Oh, those terrific Tabbies! Tiny tigers that guard our hearts and homes! Stealthy, striped, and strategic in ways that only a cat can be. But how do you know if your Tabby is a true Tabby?
Legend says that when Jesus was born and placed in the manger, he began to shiver with cold. It was then that a tabby cat jumped into the manger and settled next to the baby, lying against him, soothing him with purrs and warming him. In gratitude, Mary stroked the forehead of the little cat and left her mark, the “M” that has been passed from generation to generation.
Another set of legends revolve around Muezza, the favorite cat of the Prophet Mohammed. One is that Muezza killed a snake that was attacking the Prophet, saving his life. In gratitude, the Prophet rested his hand upon the cat’s forehead in blessing, marking it with the “M” and giving all cats the ability to land on their feet. Another legend is that the Prophet Mohammed was answering the call to prayers, but Muezza was asleep on the sleeve of his robe. Instead of waking the cat, he cut off the sleeve and stroked the cat’s head, leaving the “M” on Muezza’s forehead.
One thing to remember is that Tabby is not a breed of cat, but a coat color. The gene causing the pattern is known as the agouti gene, which is believed cats inherited from their wild cat ancestors. It is a dominant gene; however, if the gene comes through as two recessive genes from each parent, then the coat pattern does not appear as Tabby. Genetically speaking, all cats have the Tabby gene.
Tabbies have four recognized coat patterns, with Mackerel Tabby being the most common coat pattern. These cats have vertical stripes that run down their sides, like fish bones (hence the name), with rings around their legs and tails.
There is also the Classic Tabby, which has a blotched or marbled coat pattern. Some might describe it as looking like a marbled cake.
Then there is the Spotted Tabby, which is similar to the Mackerel or Classic Tabby, but with spots instead of stripes.
Finally, there is the Ticked Tabby (no, not ticked-off Tabby!), which has the tell-tale markings on its face, but at first glance, the coat pattern may be hidden along the length of the hairs.
There are also a couple of other coat patterns that are almost exclusive to female cats, which are the caliby or torbie tabby patterns. Also known as a patched tabby, a torbie is a tortoiseshell tabby with patches of red and brown tabby markings. A caliby is similar to the torbie, but it’s a calico tabby which also has patches of white.
There are twelve coat colors, including dilutions, with either a red or black base. These include silver (or blue), lilac, cinnamon, chocolate, fawn, and cream. Of course, ginger tabbies and brown tabbies fall into these coat colors.
Since Tabby is a color, and not a breed, the personality of a Tabby cat is as varied as the cat itself. Fortune smiles on the lucky who are blessed to be owned by a Terrific Tabby. Does your cat have the telltale “M” on their forehead? If so, thank your lucky stars, and give that kitty extra scritches!