post a pic of the gorgeous Smidgen  :Luv:

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee203/shadowtalker/017-1.jpg)
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Ticky on December 22, 2008, 18:35:54 PM
Smidgen is beautiful.  The picture of the cat gazing out the window with ears perked forward in curiosity is always a winner.   :)
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on December 22, 2008, 18:41:11 PM
I have an idea that Abyssinians tend to be quite athletic (although I may be making this up  :evillaugh:)

You're not making it up.  Abys and Somalis are, in general, athletic, inquisitive and general nosy parkers.  Not sure about Abys, but I have read that Somalis are quiet  :rofl: :rofl:  Mosi obviously missed that memo.  He doesn't bother with the talking bit and just goes straight to the shouting.
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Ticky on December 22, 2008, 18:46:55 PM
...  He doesn't bother with the talking bit and just goes straight to the shouting.

YES.  That's it.  Shouting.  That's my Sydney.  Although he makes "general announcements".  Like when he's about to jump into bed with you.  It can be quite startling, actually.  His announcement happens in the middle of the air just before he lands on the bed.  Fortunately it's not a "shouting" announcement.  It's more like, "mrrrrr" or "brrrrdddrrrow".  You get that treatment as well when you pass him in the hallway and he has much better things to do than stop and talk.

The shouting happens in the kitchen.  If he sees a tin being opened, he's just certain it's tuna or his favorite wet food.  Then he gets loud!
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: blackcat on December 22, 2008, 18:46:59 PM
Thanks Ticky - he was enthralled by the snow falling outside. But not enough to venture out into it :rofl: You may be able to see that he also has a ticked coat on the coloured bits ... His mother was a pedigreed aby who had an affair with a large white barn cat ...
Title: Re: Is my friend's cat a ticked tabby?
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on December 22, 2008, 18:50:58 PM
Thanks Ticky - he was enthralled by the snow falling outside. But not enough to venture out into it :rofl:

ya big wuss, Smidge!  ;D

Mosi doesn't really do any normal cat sounds.  He has trills and chirrups but he does favour the shout above all other sounds  :rofl: Actually, I worry if he's quiet for too long.  It means he's up to something and it's usually something he shouldn't be doing.