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14 Tabby Cat Facts That You’ll Love to Know

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Do you know an amazing tabby cat fact that tabby is not a breed, neither is it a color? From their pattern, coat to their nature everything is surprising. Tabby cat health can last up to 15 years.

These are the best-known kind of cats in fact tabby cats are the most familiar household cats. The tabby pattern is thought to be the pattern of the cat ancestors.

If you are curious to know more then cut the chase and learn about tabby cat facts on this blog now.

tabby cat facts

14 Facts About Tabby Cats

Tabbies hold a special spot and can become a great companion of young owners. They can be Mayors too!

Wondering what?

Well, there is much more interesting information which you must not miss. So, check this blog now!

1. Tabby Is Not a Cat Breed

Tabby cats are fairly prevalent, and many people mistakenly believe they’re a breed, although they are not.

When we say tabby felines, we mean tabby coat, color, and coat patterns of their fur. Swirls, a combination of stripes, and even spots can be found. Which they can pass to their healthy kittens.

You can see these patterns in British Shorthair, Maine Coons, Ocicat, Egyptian Mau, and a few more. Agouti or Abyssinian tabby means it has tabby coat patterns and belongs to the Abyssinian breed.

2. They Have “M” Markings

tabby have m markings

M on the tabby cat forehead has several regional stories. In Christianity, a tabby came to the manager to keep baby Jesus warm, so Mary marked him M to thank him. In Islam, a tabby cat called Muezza once saved his master Mohammed’s life by killing a snake that crept up his sleeves.

But the science says “M” on the forehead is nothing more than genetics. The “M” appears in the DNA.

3. Tabbies Have Five Unique Coat Patterns

Tabby cats have Five Unique pattern types. This includes

  • Mackerel
  • Blotched
  • Striped
  • Ticked
  • Patched

Each pattern is different but blotched is very common. They are also called classic, or marbled tabbies.

4. Tabby Patterns Are Likely Common

Tabby patterns are likely common because they are the best suited for the wild. These patterns assist in becoming great hunters because they camouflage them while hiding in tall grass.

Tigers and leopards both have Tabby cat patterns.

5. Tabby Name Originated From Striped Silk

These cats were named after striped silk manufactured in Baghdad. They were compared to silk that’s why they were given the name “tabby”. Even though the origin of the word is different there are some possibilities.

The silk comes from a place called “Attabiy,” a district in Baghdad. And from the 14th-century middle French term “atabis” that soon became “tabis” then in English, it was converted into “Tabby”.

6. Population of Male Tabbies Are Higher

The population of male tabbies is higher than females. The male-to-female ratio is closer to 80% to 20%.

7. Tabby Cat Is Mayor of Talkeetna

Stubbs, a 17-year-old tabby kitty from Talkeetna, Alaska, is the town’s unusual mayor. He originally won a write-in election 15 years ago and has been ruling over the 900 resident historic districts.

mayor tabby cat

Residents claim that his leadership has been excellent thus far and that he is the best mayor in history. They also like how he never hikes taxes, according to them.

8. Original Tabby Cat Pattern Matches With African Wildcat

The original tabby fur pattern matches naturally with African and European wild cats. These wild cats can trace their respective origin back as far as 131,000 years.

However, the first domestic cats appeared only about 10,000 years ago. Scientific researchers say that even today there is very little genetic or appearance variation between the domestic tabby cat, and it’s closely linked to wild cat cousins.

9. Till Date the Heaviest Tabby Cat Weighs 46 Pounds

Check astonishing tabby cat facts now!

The world’s heaviest tabby cat weighed 46 pounds and 15.2 ounces. This Aussie tabby cat’s name was Himmy from Queensland, Thomas vyse was his owner.

He died when he was 10 years old in 1986. That time he had a waist of 33 inches.

He won the “fattest cat” title in the Guinness book of world records.

Following his death, the prize was canceled for fear that cat owners would purposefully overweight their cats in order to beat Himmy’s record.

10. Atlanta and Georgia Have Tabby Cat Themed Cafe

If you like to have some sip of your favorite coffee and at the same want to play with cats then there is good news for you in Atlanta and Georgia they have Happy Tabby name café.

tabby cat themed cafe

And, across the country, there are about 25 identical cafés.

11. Tabbies Have Friendly Personality

Generally, tabbies are easy to be around with lots of cuddles, but they can also get angry very rarely. Also, they can become part of your family members very easily.

12. Tabbies Have Many Color

The most common color is dark black but there is variation in the pigments which gives us black tabbies, orange tabbies, and gray tabbies.

13. Personalities of Tabbies Are Affectionate and Intelligent

If you’re lucky enough to keep the company with one of these unique creatures then you already know that these are very gentle in nature, and intelligent. They are extroverts and social cats of all breeds.

They are very good at what they want, therefore, are very intelligent.

14. The First Domestic Cats Were Tabbies

The very first domestic cat were tabby cats. They became the pets of Mediterraneans farmers they love the fact that they could kill rodents, mice, etc. And could save their grains for long.

Later all tabbies were distributed throughout the area of Europe through ships.

Well, That’s a Wrap!

I am sure you must be perplexed by knowing these 14 amazing tabby cat facts, isn’t it? Tabby not just has amazing characteristics but they are the best company for many pet owners.

Right from happy tabby cat café to winning world records, to their coat color tabbies are very famous and popular in the whole world around.

I hope you like this article, and yes if you know any other fun facts about tabby cats other than this list do let us know in the comment section below!

References

  1. The Ultimate Guide to Cat Vision – PetMD
  2. Tabby pattern genetics – a whole new breed of cat – Wiley Online Library
  3. The Difference Between Orange Cats & Tabby Cats – Saving Orphan Souls Rescue

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