The mysterious ‘M’ marking on most tabby patterned cats forehead will likely always remain a mystery. The ‘M’ on a Maine Coons forehead is a prevailing patterned marking found on all tabby patterned Maine Coon cats.
This prominent marking is not specific to the Maine Coon breed, but is visible on every color of Maine Coon cat that you can think of, provided the cat has tabby patterned markings.
The Tabby Maine having uncommon ‘M’ on their forehead. Read all the article then you know that this prominent marking only certain Maine Coon or not? Are all Maine Coon have ‘M’ on their forehead? Keep reading and you know all about this fact.
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Why Do Maine Coon Cats Have An ‘M’ On Their Forehead?
As you know most of Maine Coon cats have a ‘M’ marking on their forehead. But this extrusive feature is not specific to the Maine Coon cat breed through, instead present on all tabby patterned cats.
According to the cat Fanciers Association, there are three tabby patterns.
Mackerel Tabby
Mackerel Tabby Maine Coon cat has also dense marking on their forehead clearly. Its look like narrow penciling. The Maine Coon look pretty. The Maine Coon forehead is stiff with a ‘M’ marking.
Classic Tabby
Classic Tabby Maine Coon have also close marking on their forehead that are clearly defined and stiff. The ‘M’ Sign on their forehead is formed by the cats frown marks.
Ticked Tabby
Ticked Tabby Maine Coon have also ‘M’ mark on their forehead. Tabby Maine Coon ticking all over the body with darkening at the dorsal crest. The Maine Coon cats have not any other pattern or blotches, but also have well known tabby facial markings.
Do You Know the Stories of the Tabby Cat’s ‘M’
No one truly knows the answer to this popular question exactly. But there are different stories about this, why Maine Coon cats have a ‘M’ on their forehead.
Here are the some stories about ‘M’ on forehead of Maine Coon cat
Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) And Muezza
Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is the legend of Islamic religion who have passionate loved cats and claims the ‘M’ marking on tabby patterned cat’s forehead. The ‘M’ marking come from Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the protector of cats.
1) The cat of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) his name was s’Muezza’ kill a poisonous snake that had slithered into the prophets sleeve unnoticed. As a mark of respect for Muezza, Muhammad (ﷺ) drew an ‘M’ marking on his cat’s forehead, to show the world how much he loved cats. He is also thought to have given cats the skill of landing on their feet (rather than their backs) in thanks to his cat for it’s act of kindness (source).
2) The second story tell how Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) passionately loved cats. It is thought that his love was so great, that on one occasion when he was called to prayer, he didn’t want to wake his cat ‘Muezza’. The cat was sleeping on Muhammad’s (ﷺ) robe, so rather than waking his cat, he cut off the sleeve of his robe, so he could go and pray!
Mary
In Christian folklore, a tabby cat curled up alongside baby Jesus in the manger keeping him warm with the heat of his body. As a sign of her gratitude, Mary stroked the cat’s head, and her gentle touch left behind the initial M on the cat’s forehead.
Mary thanked the tabby cat for it’s help, by stroking its forehead. As she stroked the cat, she moved the fur on its brow to make the shape of an ‘m’.
This ‘m’ represented her own initial, and is thought to have been her way of ensuring that humanity would forever remember that a tabby cat had been the savior of baby Jesus.
Cat her name was Mother
The other story of how tabby cats came to have an M on their forehead comes from writer and animal welfare advocate Jim Willis, in his story ‘Beloved of Bast’.
The story tells of a cat named Mother who is visited by Bast, beloved cat of sun goddess Ra. Ra decrees that all tabby cats should have the letter M on their forehead to commemorate Mother’s kindness.
Mark Of The Moon
Do you know your cat’s eyes reflecting the daytime light and almost looking luminous during night time? If you have, you are not alone. In fact, Egyptians took this occurrence to mean that there was a actual link between a cats luminous eyes and the moon.
The ‘M’ mark show the relationship between cat’s eyes and the moon.
Tabby Cat Facts and the Mystery of the “M”
The tabby coat pattern is common to many cat breeds, and there are different colors too. The colors include brown, grey (also called blue), silver, black, ginger, plus white or cream. The most distinctive and defining feature of a tabby cat is the “M” on their forehead.
Does The ‘M’ Stand For Maine Coon?
It’s not true, the ‘M’ on forehead stand for only Maine Coon. If it had been though, this would have been pretty useful, as individuals would have been able to quickly identify cats from the Maine Coon breed.
This cute, yet completely fictional myth has done the rounds for many years. Although I have been unable to establish how this false assumption originated, it is likely because ALL Tabby patterned Maine Coon cats have the distinctive ‘M’ on their foreheads.
Maine Coon Kittens With ‘M’ Marking
The owners can quickly identify the ‘M’ marking on their Maine Coon kittens. if you have Maine Coon kittens the you can easily identify this mark that occurs or not!
Conclusion
As you know all Maine Coons have not ‘M’ on their forehead. Some of Maine Coon tabby have ‘M’ on their forehead and some are not. it is clearly to say that they do not. Instead, this striking marking is only visible on tabby patterned Maine Coon cats. Tabby is not a color, but instead a pattern.