Tabby Tidbits Just In Time For National Tabby Day

6 comments Apr 30, 2018

It's National Tabby Day! With over 80 percent of our domesticated feline companions being of the striped variety, it's no wonder that tabby cats get their very own day! So to celebrate these tiny house tigers and all their stripe-y, "tabbitude" glory, we've compiled a few interesting tabby cat facts, just a few tabby tidbits about these fluffy felines.

Tabby cats come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.

Contrary to popular belief, "tabby" doesn't refer to a breed of cat, but rather refers to the distinctive striped coat pattern. As such, a tabby cat can be any breed or color.

In fact, no matter what color or markings your cat may have, all cats have the tabby cat gene; other colors and patterns may mask the tabby marks, but the gene is always present. Have you ever seen a black cat in the sun and seen the subtle stripes? That's the tabby gene at work!

Tabbies got their name from silk made in Baghdad.

The origin of the term "tabby" can be traced from French tabis, stemming from Medieval Latin attabi, from Arabic attabi, from al-Attabiya, a suburb of Baghdad, Iraq, where silk was made, named for the Prince Attab. Cats got the name tabby after similarity of their coats to the patterned silk cloth ... or maybe the cats inspired the pattern!

Most orange tabby cats are males.

The ratio is about 80 percent male to 20 percent female orange cats.

And it's all thanks to genetics! A male orange tabby only needs the orange gene from their mother, whereas a female ginger needs the gene from the mother and father.

Our office foster cat, Thomas, showing off his distinctive tabby marks!

The tabby coat emerged in the Middle Ages

In Medieval times, Egyptian cats spread throughout the Mediterranean along trade routes, catching rides on ships. Mariners used these feline predators as medieval pest control and hunt rats on board the ships.

As these striped cats spread, the tabby pattern, which is in 80 percent of present-day cats, became more frequent in southwest Asia, Africa and also Europe, and was quite common by the 18th century.

Tabbies are surrounded by fantastical folklore

Many tabbies have a distinctive 'M' marking on their foreheads. This marking is steeped in both religious myth and fantastical folklore.

Some believe the “M” stands for Mau, the word for “cat” in ancient Egypt. Our modern-day domestic cats originated from the African wild cat, so is it any wonder?

The religious legends surrounding tabbies stem from all regions of the world. An Islamic legend teaches that the Prophet Mohammed had a beloved tabby named Muezza, who saved his master from a snake. One day, Muezza fell asleep on Mohammed's sleep; to avoid waking Muezza, Mohammed cut the sleeve from his shirt. (All cat owers can relate!) From that day on all tabbies were born with the ‘M’ marking on their forehead to remind all that see them that cats should always be respected.

Tabbies were also said to be blessed by the Virigin Mary after a tabby cat jumped into baby Jesus' crib in the manger and cuddled up to him to keep him warm in the cold winter night. Mary kissed the tabby on the forehead and left the letter 'M' as a sign of her thanks.

There are five types of tabby patterns

While tabby coats come in many different variations, there are five main types of tabby that you'll find: Mackerel, Classic, Spotted, Ticked and Patched. See photos below!

Mackerel Tabby