His mother, Mary, stroked its forehead in gratitude and left this pattern there forever. Some Christians believe that the cat visited baby Jesus to comfort him. Tabby cat folkloreīefore scientists were analyzing the genetic code of cats, there were some other beliefs about how the tabby cat came to be. This type of marking and coat pattern helps to camouflage the cat while it’s hunting in long grass. So every cat is a tabby cat, but some are more obvious than others depending on what type of pattern their coat has. The distinctive M-shape pattern is because of three types of genes found in all cat breeds. Why Do Tabby Cats Have M On Their Forehead? Instead, check to see if the breed of your cat is known for shedding a lot. So some tabbies can shed a lot depending on the type of coat they have. Tabby cats can be long-haired or short-haired with single or double coats of fur. Sometimes it will be more visible when they’re kittens and then completely fade away as they reach adulthood. This is what we call a tabby that has a M pattern that’s barely visible. (Tortoiseshell and tabby combined) Most of these types of tabbies are female because of their chromosome layout. Torbies are tabby cats that are of three different colors. Orange female cats are rare with around 80% being male. Their bellies are usually white and, in most cases, they also have a white patch on the face. Orange tabbies are usually mixed with some white fur as well. Although stripes are still visible on the legs, tail, and head. These tabbies are sometimes called Abyssinian or agouti tabbies.Ī spotted tabby has a gene that breaks up the stripes of the mackerel and classic tabby and creates spots instead. These types of tabbies have swirls of darker colored fur on their bodies that form a bullseye pattern on both sides as well.Ī ticked tabby doesn’t have stripes or spots like the others, instead, the different colors of the coat are distributed over each individual hair causing a salt and pepper type appearance. The pattern resembles the skeleton of a fish, which is where it gets its name from. They run down the legs and form rings around the tail. This is a tabby cat that has stripes running down perpendicular to its spine. The six types of tabby patterns identified are: What Kind Of Personality Does A Tabby Cat Have?.Why Do Tabby Cats Have M On Their Forehead?.