![]() ![]() The next time you stare lovingly into your cat’s eyes, shift your gaze upward to their forehead. To express her gratitude, Mary then stroked the cat’s forehead and left behind her own initial to forever mark tabby cats for their kindness and comfort. The cat’s body warmed baby Jesus and its purring lulled him to sleep. ![]() Despite her efforts, her newborn continued to cry and shiver with cold.Īs the story goes, when Mary was at her most desperate, a friendly tabby cat came into the barn and curled up next to the baby. His mother did everything she could, including cradling him in her arms and convincing the barn animals to move closer with their body heat. Born in a manger, baby Jesus was stricken with cold, and there were no blankets to keep him warm. One of the well-known stories related to the “M” on a tabby’s forehead goes back to the Christian story of Mary and the birth of Jesus. Outside of the world of Punnett squares and DNA sequences, humans have attempted to explain the “M” through a series of tales and legends. It doesn’t matter whether a tabby has tiger stripes or swirls that resemble a marble cake, the limited area of “canvas” on the cat’s face results in thin lines that resemble the letter “M.” Tabby cats usually have fine markings on their faces and legs, and then bolder, more dramatic, markings on their torsos. Because the tabby gene is dominant, only one parent needs to be a tabby for the kitten to have tabby markings.īut why does every tabby have an “M” on their forehead? The reasoning behind this specific marking isn’t clear, but it likely has to do with the classic tabby fur patterns. Without getting too deep into your high school biology book, every kitten inherits genes from its mother and father. And like every other physical characteristic, these markings are controlled by genes. While every cat is technically a tabby, we usually only consider a cat to be a true tabby if they have one of the four classic patterns: swirls, spots, stripes, or ticked hairs. Here’s what we know about why tabby cats have an “M” on their foreheads. Of course, the science of DNA and genetics has the real answer, but humans throughout history have explained the phenomenon of the letter “M” in more creative ways. You might have a true mackerel tabby with a bold coat pattern, or your cat’s tabby gene might be muted by a solid or calico coat, but either way, your feline friend is related to a few interesting stories to explain this unmistakable marking. However, even some diluted tabbies can’t hide the most distinctive mark of a tabby cat: the letter “M ” on their foreheads. Those that aren’t easily identified by their stripes, swirls, or spots are called “diluted tabbies.” These undercover tabby cats possess other genes that essentially cancel out classic tabby markings. Most people don’t realize, for example, that every domestic house cat possesses the tabby gene. While every cat is technically a tabby, we usually only consider a cat to be a true tabby if they have one of the four classic patterns: swirls, spots, stripes, or ticked hairs.Īs the most common kind of cat, tabby cats are surprisingly misunderstood. ![]()
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