Instructions
Examine your cat's fur, including the tail. The color of the agouti hairs (the "ground color") may vary from cat to cat, but this can help you determine what type of tabby you have.
Determine what type of stripes your feline has. There are four different tabby cat patterns: mackerel or striped, classic blotched, spotted and ticked.
Look at the patterns. A mackerel or striped tabby has a narrow stripe that runs down its side resembling a fish, and people oftentimes refer to it as a "tiger" cat. A classic blotched tabby, the most common, has patterns on its body that resemble marble cake. A spotted tabby features spots over its sides. A ticked tabby has tabby markings on the face, but it doesn't have spots or stripes.
Determine whether your feline is a patched tabby. This is a more recent finding, as it may be a cat with tortoiseshell or a calico cat with tabby markings. This type of cat is also called a "torbie."
Examine the cat's face. All tabby cats have a brick red or rose-colored nose and lighter colored areas around the eyes. A true tabby has a spot on its forehead that looks like the letter "M."
How to Spot a Tabby Cat
Tabby cats aren't a breed of feline. The term applies to the stripes, swirl and dot pattern found on your tabby's coat. Depending upon how friendly your cat is, you can easily spot a tabby by the individual strands of hair that contain both light and dark colors.