![]() ![]() As a sign of gratitude, the Virgin Mary marked the cat's face with the first letter of her name.Ī non-religious version suggests that the M is a set of frown lines, the result of a cat looking at a mousehole in concentration. It is said that the M on the forehead of the tabby cat was created when he put his hand on the brow of his favorite cat.Ĭhristians have a story that says baby Jesus cried, and a feline climbed up into the mange, started to purr, and sent Jesus to sleep. The prophet Muhammad was a known feline enthusiast. ![]() Here are some interesting stories behind the M marking of the tabby cat. Where tales meet genetics, it becomes intriguing. A tortoiseshell cat with tabby spots is often called a "torbie." Mystical Stories Surrounding the Tabby Cat A patched tabby may be a calico cat or a tortoiseshell that shows patches of tabby markings. This fifth tabby pattern is in a mix of tabby markings with other patterns. Some ticked tabbies do, nevertheless, show ghost striping on the face, belly, and legs. This gives the coat a salt-and-pepper appearance instead of clear stripes. These felines have agouti hairs with a dark base color that alternates with lighter tones. The ticked tabby does not show the stripes except on its legs and tail. The Ocicat and American Bobtail are cat breeds that commonly display the spotted tabby pattern. It's uncertain whether the spotted came from broken mackerel tabby patterns or if it has unique genetics. Because these spots vary, they often resemble broken mackerel tabby stripes. Instead of the stripes or swirls discussed above, a spotted tabby is covered in spots of different sizes. Many tabbies with this pattern also have dark spots running through their stomachs, sometimes called "vest buttons." Spotted Tabby The mackerel tabby is named like this because the pattern resembles a fishbone. They also have rings along their tails and legs. It is likewise called the striped tabby or the tiger cat. The mackerel tabby is the most common pattern. These cats have solid or broken stripes that branch off from one big line that runs along the pet cat's spine. Some classic tabbies can also have blotches of color in their body, giving them the moniker "blotched tabby." Mackerel Tabby The pattern is characterized by bold swirls that create a "target" pattern on the side of the cat's body. The American Shorthair breed is the most common cat with the classic tabby pattern. That being said, there are five types of tabby markings. While every tabby cat might not display all of these markings, if a cat shows numerous from this checklist, it's pretty secure to say it's a tabby. Various other physical attributes generally seen in tabbies include: Some tabbies show noticeable striping on their legs and tail. Depending on the pet cat's genes, these red stripes may be bold, plainly visible, subtle, or faded. Though there are numerous unique tabby patterns, most tabbies show some level of striping on their coats. It's also understandable how coats with striped and spots might camouflage well into the wilderness. Others claim that it stems from the translation of the French expression "striped silk taffeta," the root of which is tabis.Ī study by feline geneticists Carlos Driscoll and Leslie Lyons verified five family trees of wildcats that are ancestors of today's domestic tabbies. Some say that that name is derived from Atabi, a patterned silk made in the Middle East. This marking is also seen on wild cats, particularly forest ones like cheetahs, ocelots, and tigers. Some say M stands for Mau, the Egyptian word that means cat. However, what makes a tabby actually stand out, is the distinctive M-shaped marking on the forehead. A lot of tabbies have stripes throughout their faces, along their backs, and on their legs and tails. Though every cat is different, there are certain identifiable markings most tabbies tend to display. ![]()
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