Holy Mackerel, is that a tiger I see? Whew, it is just a Tabby cat that looks like a Tiger. I think I might have lost a few lives there!

As I wrote in a previous blog post “Why “M” stands for Tabby, and also for Marvelous, and well ME”, there is more than just one type of Tabby cat, not just us beautiful, original, purrectly everything Orange Tabby Cats. So, I guess it’s only fair for me to introduce you to a non-Orange Tabby cat with some purrty stripes – the Mackerel Tabby. I know, do you feel it too, that hairball feeling coming up? Let’s try to see the beauty in another type of Tabby cat. It will be hard, but let’s try.

So, the Mackerel Tabby does look a lot like a tiger, a much smaller version. Because of the stripe pattern on most Mackerel Tabbies, they do resemble the big-in-the-wild-cat, the African Wildcat (double wow ME-OW ME-OW).

But then why aren’t they called Tiger cats? Well, actually many times they are, but their correct description is Mackerel Tabby because of their coat pattern made of orange or gray background banded hairs and darker vertical stripes. These vertical stripes are highly reminiscent of fish bones, similar to the mackerel fish. Hence why they are called the Mackerel Tabby.

Okay, I see it, I guess. Seriously, I did not make this up, who could!! Oh, some mackerel fish does sound really good right now. I wonder what time it is? Breakfast time? Lunchtime? Snack time? Dinner time? Mackerel Time? It must be one of those times!!!

Oh, okay, where were we? The Mackerel fish, no I mean, the Mackerel Tabby. Another common marker on a Mackerel Tabby is a pink nose color with a black pigmentation around it. Look at Rosario & Ramona below. They definitely have some pink noses with black pigmentation around them. And here I heard they were brown nosers (just kidding). These two are the sweetest kittens ever!

Even though these Tabby cats aren’t the beautiful orange tabbies we ALL so greatly love and adore, they do have some awesome characteristics. They are similar to us Orange Tabbies where we are highly intelligent, very playful, highly curious, and can hypnotize you to sleep (okay the last one is just me!).

Rest assured, any type of Tabby cat is the BEST type of cat. So, get off of your lazy sofa, go down to your nearest animal shelter, and let a Mackerel Tabby adopt you! If you are in the Costa Ballena area of Costa Rica, El Refugio has quite a few purrfect Mackerel Tabbies for you!

Until we meet again dear humans.

Cheers,

Norman

All I do is eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. Eat and sleep. There must be more to a cat’s life than that. But I hope not. – Garfield

Don’t forget to spay & neuter your cats & dogs.  There can be too much of a good thing!  There’s only so much catnip to go around. 

Cats and wildlife live longer when cats stay indoors. 

FELNE FAVORITE OF THE DAY

Tony the Tiger at El Refugio