Blue tabby carries the same tabby markings – classic swirls, mackerel stripes, or spots – as a brown tabby, but with the dilution gene softening the black into blue-gray and the brown background into a paler, warmer beige or fawn. The overall effect is gentler and more muted than a black tabby’s high contrast, though the pattern itself (M on the forehead, ringed tail, dark eyeliner) is identical.