Tabby:
This word originated in about 1638 and originally this word was and still is used to describe taffeta from the French word tabis. Tabby is now used to describe the domestic cat with stripes and mottled coat, especially female cats.
Striped Tabby:
These are generally grey cats with black vertical stripes on the body and horizontal stripes on their face. These cats are sometimes called tiger cats.
Silver Tabby:
Similar to the striped tabby, except with silver hair.
Red Tabby:
Similar to the striped tabby, except with reddish hair. Usually these cats have red stripes instead of the common black stripe.
Mackerel Tabby:
Another term used to describe the red tabby.
Blotched Tabby:
These are cats with colored patches over their body. Blotched tabbies can come in many different colours and may have a diamond shaped patch at the base of their necks. Also, these cats may have markings on their shoulders that are wing shaped.
Tortoise Shell:
This describes cats that have black, cream, and orange patches in various patterns over the body.
Calico:
Similar to a tortoise shell cat, calico cats have white patches in combination with other colours. Both calico and tortoise shell cats are females.
Button or Locket:
These two words are used to describe the white spot found on the throat of many solid colour cats.
Odd Eyed White:
This term is used to describe white cats, usually a Persian or Domestic Shorthair, that have one blue eye and one orange or copper eye.
Blue or Maltese:
Some people refer to Maltese cats as blue cats. This not a breed of cat, but rather a way of describing the colour of the cats.
Smoked Coloured Cats:
These cats have white bodies with black hair being found at the tips.
Chinchilla:
Very simply, chinchilla cats are silver coloured.