What does the M on Tabby cat's foreheads mean?

Question

We have two tabbys and they have the M marking on their foreheads. Does anyone know the legend of this?

Answer 1

"A tabby is a cat with a distinctive coat that features stripes, dots, or swirling patterns. Tabbies are often mistakenly assumed to be a breed of cat. In fact, the tabby pattern is a naturally occurring feature that may be the original coloration of the domestic cat's distant ancestors. Tabby coloration is found in many breeds of cat, as well as among the general 'moggy' (mixed-breed or mongrel) population. When cats are allowed to breed randomly, the coloration of the population tends toward brown mackerel tabbies with green eyes, leading geneticists to believe that this is the common wild phenotype of the domestic cat. The tabby usually has an " M " mark on the forehead.

The word comes from French tabis, which was earlier atabis, and in medieval Latin attabi. The initial origin of the word seems to be from the Attabiyah section of Baghdad where a type of striped silk was made that was later used to describe cats."
"Many tabbies have a distinct 'M' marking on their forehead. There are several legends about where this came from. One relates that the Virgin Mary bestowed an M on a tabby's head after it helped keep the baby Jesus warm. In reality, the historical Mary would have spoken Aramaic and the first letter of her name is the Hebrew letter Mem (מ)."
Enjoy!
~Angelwing1020 & sweet_little_kitty1020

Answer 2

If your cat has stripes, it is a "tabby." (Some people call these "tiger cats.") All tabbies have thin pencil lines on the face, expressive markings around the eyes, and a tabby "M" on the forehead. If you look up close at the light parts of a tabby's coat, you will see that the individual hairs are striped with alternating light and dark bands, like the fur of a rabbit or a squirrel. This banding is called "agouti." Tabby is thought to be the "wild type" (the original color) of domesticated cats.

Answer 3

Kitty is a tabby cat. The term tabby simply means a cat with stripes. Tabby markings are the original markings that cats inherited from their Felis sylvestris ancestors. Some tabbies have stripes all over, and some have just a few, but there are certain stripes that all striped (tabby) cats have: the "M" over their eyes, and a stripe that runs down and back from the outer corner of each eye.

Answer 4

I have heard the legend about how they got the M.

Baby Jesus had been crying for a while. A cat sat near Him, and started to purr. Baby Jesus stopped crying, and smiled. Ever since tabby cats have an M on their foreheads as a sign of Mary's gratitude. Nice story, isn't it?

Answer 5

Google that.
Question:
Why do cats have an M on their foreheads? It will give you this answer.

Answer:
Baby Jesus had been crying for a while. A cat sat near Him, and started to purr. Baby Jesus stopped crying, and smiled. Ever since tabby cats have an M on their foreheads as a sign of Mary s gratitude. Nice story, isn t it?

Answer 6

I don't know why but all tabbies have M's on their foreheads.

Answer 7

It's just a mark they developed to help them break up their outline when hunting in tall grass, like zebras have stripes and leopards have spots.

The Egyptians thought it stood for their form of 'Meow', but it's actually just a body marking, like darker ear backs and striped tails.

Answer 8

Tiger-striped cats with the "M" on their forehead are called "mackerel tabbies."

Answer 9

If the cat has stripes and swirls it is called a marbled tabby. My kitty has that M on his forhead and pencil lines on his cheeks. His name is Squirt.

Answer 10

I guess it is just their trait or inheritance from the tabby. But it is cute! My cat has one too....

And maybe God made it that way for this.. M-eow !

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