ghost striping

Could someone elaborate what exactly is 'ghost' striping? Does it only occur in Russian Blues? Can you tell they are 'ghost' without waiting for the cat to age"

"ghost" tabby markings just mean that the tabby gene is present in the background, but the cat won't produce a tabby. Some colors show more of faint striping then others - blue is one color, red or cream is another. Sometimes in the right light you can see it on a black cat.

Ling has "ghost" tabby markings - she was born a blue tabby/white but by 3-4 months old changed to black/white (yet to figure that out). In the bright sunlite you can still see the striping of the blue tabby.

I read that almost all cats are tabbies to some extent - not sure if that really is true.

If a cat is truly a tabby the striping will be a lot darker and not fade away; otherwise you get the "ghost" striping. It should change to solid by the time the cat is full grown; like in the Russian Blues.

thanks, i just noticed some spots on his side and tabby stripes on his hind legs and tail, but only in the right light. Renovia

Then he has a spotted tabby background. All tabbys will have leg/tail stripes - the difference is what tabby pattern is on the body. You have 4 kinds - blotched/classic (bullseye on the sides), mackeral (vertical striping), spotted, or ticked (like an aby).