Calico and Tabby Cats – How Much Do They Cost

This is a question I keep seeing in the search strings by which people reach this blog via the search engines.
I figured it might be a good idea to provide an answer.
Calico and tabby are not cat breeds. They are coat patterns.
A calico is a cat, almost always female, that has patches of all three basic cat colors: white, black and red. Diluted calicoes display the same pattern, only with white, cream and blue (steel gray).

A tabby is a cat that has the dual colored pattern, usually with darker stripes over a lighter background. Tabbies can have slightly different patterns too, such as dotted or marbled. Tabby is actually the “authentic” cat coat pattern, seen in many wild cat species. In domestic cats it shows up in a variety of colors (remember, it’s a pattern, not a color!) That’s how you have red tabby cats, gray tabby cats and so on. You can have tabby mixed with patches of white, or as part of any white/tabby combo.

You can even have calico and tabby in one and the same cat! The tabby pattern is then observed in the cat’s red and/or gray patches.
If you want to know more about tabby and calico cats, we have two wonderful articles for you right here on TheCatSite.com, explaining more about these patterns, how they are formed and facts and myths surrounding them:
Tabby Cats
Calico Cats
So, How Much Do They Cost?
Hopefully, by now you realize these are not cat breeds. These patterns can show in some cat breeds. Persian cats, for example, can be calicoes, tabbies, or anything in between (as well as solid-colored). Some breeds display only the tabby coat pattern – their breed profile indicates that. Bengal Cats are tabbies, and should display the marbled or spotted variations of the tabby pattern too.
However, non-pedigreed domestic pet cats are just as likely to be tabbies or calicoes! Just walk into your local animal shelter and ask to see them – I regret to see you are certain to find some beautiful tabby cats and kittens, and probably calicoes as well. They are every bit as beautiful and impressive as their pedigreed brothers and sisters.
The price? just your regular adoption fees! No extra charge for the coat pattern!