Tabby cats, Barcinos, Romans, brindle…. We can give them whatever name we want, but when we think of the cats of our towns, of our roofs, the CAT, like that, with capital letters, a beautiful striped specimen almost always comes to mind, similar to the wild cats that still live in our forests. But, where does that wonderful combination of colors come from? What is the reason for the set of drawings that adorn them?

The tabby cat is one of the oldest and most common manifestations within felines. Today many of the breeds that we can admire include brindle specimens among their coat patterns. According to experts, the striped pattern on a gray background is the modern cat most closely linked to its predecessor, the felis lybica, thus reminding us of its wild past with a cloak made to go unnoticed during its hunting hours.

Genetics of Tabby cats.

Genetics is complex and many possibilities are considered depending on the dominance or recessive-ness of the genes, so we are going to try to briefly and clearly explain the genetic combination of tabby cats. Its beautiful coat is due to a specific coexistence that, on the one hand, defines the cat’s tabby pattern and, on the other, its distribution. The genes responsible for it are.

Gene A (agouti)

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It is the gene in charge of hair coloring. Tabby cat hair is characterized by having different degrees of pigmentation along its entire length.
This is not distributed evenly during hair growth, so it presents bands that will characterize tabby cats. When the agouti gene is combined with the other genes that determine the color of the coat of the hair, it is when the color variations of these are produced, being able to find gray, orange, brown brindle…

Gen T (Tabby)

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He is in charge of deciding the drawing that the cat presents. Depending on this gene, tabby cats can be:

Marbled or Veined (Blotched): The color stripes of this pattern are wide and swirl across the entire surface of the cat.

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Tabby Tic (Ticked): With colored dots on each hair. They do not present a clearly defined drawing except in the extremities and in the face in which their scratches can be clearly appreciated.

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Spotted or mottled (Spotted): the stripes of the striped cat are replaced by spots distributed throughout the body. Some cat breeds, such as the Bengal, make this pattern their main characteristic.

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Listed, striped or marbled ( Mackerel): The most common of tabby cats. As its name indicates, the pattern of this cat is characterized by lists or bands that are distributed throughout its body, descending along the flanks from the spine to the abdomen.

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Silver Tabby: Whose base color is silver. The only color that cannot be found in solid colors. It is a variation of black that can only be found in brindle. Home Security Tips and buying guides Home Security Tips and buying guides.

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Golden Tabby: Base color gold or orange. All orange-toned cats are tabby, the orange coat does not exist in solid color. Today’s cat breeders are working toward the solid orange hue. However, although we cannot see its streaks with the naked eye, they will always be there, hidden from our eyes but present in its genetics.

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Character Of Tabby Cats.

The differences in character between tabby cats are those that define each breed. However, observers and lovers of tabby tell us that they are happy, sweet and sensitive animals, who like to receive attention from their humans. They will accompany and play with the human chosen by them and will shamelessly ask for everything they want at any given moment, not liking it at all if they do not satisfy their wishes.

The M On The Forehead Of Tabby Cats

Regardless of the base color, the distribution of the grain, the sex of the cat… There is a common feature in all tabby cats and it is their famous M on the forehead. Regardless of the T-gene pattern, any tabby cat worth its salt should have their dark M over their eyes.

To try to explain this characteristic, two beautiful legends are narrated that explain the origin of this M on the forehead of our cats. Both related to religious facts, choose the one that you find more beautiful.

Christian tradition tells us that in the stable where Jesus was born, apart from the ox and the mule, there were all kinds of animals, including the cat. The kid seeing so many animals around was not able to relax and fall asleep. A large cat with a great coat came every night to warm the child and, with her soft purr, calm him until he fell asleep. The Virgin, in gratitude to the cat that appeased her little one, caressed her on her head, just where today we see the M of Mary. From that moment all the cats descended from that cat were born with that mark on her forehead.

Muslim tradition also explains the origin of the m of tabby cats. Muhammad was in his house, resting next to his cat Muezza, who was dozing on the sleeve of his master’s dress. When Muhammad wanted to go out he saw no other way to avoid disturbing his cat than to tear the sleeve out of her clothing, which he did without hesitation. Returning to the room where Muezza was waiting for him, she received him by rubbing her legs as a way of thanking her for not disturbing her rest. Mohammed, moved, bent down and stroked the cat, right on the forehead, where the M of Mohammed appeared. From that day on, all the cats that were born from this animal carried on their foreheads the characteristic M of the prophet.