Just like people, their upbringing and environment can do much to shape their personality. Tabbies do have their own personalities, however. The most distinguishing characteristic of a tabby is bold striping on the fur accompanied by an M shape on the forehead.ĭue to depictions of cats such as Morris, The Cheshire Cat, Garfield and Heathcliff, the tabby is often thought of as slightly mischievous and overly fond of food.Ī more fair assessment of tabbies could be found in Jenny-Any-Dots of the musical Cats who only sleeps all day because she's been very busy all night and spends her waking hours being kind and affectionate to others. Someone thought the striped cat's fur looked much like this patterned silk.
The name is attributed to the patterned silk known as “ atabi“, named for its origin of manufacture in the Attabiah region of Baghdad. The tabby has been domesticated for almost 10,000 years. Due to a resemblance to a distant cousin of Felis domesticus, they're often known as “tiger cats”, though they tend to be of much more gentle temperament.ĭue to dominant genes and natural selection, the tabby has become the most common color pattern in cats. This is not a breed of cat, it is a coat pattern.
