Tabby Cat: Some Interesting Facts

Tabby cats are not specific cat breeds as a lot of people assume. On the contrary, it can be any regular domestic cat that has a pattern or dots etc on its fur, and a ‘M’ like sign on its forehead. Some people believe that the personality of a tabby cat is more similar to a dog than a cat. They are warm, affectionate and highly intelligent cats. Here are some other interesting facts about the tabby cats.

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Interesting facts about Tabby Cat:

Taby cats are quite common, and most people have seen them, and many have pet them, yet they may not know about the facts mentioned below:

  • The word ‘Tabby’ is derived from the French word ‘tabis’ which means “a rich water silk”. They get their name from the pattern of their coat, which is sometimes stripped. According to scientists, they get this pattern according to the loci of their gene and another moderating element.
  • It is generally believed that the Tabby cat came from the African wild cat and thus the markings that are seen on the fur of a Tabby cat is actually patterns made for camouflage. It is easier for them to hide than the bi-colored cat or any other type of cat. It is thus natural selection which leads to the domination of Tabby cat genes.
  • There are different Tabby patterns, such as
  1. Classic, with large dots or pattern, this is most common among this type of cats,
  2. Mackerel, the most similar pattern to the African wild cat, the narrowly striped rings around their body,
  3. Spotted, where a pattern is drawn by spots rather than stripes like the Meckerel Tabby,
  4. Ticked, in which pattern there are distinct colors on the coat of the cat.
  • The most significant feature of the Tabbies are that all of them have a distinctive ‘M’ mark on their forehead. There are a lot of legends built around this mark, the most popular being, that Mary, mother of Jesus Christ printed her initial on the forehead of a Tabby cat as a mark of gratitude, since it snuggled and kept baby Jesus warm in his manger. A similar tale from Islamic world says the mark is made to show Muhammad loved cats, and they must be respected.

These are some interesting facts about the Tabby cats who you can found all around yourself.

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