

There are four possible tabby cat coat patterns: mackerel, spotted, classic, and ticked. Tabby is a cat of any breed with a coat pattern of stripes, swirls, dots, and rings. A male can only be calico colored if he has an extra X chromosome. This is because to show the calico coloration, the genes must be present on two X chromosomes. Most calico cats are female, but male calicos can exist. White is the most common color making up the coat of calico cats, but a calico cat doesn’t need to be mostly white to qualify as a calico-colored cat. They’re commonly 25 percent to 75 percent white with orange and black patches.

Calico cats are short- or long-haired domestic cats with a tri-color coat. Like a caliby cat, a calico cat is not a breed but a description of coat color.

The name is a mix of calico + tabby = caliby. Caliby cats have the coloration of a calico mixed with a tabby-typically areas of orange (red) and brown tabby with white. A caliby cat is the coat coloration of a cat and is not a stand-alone breed.
