Painter Horatio Henry Coudery depicted tabby cats as mischievous, curious, a little gluttonous, yet somehow lovable. The Egyptians believed the M mark was left by a scarab. He is often shown slaying the serpent Apep. In the Egyptian “Book of the Dead” the sun god, Ra, appears as a spotted tabby, much like the modern Egyptian Mau. Disney decided he should have pink and purple stripes. The Cheshire Cat from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has been depicted as a tabby since the original Tenniel illustrations. Stubbs was an orange tabby who was mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska. The Ithaca Kitty, the first mass produced plush toy, was based on a tabby cat named Caesar Grimalkin. How he managed to have a purple half brother named Raul is anybody's guess. It was revealed in one special that his mother was a yellow tabby.
Garfield is the world's most famous tabby. The striped patterned evolved as a means of camouflage, making it easier to stalk prey in tall grass. The first of the domesticated felines were very likely striped like their wild ancestors. Origin of Tabby CatsĪs the tabby pattern is ubiquitous among wild felines, it might be supposed that cats of the medieval era were tabbies. Since tabbies come in every breed, you could have a Persian or an angora that looks like a fluffy little tiger. If you look closely at a black cat under strong lighting, you may be able to see some faint tabby stripes, just as a black panther has leopard spots among that ebon fur. A grey tabby can be silver grey or blue grey. They can be brown, grey, orange or yellow but they must be striped. What is a tabby cat?Ī tabby is not a breed of cat but a coat pattern. Look at it with the pinkie side down.) If you do, you no doubt want to know more about these beautiful, wonderful creatures. If your cat has a letter M on her forehead, you've got a tabby cat on your hands! (Speaking of hands, you probably have an M on your palm! Does it mean Meow? Mouse? Mask? Maine coon? Mystery? Mine? Since many cat goddesses are also maternal goddesses, maybe it means “Mother”. Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me.What, oh, what does that M stand for? The Catholics say Mary.
They're basically walking, meowing, sassy shadows that bring a whole lot of love and laughter to your life. Having a cat is like having a forever (er, fur-ever?) best friend.