Tabby - breed or colour?

gettingready

Had an interesting conversation with Pet Plan few days ago.

As I have not received some paperwork from them, I have called and they went on the 100 questions "to confirm this and that" before they tell me what I ned to know.

Then they ask me what breed are the kittens I already have insured with them so I said they are not pedigree kittens.

So they ask me for my bank details - at this point I have lost it a bit as been on the phone for nearly 15 min already (including waiting) and answered so many questions....

Asked the woman why is she asking me so many questions and she says to me:

"As you were not able to tell me what breed are the kittens..."

I said I did tell her, they are not pedigree so there is no "breed" as such.

She tells me "But you insured them as tabbies"

I said - "Tabby is a COLOUR not a breed of a cat"

She insisted that Tabby is a breed....

Now, seriously - my cats are nto pedigree as such so.....

How and since when "tabby" is a breed?

I always thought it was the colour of a cat - am I really wrong?

:eek:

HappyMJ

Tabby is not a breed it's a coat pattern.

The breed that you should use for insurance is domestic short hair or something similar.

gettingready

So I am not mad then?

LOL

The woman made me laugh, honestly - she was soooooooooooooooooo patronising and insisting that tabby is a breed.

When I did insure them, they asked me for a colour so said one is ginger tabby and one silver tabby, never stated this as a breed....

Domestic short hair I have heard but prefer "mouser"

Thanksa for that

mandyl

yep,tabby is def a colour:)

butler_helen

Mine's a 'common garden moggy' and his colouring is 'felix'.

I'm also sure tabby is a colour pattern and not a breed.

Mankysteve

Its a colour pattern although they do have breed type characteristics.

tealady

All my cats have been BSM's (bog standard mog) and I have had grey, brown and ginger tabbies. Sounds like that woman at the insurance company doesn't own any pets. Perhaps someone could buy her a book on cat breeds for Xmas!

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

There's a pedigree tabby,mine was a british short hair and had papers to prove it or there is a DSH tabby colour.
DSH stands for domestic short hair.
The cats would of cost you a higher premium to insure if you told them they were just tabbies as they'd have assumed they were pedigrees,you have to stipulate DSH if they're not thoroughbreds.

rita-rabbit

Wow - I learn something every day!

SarahLou

That is scary that they've presumed you meant a pedigree tabby! :eek: Its absolutely absurd to jump to that conclusion if all you've said is that they were tabbies! As, like you rightly thought, that description simply details their colour and has nowt at all to do with their genetic makeup!!

I think I'd be tempted to take your insurance premium elsewhere as anyone who insists that "tabby" by name is a pedigree cat clearly shouldn't be working for a pet insurance company!! :rotfl:

gettingready

Thanks everyone - so I am NOT insane, not in THAT way anyway LOL