Blue tabby British Shorthair cats are very unusual. Whilst British Shorthairs are some of the most recognisable cats in the world, blue tabbies remain a very mysterious colour combination.

The two most iconic British Shorthair colours around are the solid blue British Shorthair and the black silver tabby British Shorthair - think of the Whiskas cat! But there are so many other wonderful combinations…..and the blue tabby combines the best of both of those iconic cats. 

The vast majority of British Shorthair tabbies are black tabbies: they have various patterns in black with then either golden or silver colours underneath. But British Shorthair tabbies also come in blue!  The blue British Shorthair tabby has an unusual, almost ethereal appearance...the subtlety of their markings is striking in its uniqueness. They are incredibly beautiful to look at. Here is a short video of one of our blue tabby kittens. You can see more of our kittens on YouTube.

Blue tabby availability

Very occasionally we have blue tabby kittens available in self and bicolour. If you would like one please contact us as they don't come along very often!

The genetics of the blue tabby

Blue tabbies are genetically identical to black tabbies in all but one way: the blue tabby is homozygous for the dilution gene. This means that a blue tabby has two copies of the dilution gene. The dilution gene reduces the amount of pigment in the hair, so that black becomes blue. 

Blue tabby patterns

Blue British Shorthair tabbies come in all of the many varieties of tabby you can get: 

• The blue mackerel tabby is stripey, like a tiger

• The blue classic tabby is marbled, or rosetted

• The blue spotty tabby is...spotty! 

• The blue tabby also comes in ticked, shaded and smoke.

Silver and golden tabbies

Blue tabbies come in either blue-golden or blue-silver. They are very similar in appearance, but the blue-golden tabby is warmer and the combination of the blue on the golden background is very subtle and strikingly unusual - it is incredibly beautiful actually. Blue golden tabbies look as though they have been painted.  The blue silver is a higher contrast, with the background being almost white. Both blue-golden and blue-silver tabbies are incredibly beautiful.  Read more about the silver tabby British Shorthair.

Bicolours 

All blue tabbies can also come in the various bicolour patterns: bicolour, harlequin and van patterns. These are especially unusual! For more information see our page on bicolour cats.

Temperament

A blue tabby will likely have a very similar temperament to your average tabby British Shorthair cat. In our experience, tabby British Shorthair cats are more athletic and energetic than their non-tabby counterparts. Of course, there is always the exception to the rule! But it does tend to be true that tabbies are a bit more hyper. 

Look at our kitten page to see if we have of these beautiful blue tabbies available...

Discover more British Shorthair colours. If you are looking for something different this page is well worth a visit - British Shorthairs come in a vast array of colours and patterns.