Stoic tabby cat epitomises the strength of Ukrainians against murderous Russian aggression

I love the Defense of Ukraine photos and videos. They are so professionally produced. This one so beautifully sums up the stoic attitude of Ukrainians in the face of the criminal and murderous bombardment of their homes by Putin. He wants to kill old ladies and their cats. He is a criminal madman.

Stoic tabby cat epitomises the strength of Ukrainians against murderous Russian aggression. Screenshot.

This sweet-looking tabby is dressed as if in a hijab. The blanket is to keep her warm. She looks calm if a little pissed off which is to be expected. Her brow is furrowed. She looks dead ahead. I love the expression. Who said that domestic cats don't have expressive faces?!

The domestic cats of Ukraine have suffered as much as their caregivers. Many have been killed. Many have lost their caregiver and become feral. Then they scavenge for food among the ruins of their home and the homes of others.

This tabby cat appears to be in a shelter, probably a station of Kyiv's underground railway system. That's the safest place during these bombings of apartment blocks as they are deep underground.

I guess when they emerge into the daylight, they must be anxious as to whether their home is still standing. The constant fear must undermine their lives terribly.

But they are stoic, just like this cat. They will keep going for as long as it takes and make the most of what they have which means having some fun from time to time as can be seen in the video.

Putin must hate to see that, which is one reason why the PR department of the Ukrainian government creates these superb videos.

Cat coats tabby - all about, nothing left out

Cat Coats Tabby - Mackerel Tabby cat Chihiro - photo copyright fofurasfelinas reproduced under a creative commons license

Introduction - history

The tabby markings/color is probably the most common, in either domestic cats or wild cats (e.g. Scottish wildcat). When cats breed randomly over a long period of time, apparently the coat color and pattern tend towards brown mackerel tabbies with green eyes (the most common "phenotype" - meaning the observed expression of the genetic make-up).

RELATED: Why are tabby cats so common?

This indicates a genetic predisposition towards what is probably the most efficient coat color/pattern in respect of the cat's survival. There are three tabby patterns: the classic blotched pattern, the striped or mackerel pattern, and the spotted pattern. The Bengal cat for example can have a spotted tabby or blotched coat, while the Egyptian Mau has a naturally occurring spotted tabby coat - the only naturally occurring spotted domestic cat it is said. 

The agouti ticked coat (the Abyssinian cat has the classic ticked coat) is a special kind of tabby coat. 

The Abyssinian has a special tabby coat. There are few markings unlike the usual tabby coats that can be spotted or blotched. This picture shows the banded hair strands. This photo is published under a Wikimedia Commons license. Author: Martin Bahmann 

RELATED: Amazing cat hug between red tabby mom and her kitten.

As mentioned, you can see the tabby coat in wild cats such as the African wildcat and American Bobcat for example. However, I don't recall seeing a wild cat with what the cat fancy calls the "blotched" tabby coat. All wildcats appear to have spots and/or stripes or no tabby pattern. The blotched tabby appears to be a creation of the cat fancy or at least it has been "developed" and enhanced by the cat fancy (cat breeders). 

Tabby cat from Ancient Egypt (not far from Saudi Arabia) from 1500 CE. Picture in public domain.

Dr. Desmond Morris, the great zoologist and writer, tells us that it is believed that blotched tabbies arose first in Britain in the Elizabethan era. As you can see, they arrived very late during the evolution of the domestic cat. For the first 2,000 years or so or more all tabby cats were spotted/striped (broken stripes) tabbies and all domestic cats were spotted tabbies. And therefore, all domestic cat during the era of the ancient Egyptians were spotted/striped tabbies.

Dr. Morris says that the blotched tabby became a winner. In other words, a favourite and he is not sure why they did so well. Perhaps they were more healthy or more fertile than the other forms of tabby cat or perhaps they had an unusual level of aggressiveness or assertiveness. Perhaps people just like them and informally bread them?

RELATED: Evolution of the blotched tabby.

Development of the blotched tabby domestic cat. My thanks to the scientists of the study:  The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world.

Today, the blotched tabby is the most common form of tabby coat and the striped tabby has gone into somewhat of a decline. Of course, nowadays the tabby coat is just one of many types of coat that have evolved during domestic cat evolution. However, Dr. Morris reminds us that genetically and in reality all domestic cats are tabbies. If they don't appear to be tabbies it is because the tabby pattern is masked by the other non-tabby colours.

African wildcat compared with domestic cat. Image: MikeB from images in the public domain.

Of course, the tabby pattern comes from the original domesticated wildcats. The North African wildcat has a week tabby pattern. And if we want to visualise the early domestic cats all you have to do is look at today's African wildcats. From paintings created in ancient Egypt we see that the Egyptian cats had light or broken stripes. When they were exported over thousands of years to other parts of the world including Europe, the cats began to hybridise with their European counterparts and the result was a full-tabby coat.

Tests have shown that when the week-tabby European and African wild cats were experimentally crossed the hybrid kittens developed coat patterns which were much closer to the full-tabby pattern of modern domestic cats according to Dr. Desmond Morris. I have quoted him verbatim.

Ginger blotched tabby. Photo: Pixabay.

All tabby cats have the classic M marking on the forehead in varies styles and disguises.

An example of a purebred and pedigree tabby cat would be the American Shorthair.  This breed looks particularly stunning in silver tabby. Another example of a beautiful purebred Maine Coon tabby can be seen by clicking on this link. The tabby pattern is often seen in Maine Coon cats. The cat associations allow a wide range of Maine Coon cat coat types (you'll see a great tabby MC on this link). There are some classic tabby patterns on wild cats. A good example is the tabby coat of the wildcats. These cats look very much like domestic cats as they are the wild ancestor of today's domestic cat.

Origin of Name

It is thought that the word, "tabby" originates in the appearance of silk sold in Baghdad (the Attabiyah region). This region must have been known for selling silks that had a striped appearance (watered - waved - silk) as incorporated into the name. Attabiyah is reference to the Latin attabi, and later the French tabis, which means, as I understand it, watered silk. As the striped and marbled tabby cats have the same general appearance, the word "tabby" was used to describe the coat.

Cat Coats Tabby - Mackerel Tabby cat Chihiro - photo copyright fofurasfelinas reproduced under a creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License

The Genes

As mentioned, the wild cats have tabby coloration and patterns and the domestic cat is descended from the wild cat (see a comparison between the Scottish wildcat and domestic tabby). The pattern has 2 elements to it. (1) There will be a group of hairs in which the individual hairs have bands of color running horizontally up the hair strand. One band will be yellow and the next black. These hairs form the background color upon which the pattern is overlayed by the second group of hairs. The commonly spoken of "Agouti" gene (A) creates this banding pattern on the hair shafts. The banding on the hair shaft is due it is thought to a reduction in the production of the pigmentation granules or the production of a different and yellow pigment. This results in fewer granules that are spread more thinly throughout the hair follicle to give the beige/yellow looking color.

The pigment producing the black band in the hair shaft is called eumelanin and the yellow pigment is called phaeomelanin.

Tabby Hair Strand. Image: MikeB.

If the band near the surface is beige you get the light brown broken effect and if the black banding is near the top the black is broken up by the beige banding lower down. (2) The other group of hairs will be black because the yellow banding referred to above will have been reduced (repressed) to the base of each hair or removed entirely. This group is seen as the spots or stripes or blotchy patches of black or brown that forms the patterns seen in the pictures. This effect is a result of the presence of the Tabby gene (Mc/mc), which is present in all cats and so are the markings but often sufficiently suppressed as to be invisible.

I know a small classic tabby that has also solid black hair in swathes, and also black hair with one band of beige near the surface which creates a speckled look on black. All these combinations are mixed together in various proportions and in varying sized clumps to produce the tabby pattern. The pattern that we readily see is due to the alternation of solid color (black fur) with the banded fur to create a pattern as mentioned above. It is the Primary Tabby gene (Mc) that dictates how the pattern will shape up for the individual cat.


Cat coats tabby - Tabby cat. This is a great photograph of a tabby cat. I just had to put it on this page. It is reproduced under a creative commons license.

There are several varieties of tabby markings and of course as mentioned an almost inexhaustible spectrum of colors, contrasts and pattern variations particularly in purebred cats where the appearance of the cat is of paramount importance.

Update 12th January 2011: See an article on red tabby cats and a nice picture of a Maltese red tabby.

Torbie

The torbie is a mix of tabby and tortoiseshell. Here is an example:

Gemma: Torbie Siberian Cat. Photo copyright Helmi Flick

Read about torbies by clicking on the link below:

Torbie Cats

  
Tabby Cat Picture

There are a lot of tabby cat pictures on this page! People search for "tabby cat picture" so here is one of the best of a rescue cat by Giane Portal on Brazil. This is a classic blotched grey tabby cat - perfect example. You can see an orange tabby cat picture or two on this page.

Dominique - photo copyright Giane Portal

Mackerel Tabby


Cat Coats Tabby - Silver mackerel tabby cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Cat Coats Tabby - Cream and red mackerel tabby cats - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Cat Coats Tabby - Red mackerel tabby cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Cat Coats Tabby - Brown mackerel tabby cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Cat Coats Tabby - Blue and brown mackerel tabby cats - American curl cats - photo copyright Helmi Flick

The type we probably are most familiar with is the mackerel, stripped tabby. This is considered the wild type of tabby pattern. The genotype (the genes producing the black tabby coat) is A (agouti) + B (black) + D (dense coloration) + Mc (tabby gene).

Breeders like high contrast striping that is nice and evenly spaced and the stripe should be continuous. The Toyger has this. The Toyger also has a beautiful base or ground color that is incredibly warm (orange almost). The base color comes from the color of the agouti band on the individual hair strand. The warming up of the ground color is due to selective breeding in modifier genes (rufus modifiers). Click on the link to go to a pictures of cats.org videos of cats many of which are fundamentally tabby cats (YouTube, channel is broadsurf the YouTube name of Michael at Picture of Cats).

Classic Tabby


Blue classic tabby - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Red classic tabby - Maine Coon - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Cream classic tabby - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Brown classic tabby - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Silver classic tabby cat - This as you might have guessed is an American Shorthair cat. I have a post dedicated to the American Shorthair tabby cat. The silver is due to the Inhibitor gene I, which inhibits the production the yellow Agouti banding leaving the black to contrast more starkly with a gray/silver background.

The genotype (the genes producing the black tabby coat) of the classic blotched tabby cat is A (agouti) + B (black) + D (dense coloration) + mcmc (tabby gene). The difference to the mackerel tabby is the existence of the mc allele (allele = one of a pair of genes).

Spotted Tabby


Brown spotted Tabby - Bengal cat - - photo copyright Helmi Flick. Bengal cats are known for a very high contrast marbled pattern, see some superb examples by clicking on this link. Spots are another form of tabby pattern. You can see this beautifully expressed in the Bengal cat and/or, for example, the Ocicat.


Blue spotted tabby cat - - photo copyright Helmi Flick

Cream spotted tabby - Exotic Shorthair cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick



Silver spotted tabby - an example of the presence of the Inhibitor gene I - a Bengal cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick.

Research is still being carried out on the genetics behind the spotted tabby coat. It may be due to a modifier gene on the mackerel tabby. The striping of the mackerel tabby can break up and if that is captured and bred into the cat you'll get spots. In the Ocicat it seems that the effect is due to a dominant modifier of the blotched classic tabby pattern. Click on the link to see a video of the Ocicat on YouTube (this video is part of Pictures of Cats.org)


Ticked Tabby - Abyssinian Tabby



Cat Coats Tabby - Silver ticked tabby - Abyssinian cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Cat Coats Tabby - Red ticked tabby - photo copyright Helmi Flick


Cat Coats Tabby - Brown ticked tabby - photo copyright Helmi Flick.

Robinson's genetics says that the gene that produces the Abyssinian ticked coat is not the same gene as the tabby gene producing the classic and mackerel. They call it the "ticked gene". The authors say that the Abyssinian cat's appearance is a mutation of the normal tabby. The tabby pattern occurs on the head, legs and tail and very faintly elsewhere on the body. Breeders like to reduce the pattern further by careful breeding. The most frequently seen Aby color is the ruddy (red) - middle picture above - called the "usual". Breeders breed in a warmer color.

The full set of genes producing the well known Abyssinian coat are: AA (Agouti) - B (black) - D (dense coloration) - T^aT^a (ticked gene).

The tabby cat locus maps to the feline chromosome B1. It seems possible that the tabby gene has a homologue (common evolutionary origin) on human chromosome 8 or 4. (src: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/)

Interesting

This is an interesting bit of information about the tabby cat as camouflage, which comes from Desmond Morris's book "Catwatching". It had been proposed by a nineteenth century naturalist (I presume) that when a tabby cat is curled up she/he looks a bit like a "coiled snake". Once again this is a form of mimicry, one of a number of examples of the cats mimicry of the snake as an act defensive. Read about a cat hiss as another example.

---

A Torbie is a mixture of tabby and tortoiseshell. An example of tortoiseshell is the black tortoiseshell or just plain old tortoiseshell cats (this page has great pictures). Some people think the tabby cat is a cat breed.

---

See a Tabby Persian cat picture by Helmi Flick

Cat coats tabby - Photographs not captioned are copyright Helmi Flick and as follows:

• Top is a classic tabby
• 2nd is the mackerel tabby

Cat coats tabby - Sources:

• Messybeast
• Cat Fanciers
• Beth Hicks
• Robinson's Genetics
  

From Cat Coat Tabby to Cat Facts

Cat owners think that tabby cats are wilder than non-tabby cats

Mackerel tabby stray cat. Pic in public domain.

This is an extension of the discussion as to whether a domestic cat's personality is linked to their coat colour and pattern. There's been quite a a lot of discussion about that. In an earlier post I referred to Dr. John Bradshaw who, in his book Cat Sense, did state that sometimes genes which have a say in a cat's personality are physically quite close to genes which control the cat's coat type and colour. So it appears on occasions that there may be a link between coat and personality but it seems to be rather tenuous to me and uncommon. You might like to read that article in which I discuss this. Please click on the link below:

Cat personality linked to coat colour?

In this article I am looking at the assessment of a domestic cat's personality through a particular study.

I'm going to rely on the conclusions of a study by a PhD student at the University of California, Davis. Rebecca Morgan looked at various aspects of domestic cat personality but also whether there was a link between coat colour and type and behavioural characteristics. 

She stated:

"The results of this study indicate that cats do exhibit individual differences in behavior that are quantifiable and predictable based on their owners’ subjective assessments."

There is nothing in that statement which tells us that a cat's coat type and colour, in general, is linked to their personality. It just states that domestic cats have their own personalities which we do fully understand. It does state that these differences are large enough to be measurable. 

This is also something that we understand as cat owners. And assessments of domestic cat personality are going to be subjective. When people assess domestic cat personality it seems to me that it is impossible to do it entirely objectively. You are relying upon people to look at cat behaviour and then assess the individual as to their personality. Subjectivity is going to make the process less accurate. People tend to project their ideas about personality onto their cat.

A good example is another observation by Rebecca Morgan. She said that her study produced evidence that there are higher levels of shyness in cats that have a wilder appearance. From that she means that tabby cats (agouti gene cats) are being assessed as having a wilder appearance and also being shyer (wildness and shyness go together). She also states that tabby cats with a wilder appearance do not have the sex-linked orange pigmentation. So, she's referring to brown/grey tabby cats as being wilder.

Clearly, subjectivity has entered this assessment. I'm not able to read the entire dissertation but I'm confident that people assess tabby cats as potentially wilder than non-tabby cats because the original domestic cats were domesticated wild cats. The North African wildcat has a tabby-type coat. The link is there. People are perceiving the North African wildcat in their tabby domestic cat. And from that starting point they are allowing their imaginations to decide that a tabby cat is wilder than a non-tabby cat.

Solid-coloured cats and bicolour cats look more domesticated. If they look more domesticated, they are more domesticated, is, I guess, the thought process.

Chonky, square, grey tabby is eye-catching

This chonky fella has become a hit with guests at the Best Western Silver Fox Inn, in Waterville Valley New Hampshire, USA. Well, at least that was the case in 2016. That's five years ago but Logan was eight years old at the time weighing 31 pounds which is about three times the weight of a normal domestic cat. That makes him 13 today and if he maintained that weight I would suspect that he is ill with conditions such as diabetes and arthritis but perhaps I am being too negative.

Logan a grey tabby cat weighing 31 pounds. Photo: Jim Cole (AP).

His appearance is certainly eye-catching so it is no surprise that he has become a feature in the area. One Facebook video was viewed 29 million times or more. He was adopted by Susan and Tor Brunvand from Meredith, New Hampshire from a shelter. At that time he was a normal-sized cat. Sadly, they allowed him to become obese. It is fun to see a chonky cat like this but on a more serious note it is very unhealthy. Apparently he had a habit of eating the food of other cats in the household.

ASSOCIATED: 3 life stages of the domestic cat in terms of body weight and nutrient requirements

Perhaps I've been a bit unkind because I read that his weight may be due to 'slow metabolism'. They took him to a vet for advice. I suspect, though, that he put on weight because he ate too much. The fact that he was normal weight when adopted supports that assessment. 

Sometimes you just don't realise how much you and your cat eats. People have a habit of normalising the things that they do and the weight that they gain. That is why it can be difficult to recognise weight gain. I recently wrote a page about that which you can read if you want to by clicking on this link.

Although he's very popular there were (still are?) people who were criticising Susan and Tor because it does indicate an irresponsible attitude to cat caregiving. Although we shouldn't be too critical. One person threatened to report them for animal abuse. And another, Janet Lynn, a guest to the hotel from Manchester, New Hampshire asked: "I just wonder why a person would have a pet and let it get that heavy?"

The Brunvands seem to have laughed this off because they think they can't do anything about his weight. Susan says that he is happy and that "He doesn't think he's fat".

The likely reason why Logan is as fat as he is, is because he eats too much and doesn't exercise enough. It is not rocket science. A consistent dietary change over a long period of time would be beneficial. In the meantime the guests of the hotel can continue to be amused. However, I am sure that in the back of their minds they are also concerned for his health.

Video of tabby cat with bright emerald eyes

This is a video on Reddit.com of a tabby cat with the most astonishing emerald eyes. Initially when I saw a still image of the cat (and not the video) I thought that this was an example of excellent photo-editing. But can you photo-edit video material like this? I think you can because I just can't bring myself to believe that this eye colour is genuine.

Update: the video failed. They always do from Reddit. They are hopeless on embedded videos. So hopeless that I think they deliberately make them fail. But if you click here you can see it on Reddit (hopefully).

Here is a screenshot from the video:

Tabby cat with bright emerald eyes. Screenshot.

But, you know, I could be wrong. It could be genuine. I'd love someone to tell me that I am wrong in a comment. Amazing cat. He/she should have an Instagram page. I can't find a page on Instagram which features this cat. Is that proof that the eyes are too special to be real?

Domestic cat likes to sit on his haunches. Why?

Why is this young tabby cat sitting on his haunches as we see humans do in Asia. They do it because it is a comfortable way to be in a restful position but you have to be flexible and therefore slender. It is impossible if you are overweight.

Domestic cat likes to sit on his haunches. Why? Video screenshot.

It is the first time I have seen a cat sit on his haunches like this and the cat's owner said that it makes her uncomfortable. She does no explain why. It's probably because she's worried that there is a health reason behind it.  But he looks relaxed, comfortable and healthy.

Comfortable

On the basis that I am correct in that assessment there is only one reason why he is squatting like this: it is comfortable for him (but see possible health issue below). This is very unusual but cats are individuals and this image on Twitter proves the point. Domestic cats vary tremendously in their likes and dislikes, their vocalisations and general behavior. There is a common thread of course because they are all felines but there is a lot of variation.

Men sitting on their haunches in Asia. They do it a lot in Asia but hardly ever in the West. Photo in the public domain.

Sore bum

There is one particular reason that I can think of which is health related. His bottom is touching a cool tiled floor. It looks like the kitchen or bathroom. 

It is conceivable that he likes the cooling sensation because his bum is in contact with the floor. If that is true it may be because he has discomfort in the area of his anus. This may be because his anal glands are inflammed because they are infected or his anus may be inflammed. As the latter would be noticeable it is more likely to be the former. It would be impossible to notice which is why the owner is uncomfortable. She is in the dark as to why her cat is behaving strangely as she sees it.

The video below may stop working over time because it is embedded here and the original which is on Twitter may be deleted. It that has happend I apologise.

"My cat keeps sitting like this and it makes me so uncomfortable." pic.twitter.com/tgMeXY1p9h

— Nature & Animals🌴 (@AnimalsWorId) February 21, 2021

All cat behavior is normal and correct. It is never deviant. There is always a good and logical reason behind it because cat behavior is  largely instinctively. They react to stimuli and conditions.

The sore bum theory is my currect favorite. As this is a Twitter feed I'll leave a comment and a link to this article. When cats have sore or messy bums they sometimes scoot. The scooting behaviour is a bit like this only the moves with their bum resting on the carpet or grass.

Picture and video of TikTok chonky tabby cat

Do you think this is fun? I find the music a bit harsh. Actually I find the music very harsh and the whole video a bit gross really but I'm out of touch with the rest of the world, it seems to me. I'm sure the video is pretty popular. I don't know whether to be serious or jokey. This is meant to be a fun video. So I'm not meant to be serious about it, but look at the size of the cat. 

This is an obese cat and the owner has allowed this cat to become obese. We have to criticise the owner therefore. This kind of obesity is going to lead to health problems. You can't really in all good conscience make a funny cat video out of a cat's health problems. Can you? Is this part of the modern day trend of making very short funny cat videos based on cat abuse. Am I being too critical? Is that a misconception? 

Perhaps I just don't see the world like other people see it. I certainly don't see the world in the same way that a lot of young people in Asia see it. I think this video is from Asia where arguably there is a different attitude towards animals and the human-to-cat relationship. I would love people to comment tell me what they think about it.

TikTok chonky tabby cat. Screenshot.

Agouti gene and tabby cat coat

The word "agouti" is rather confusing. It refers to a gene which creates a certain type of cat coat namely the tabby cat coat. It is signified by the symbol A. It is dominant. The recessive is non-agouti indicated by the symbol a. Dr Morris describes the word "agouti" as the name given to a coat in which each individual hair is marked with bands of black, brown and yellow. He is referring to the tabby coat in which each individual hair strand is banded, essentially striped. The striping is created by two types of colour pigment, eumelanin (black/brown pigment) and phaeomelanin (yellow/red pigment).

The toyger, a relatively rare cat breed has a striped tabby coat created by the agouti gene:

The glamorous Toyger has a tabby coat. Photos by Helmi Flick. Collage by Michael.

Tabby coats are marked with dark areas of swirling fur or stripes or spots. There is another version which is the ticked tabby, seen on the Abyssinian cat and also in another species of animal a large South American rodent called an agouti; hence the name. The Abyssinian cat is an all-agouti cat.

The agouti gene is very common and "highly conserved among all mammalian species". It produces a molecule called the "agouti protein". As the hair shaft grows within its hair follicle in the skin, eumelanin is produced by cells within the hair follicle called melanocytes. This pigment is deposited into the growing hair. As the amount of agouti protein increases within the melanocytes, eumelanin production is inhibited which results in a shift to production of phaeomelanin which is then deposited in the hair shaft to create this sandwich effect. In the ticked coat the band at the top is black with yellow at the base.

Another well-known animal that happens to be a cat but this time a wild cat species which has a very well-defined and strong ticked coat is the jaguarundi. The cat with the most pronounced ticked cat coat:

In short, when you think of the word agouti you should think of the tabby cat coat in all its varieties.

Note: the quote is from Robinson's Genetics.

This domestic cat is a pacifist

One of these cats is the aggressor and the other, the star of the video, is the pacifist because she strikes a defensive pose as if to say, "Stop that, it's enough". Her behaviour reminds me of Japanese martial arts. The pacifist cat is the tabby-and-white while the aggressive one is a tabby.

No one:

Professor McGonagall doing spells, forgetting she's still a cat: pic.twitter.com/gQOntA9QJT

— Professor Snape (@_Snape_) November 29, 2019

John Dolan And George. The Power of Companion Animal Friendship

John Dolan has spent a total of 12 years in prison.  It was mainly for theft and drug offences.  He was living rough in east London in 2010 when he was given a Staffordshire bull terrier called George.  Dolan says:

 “Just before I got George I was on drugs, it was terrible.  The day I got the dog I wasn't sure what to do.  I realised I had a big powerful animal on my hands that needed a lot of looking after and there was I, barely able to look after myself...  What George has given me over the past three years is a belief in myself and my ability to draw."

Dolan credits George with helping him to transform his life from a homeless criminal into a successful artist.  He now sells his drawings to £2000 each.  John Dolan knew he had some talent because he used to dabble with art when he was a teenager.  While he was sitting on the pavement doing nothing as a homeless person with George he decided to draw the buildings opposite.  I suppose it kept him occupied. Up until that time he was simply begging for money it seems receiving the odd coin here and there.  Then he started to supplement the donations by selling his drawings for £10 and £20 each.

Gradually John Dolan became known as street artist and a lawyer, Richard Howard-Griffin, got to hear about him and recognised his talent.  He organised an exhibition of his work.  And now a forthcoming book is about to be published about John Dolan and his dog George - John and George: The Dog Who Changed My Life.  It is due to be released next month.

Which brings me nicely to the next topic of this short article which is that John Dolan's story very nicely mirrors the story of James Bowen who adopted an orange tabby cat named Bob.  At the time James was a drug-addicted busker. His story has been well publicised and as I recall, two books have been published about him and his relationship with Bob.  More than 1,000,000 copies have been sold.  James Bowen's life has been transformed and he too credits that transformation, at least substantially, to Bob.

John Dolan says,

“If I had not had George, I would never have picked up a pen.  He is my saviour...  He's like my child, the one I never had.  He's given me a life."

Both the stories of James and John remind us of the power of the friendship of a companion animal.  Don't underestimate it.

Photo by Rob Weir

My Yellow Tabby Tomcat

Hi All! My name is Stefan and I have a 3 year old yellow tabby tomcat called Base. I will say some words on the big differences existing in the temperament and personality of my cats. It is my third attempt to raise and live with a cat in my life. I had in the past a cat who lived 4 years and another gray short-haired cat who lived 8 years before I adopted Base - so I can say a few words about this ;)

Base

Base

Petrica

So, Base is totally different from Petrica (the former gray tabby). Petrica was a very quiet person, he watched TV, slept almost all day and never left the apartment. And he made a crisis out of transporting him in my car. 

Base is totally the opposite… he a strong personality, and is a very restless kind of animal. He is always running and jumping, asking for food or litter, and having a powerful and tonal voice when he meows. He patrols the entire building (6 floors), sleeps occasionally in the neighborhood (a old lady feeds him), and escaped twice outdoors - I recovered him with major injuries due to the fights he got into. He has also fallen twice from the 4th floor but fortunately things were O.K. and he escaped (i say that he has only seven lives remaining from the nine that he had :).

But the most specific thing is that he loves to travel in my car. I had taken him in my care for a year and a half almost daily in the city for two or more hours... he enjoys that ;)

I must recognize that he is a real challenge for me, but I like this and I try to keep up with all he is doing ;) Well, that is a part of the story, what else can I say ?

You can see the two of us here : https://www.facebook.com/groups/269814613071641/358094290910339/?ref=notif¬if_t=group_activity#!/profile.php?id=100000360893678

and Base only in the attached pictures. All the best to all cat lovers from Bucharest, Romania.

Stefan Muresan (Bucharest, Romania)

PS - I like very much the blog ;)

Note from Michael (Admin): Red tabby cats are in general known to be leader (alpha) type cats and it is no surprise to me that Base behaves in that sort of way -  adventurous etc.

Brazilian Tabby Cat

"Lion" is a unique looking Brazilian tabby cat. Tabby cats are everywhere, all over the world. The tabby coat is the most common. Yet, Lion has a coat that is unusual. I have not seen a tabby like him before. He is a Brazilian pet store kitten that was ordinary and who grew up to be extraordinary. His human caretaker, Lincoln, says his face is like that of a cougar. I agree there is a similarity.

Brazilian tabby cat - "Lion"

The paws are large. Are they polydactyl? They are a neutral gray. The gray extends up the forelimb where dense banding starts. The banding leads to a heavily "ticked" coat (salt and pepper appearance as for the Abyssinian cat).

The back of this cat is covered by what breeders might call a "grizzled' coat (see a melanistic Chausie with a grizzled coat). Ticking with black. It almost has a melanistic look about it. See the photo below.

Lion - a Brazilian tabby cat.

This is a bit technical and probably boring! Ticking is the banding of individual hair strands in yellow and black caused by the agouti gene. Tabby cats can be extremely attractive. See also the most beautiful stray cat?

Beautiful Persian Cat

This is a beautiful Persian cat. This photograph was not created by a professional photographer. It is nicely muted and delicate in its lighting which suits this cat so well. The photographer is Magnus Bråth. Magnus calls her a grey Persian cat. Here name is Chilero. She seems to be a tabby and white cat but in a very subtle way. You will see Persian cats in wide range of coat colors and types as the breed standard allows for that.

Beautiful Persian cat.

Chilero lives in Costa Rica and once lived in Malta. She is well traveled. She is a traditional doll face Persian. When she traveled from Malta to Costa Rica she sat in the cabin with the passengers. Of course.

What is a mackerel tabby?

A mackerel tabby is a tabby cat - feral or domestic, or wild  - that has a striped tabby coat. Wild cats are not normally referred to as having tabby coats, however.

There are three types of tabby coat: mackerel, spotted and classic (blotched). You can see all three on this page: What is a classic tabby?

The mackerel tabby is named after the mackerel fish. On the following page, I discuss in depth the tabby cat coat.

Mackerel tabby cat and mackerel (fish)

The photo of the fish is by kikikiliii (Flickr). The cat is a Toyger cat; a purebred designer cat.

---

The photo of the cat on this page is protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).

Why do cats like boxes?

Cats use boxes for play and security. You see cats sleep in boxes or small spaces. It probably provides a sense of security much like a wildcat finding a nest in dense undergrowth or in a cave or a disused burrow. All of these places provide protection behind and above the cat. The first reason why cats like boxes is for a sense of security when sleeping or resting.

What about play? We see lots of cats playing in boxes. The famous Japanese cat that loves boxes comes to mind. His name is Maru.



In this video Maru dives into an open ended box or tube. This is a modified form of attack of small prey in a burrow.

I don't see anything definitive on this topic in books on cat behavior. It is really a YouTube thing or video thing. A newish area of cat behavior for us to discuss.

There is no doubt that it is fun for some cats to play in boxes. This is an individual cat preference. Not all cats like it. In fact, I think you will find that most cats don't have an urge to play in and with boxes. Maru made it fashionable!

It must stem from a cat's liking to poke and prod into small spaces for prey. For example a cat catching a mouse. Cats in boxes will prod outside the box sometimes or prod into the box. Both are unknown areas or areas that the cat can't see. I think it is therefore related to hunting prey and simply a derivation of that natural wild cat instinct in the human home as a domesticated cat converted to play. A lot or all of cat play is based on hunting instincts. The classic example is chasing a cat tease (a feather at the end of a stick).

Maru is a normal eared Scottish Fold and a tabby and white cat. His coat is classic tabby. Maru has a great human companion.

What is a classic tabby?

The classic tabby is a tabby cat, either, purebred or random bred, that has a blotched pattern. A blotched or classic tabby pattern is one of dark swirls and blotches as shown in the photograph.

The other two tabby patterns are the mackerel (stripes) and spotted. The Egyptian Mau, a purebred cat is the best known domestic cat that has a spotted tabby pattern. The picture on the right shows a purebred Egyptian Mau.

The tabby coat is arguably the most natural of all the cat coats because it provides the best camouflage, although the modern domestic cat is an urban cat.

See cat coats tabby for lots more on the tabby cat.

Why are black cats not adopted?

The reasons why black cats are not adopted are because people find the coat plain and boring and the black cat has an association with bad luck and even evil.

The black coat is relatively uninteresting to the average person. Clearly many people like black cats but on average people find other coat types such as tabby and white more interesting. The black coat is too plain to some people. It absorbs light so it is harder to see texture.

Perhaps the biggest reason is that the history of superstition that has been carried forward to the modern day. In many places, the black is considered bad luck. Yet in many other places it is considered the opposite: good luck. That tells you how irrational the idea is. But it is real and it puts some people off adopting a black cat.

Then we have the idea of a witch's familiar and the night and darkness etc. Black cats are associated with the night and therefore with the unknown and evil etc.

The night or darkness makes people nervous. The black cat has this loose connection to the night.

What people don't realize is that the genes that make the cat black also makes the cat more resistant to disease. This last point has not been thoroughly investigated so it is somewhat anecdotal but the research that has been done supports this conclusion. And it applies to wild and domestic cats.

Perhaps this is a factor that would rehabilitate the black cat. However, most people are concerned with the appearance of the cat.

You can read more about black cats and superstition on this page.

Suzie N Swizzle Tabby Cats

Facebook or FB for short is a powerful form of social media. Thanks to Elisa Black-Taylor (mainly) we have a lovely group of people who show off their cats on the Pictures-of-cats.org FB group page. I call Pictures-of-cats.org, PoC as it takes less time to type it.

I am going to select my favorite cat or cats and the story concerning the cats (if there is one) every day for the next week and put them on the home page - this page - as a thank you for joining the group and to spread the word that these are great cats.

This page gets a decent number of visitors; it's in the tens of thousands per month. So the selected cats will be in the spotlight for a while.

Here is my first selection:



Meet Suzie and Swizzle....errr no this is Swizzle N Suzie..They are sisters and I guess great company for each other. They are gray/brown tabby and white (not much white) cats. They fight over who gets named first.

I chose Suzie N Swizzle because I love the names as a double act and I think they are beautiful, contented, tabby cats.