10 Fascinating Lies About Tabby Cats Which Are Not True
Tabby cats are a type of cats with specific fur coats with stripes ,dots, and bland markings. Tabby cats have a distinct form of coat pattern which commonly involves stripes in it's legs and having a signature"M '' marking in it's forehead. Apart from the striped markings, tabby cats also have dots (especially in its abdomen) ,flecked, swirled and bland. Tabby cats are not a special type of breed, they are cats who have a distinct coat pattern which differentiates them between other cats. There is a lot of misinformation about tabby cats and this article explores the ten well known ones.
1. Orange tabby cats are friendlier than other cats
There is no conclusive proof to prove that Orange tabbies which are also known as ginger tabbies are friendlier than other cats. Whatever has been reported is based on anecdotal evidence. A survey done with more than two hundred people (Link- https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0376635716303308) found out that Orange tabby cats are friendlier than other types of cats. The survey was done by the Anthrozoology Research Group, School of Psychology and Public Health in La Trobe University, Australia and the research was done on six cat personality traits which are,
Playfulness
Nervousness
Amiability
Dominance
Demandingness
Gullibility
This study does not conclusively prove that orange tabby cats are friendlier than other cats and the survey is taken only from a very group of people and many biases could have been present when taking the opinion of the participants.
2. The "M" is named after prophet Muhammad
Tabby cats coat markings all have the well known "M" mark in the forekheads and this marking is assocaited with the english letter M and this ltter M has nothing to do with prophet Muhammad. The english letter has nothing to do with prophet Muhammad who spoke arabic and not english. If the first letter of the name of the prophet Muhammad was supposed to be their in the forehead of the tabby cat, then it should have been the arabic letter and not the english pne.The hadith is said to have been narrated by the prophet's companion, Abu Hurayrah which says that the prophet stroked the cat and then the markings appeared is not authentic and that the Prophet owned a cat named"Muexxa" has no basis from any authoritative Islamic source.
3. Tabby cats are a different breed
Tis is a common misunderstanding by some people due to the lack of understanding in differentiating between a tabby and a normal cat. A tabby cat is not a different breed but a coat pattern which is common among some cats due to genes and other factors.
4, The tabby cat "M' marking is named after virgin Mary
This is another folk lore believed by some catholics that the tabby cat got it's "M" after the virgin mary blessed it because it saved baby Jesus form a venomous snake that was sent to bite him. There is no evidence for this story but it is a well known folk lore.
5. Egyptian Mau is associated with the tabby cat
The ancient Egyptians believed that the tabby cat originated from a cat named "Mau". The mau cat has spots in its coat. It is true that it is believed that the mau cat is the progenitor of the domestic cats and mau tabby cats are indeed a rare breed but the mau cat is surrounded by folklore as well.
6. All orange tabby cats are male cats
Although it is true that most ginger tabbies are males. not all of them are. The main reason why more ginger tabbies are male is because of genetics,and the gene which produces the orange color is known as X chromosome. Female ginger tabby cats have two X chromosomes. Females need two of the x chromosomes to become ginger than a male ginger tabby hence making it rare for females cats to become the ginger version. It is more appropriate to say that more ginger tabbies are male but not all of them.
7. Tabby markings are one
Actually there are five types of tabby coats and they are,
(1). Classic tabby
Classic tabby cats have thich and well recognizable swirls across their body and this thich type bullseye shaped pattern resembles the clouded leopard and classic tabbies are unique and beautiful when it comes to having this coat.
(2).Mackerel tabby
Mackerel tabby cats are a very common form of tabby cat who, like all the other types of tabby cots, have a clearly recognizable "M" mark in their forehead and there are stripes in their legs up to the torso and neck and the coat color is dark to light grey in color. Mackerel tabbies are the most common among all tabby cats.
(3). Ticked tabby
Ticked tabbies are comparatively rare and the coat pattern involves a brownish grey with dots or stripes.
(4). Spotted tabby
Spotted tabby cats have dark spots on the body with a light to dark grey coat. The other coat colors are brown, reddish and silver.
(5).Orange tabby (also known as ginger tabby)
Ginger tabbies are thought to be very friendly towards human beings and the Ginger tabby resembles the mackerel tabby with the difference being its orange color.
8. Tabby cats are a mixed breed
This is not true because tabby cats are not a breed but a coat pattern. The misunderstanding is due to not understanding what a coat and a breed is.
9. Tabby cats are more affectionate than other cats
This is a lie because the temperament of a cat is not determined from its coat pattern but due to various other factors. It is true that multicolored cats have been found to be aggressive, this has nothing to do with tabby cats. A research published in the "Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science '' from the University of California points out that multicolored cats are more aggressive than other cats. The abstract of the research said the following,
"The authors explored a possible relationship between coat color and aggressive behaviors in the domestic cat. This study used an Internet-based survey to collect information on coat color, affiliative behaviors toward cats/humans, agonistic behaviors toward cats/humans, other “problem” behaviors, and cat and guardian demographic data. A total of 1,432 cat guardians completed the online survey; after exclusions based on study protocol, data analysis included 1,274 completed surveys. Guardians reported sex-linked orange female (tortoiseshells, calicos, and “torbies”), black-and-white, and gray-and-white cats to be more frequently aggressive toward humans in 3 settings: during everyday interactions, during handling, and during veterinary visits. Kruskal-Wallis 1-way analysis of variance was used to compare possible differences between the 2 sexes and among different coat colors. Analyses of aggression due to handling, as well as aggression displayed during veterinarian visits, showed little difference among coat colors in these settings."
(Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science Volume 19, 2016 - Issue 1-https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2015.1081820)
The above study could prove to some extent that coat color or pattern could determine the behavior of a cat but more research is needed to prove this and this research has nothing to do with tabby cats. Cats such as Ragdolls, British shorthair and Abyssianians are not tabby cats but are known to be very friendly and affectionate towards humans.
10. Tabby cats are tiger cats
This is a nickname given to striped tabbies and it is true that the striped markings resemble that of a tiger especially if the cat is an orange tabby, but tabby cats and tiger have nothing in common except that they are related because they all belong in the cats family which includes lions, cougars,cheetah's Leopards and other large and medium sized cats.
1. Orange tabby cats are friendlier than other cats
There is no conclusive proof to prove that Orange tabbies which are also known as ginger tabbies are friendlier than other cats. Whatever has been reported is based on anecdotal evidence. A survey done with more than two hundred people (Link- https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0376635716303308) found out that Orange tabby cats are friendlier than other types of cats. The survey was done by the Anthrozoology Research Group, School of Psychology and Public Health in La Trobe University, Australia and the research was done on six cat personality traits which are,
Playfulness
Nervousness
Amiability
Dominance
Demandingness
Gullibility
This study does not conclusively prove that orange tabby cats are friendlier than other cats and the survey is taken only from a very group of people and many biases could have been present when taking the opinion of the participants.
2. The "M" is named after prophet Muhammad
Tabby cats coat markings all have the well known "M" mark in the forekheads and this marking is assocaited with the english letter M and this ltter M has nothing to do with prophet Muhammad. The english letter has nothing to do with prophet Muhammad who spoke arabic and not english. If the first letter of the name of the prophet Muhammad was supposed to be their in the forehead of the tabby cat, then it should have been the arabic letter and not the english pne.The hadith is said to have been narrated by the prophet's companion, Abu Hurayrah which says that the prophet stroked the cat and then the markings appeared is not authentic and that the Prophet owned a cat named"Muexxa" has no basis from any authoritative Islamic source.
3. Tabby cats are a different breed
Tis is a common misunderstanding by some people due to the lack of understanding in differentiating between a tabby and a normal cat. A tabby cat is not a different breed but a coat pattern which is common among some cats due to genes and other factors.
4, The tabby cat "M' marking is named after virgin Mary
This is another folk lore believed by some catholics that the tabby cat got it's "M" after the virgin mary blessed it because it saved baby Jesus form a venomous snake that was sent to bite him. There is no evidence for this story but it is a well known folk lore.
5. Egyptian Mau is associated with the tabby cat
The ancient Egyptians believed that the tabby cat originated from a cat named "Mau". The mau cat has spots in its coat. It is true that it is believed that the mau cat is the progenitor of the domestic cats and mau tabby cats are indeed a rare breed but the mau cat is surrounded by folklore as well.
6. All orange tabby cats are male cats
Although it is true that most ginger tabbies are males. not all of them are. The main reason why more ginger tabbies are male is because of genetics,and the gene which produces the orange color is known as X chromosome. Female ginger tabby cats have two X chromosomes. Females need two of the x chromosomes to become ginger than a male ginger tabby hence making it rare for females cats to become the ginger version. It is more appropriate to say that more ginger tabbies are male but not all of them.
7. Tabby markings are one
Actually there are five types of tabby coats and they are,
(1). Classic tabby
Classic tabby cats have thich and well recognizable swirls across their body and this thich type bullseye shaped pattern resembles the clouded leopard and classic tabbies are unique and beautiful when it comes to having this coat.
(2).Mackerel tabby
Mackerel tabby cats are a very common form of tabby cat who, like all the other types of tabby cots, have a clearly recognizable "M" mark in their forehead and there are stripes in their legs up to the torso and neck and the coat color is dark to light grey in color. Mackerel tabbies are the most common among all tabby cats.
(3). Ticked tabby
Ticked tabbies are comparatively rare and the coat pattern involves a brownish grey with dots or stripes.
(4). Spotted tabby
Spotted tabby cats have dark spots on the body with a light to dark grey coat. The other coat colors are brown, reddish and silver.
(5).Orange tabby (also known as ginger tabby)
Ginger tabbies are thought to be very friendly towards human beings and the Ginger tabby resembles the mackerel tabby with the difference being its orange color.
8. Tabby cats are a mixed breed
This is not true because tabby cats are not a breed but a coat pattern. The misunderstanding is due to not understanding what a coat and a breed is.
9. Tabby cats are more affectionate than other cats
This is a lie because the temperament of a cat is not determined from its coat pattern but due to various other factors. It is true that multicolored cats have been found to be aggressive, this has nothing to do with tabby cats. A research published in the "Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science '' from the University of California points out that multicolored cats are more aggressive than other cats. The abstract of the research said the following,
"The authors explored a possible relationship between coat color and aggressive behaviors in the domestic cat. This study used an Internet-based survey to collect information on coat color, affiliative behaviors toward cats/humans, agonistic behaviors toward cats/humans, other “problem” behaviors, and cat and guardian demographic data. A total of 1,432 cat guardians completed the online survey; after exclusions based on study protocol, data analysis included 1,274 completed surveys. Guardians reported sex-linked orange female (tortoiseshells, calicos, and “torbies”), black-and-white, and gray-and-white cats to be more frequently aggressive toward humans in 3 settings: during everyday interactions, during handling, and during veterinary visits. Kruskal-Wallis 1-way analysis of variance was used to compare possible differences between the 2 sexes and among different coat colors. Analyses of aggression due to handling, as well as aggression displayed during veterinarian visits, showed little difference among coat colors in these settings."
(Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science Volume 19, 2016 - Issue 1-https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2015.1081820)
The above study could prove to some extent that coat color or pattern could determine the behavior of a cat but more research is needed to prove this and this research has nothing to do with tabby cats. Cats such as Ragdolls, British shorthair and Abyssianians are not tabby cats but are known to be very friendly and affectionate towards humans.
10. Tabby cats are tiger cats
This is a nickname given to striped tabbies and it is true that the striped markings resemble that of a tiger especially if the cat is an orange tabby, but tabby cats and tiger have nothing in common except that they are related because they all belong in the cats family which includes lions, cougars,cheetah's Leopards and other large and medium sized cats.