The coat of the traditional tabby, or ‘bullseye’ or "swirled," is the most typical fur pattern of house cats. It features wide, rounded spots on the sides and a clear ‘M’ on the forehead.

A team of geneticists and animal welfare specialists from the U.K. and one from the U.S. has identified the genetic mutation responsible for a newly discovered cat coat color pattern in Finland.

Credit: Salmiak cat “There was a huge chunk of sequence missing downstream from the KIT gene,” Anderson told New Scientist, discussing a gene that can affect white patterns in coats.