Maine Coon Color and Patterns

Ursula, a kitten in this photo, is a shaded silver tabby.  A silver tabby has a silver-white background color with black tabby markings. A striped cat or "tabby" cat  may have one of four different patters, mackerel, classic, spotted, or ticked. The mackeral pattern, like Ursula, is a pattern where the stripes are narrow and run parallel to one another like the bones of a fish (hence the name "mackerel'). Ursula is also shaded, meaning each individual hair is half white and half silver. I've included a photo of her sire, Melbourne, to show you the adult coloring of a shaded silver tabby. All tabby cats have stripes on their faces that form a letter "M."