FURRY FRIENDS ANIMAL RESCUE QUEENSLAND inc
  • Home
    • About
    • Sponsors
    • Mews Bulletin!
  • Adopt us
    • EOI Adoption Form
    • Post Adoption Information Guide
    • Why Desex?
  • Foster For Us
    • Foster Carer Guide
    • Foster a Cat
    • Home Tour Info
    • Safe Cat Transfers During Covid-19
    • Arrival and Quarantine
    • Recommended Products for Foster Carers
    • Cat Nutrition & Food Standards
    • Request Supplies
    • Request A Routine Vet Booking
    • Adoption Process for Foster Carers
  • Donate
  • Last Litter Program
  • Store Partners
    • Pet Barn Ipswich
    • Store Managers Guide - Pet Transfers
  • Volunteer
    • COVIDsafe Agreement
    • Volunteer Insurance Registration
  • Surrender
    • Surrender a Cat

Our Mews Bulletin

'M' marks the cat

15/2/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
​All tabbies, from ginger, black and grey to striped and spotted, have wonderful eyeliner markings around their eyes. They also have a distinctive “M” on their foreheads, like our lovely Lily (pictured), Have you ever wondered how they got there?
 
The word ‘tabby’ comes from the Arabic word ‘attabiya’, a striped silk that was similar to the cat’s markings. The pattern of a cat’s stripes, and the distinctive M markings on a tabby cat’s forehead, is determined by it’s genetics. However that isn’t as interesting as how us humans have made our feline friends’ markings part of our story, and theirs.
 
There are several religious stories about the origin of their unique facial markings. Some believe that the “M” stands for Mau, the Ancient Egyptian word for “cat”. Since cats were revered in Ancient Egypt, it’s certainly possible. There were three cat-headed goddesses: Mafdet, Bastet, and Sekhmet. The goddess Mut was depicted as a cat or in the company of cats. Ra, the Sun God of Ancient Egypt, was represented as a cat in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
 
Christians believed that when baby Jesus was crying in his crib, a cat climbed into the manger, purred, and sent him off to sleep. As thanks, Mary gave the cat the “M” from the first letter of her name.
 
In Islam, the prophet Muhammad was known as a cat lover. He bestowed the “M” on his feline friends when he rested his hand on the brow of his favourite cat. An alternative Islamic story is that the tabby cat, called Muezza, saved his Mohammad’s life by killing a snake.
 
In non-religious circles, though, it’s believed that the “M” are frown lines. The sheer concentration of watching mouse holes until a mouse emerged marked Felis catusforever on their foreheads.
 
The tabby cat isn’t a fancy breed, but it’s true you can recognise one: the “M” has it.
1 Comment

    FFARQ News

    Articles, FFARQ news and fundraising events supporting the cause with the claws.

    Join the Furry Friends family today!

    * indicates required

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018

    Categories

    All
    Cat Behaviour
    Cat Care
    Cat Health
    Cat History
    Famous Cats
    Furry Tales
    Pet Ownership
    Recent Adoptions
    Recent Arrivals

Furry Friends Animal Rescue Queensland thanks its supporters for their ongoing support.
​Privacy policy

Picture
Petbarn
Picture
Picture
Picture
Registered Charity logo
© COPYRIGHT 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
    • About
    • Sponsors
    • Mews Bulletin!
  • Adopt us
    • EOI Adoption Form
    • Post Adoption Information Guide
    • Why Desex?
  • Foster For Us
    • Foster Carer Guide
    • Foster a Cat
    • Home Tour Info
    • Safe Cat Transfers During Covid-19
    • Arrival and Quarantine
    • Recommended Products for Foster Carers
    • Cat Nutrition & Food Standards
    • Request Supplies
    • Request A Routine Vet Booking
    • Adoption Process for Foster Carers
  • Donate
  • Last Litter Program
  • Store Partners
    • Pet Barn Ipswich
    • Store Managers Guide - Pet Transfers
  • Volunteer
    • COVIDsafe Agreement
    • Volunteer Insurance Registration
  • Surrender
    • Surrender a Cat