The Secret To The "M"
By doogy300
@doogy300 (26)
United States
August 7, 2009 6:55pm CST
If your cat has a stripey pattern, or has a similar pattern on his/her head, see if those stripes form what appears to be a rudimentary form of the letter M on his/her head, appearing right above the eyes. If you look at pictures of cats (like the ones here, on myLot), you'll see that a lot of cats have this pattern. This dates back to Egyptian times when cats were considered sacred. The Egyptians would use a harmless chemical similar to paint and mark the cat's head with the letter M, which stands for Mau (which is cat in egyptian). All cats should have this marking, even if it is hard to see because of their coat's colour or other. Pretty cool, huh?
2 people like this
3 responses
@ElicBxn (63753)
• United States
9 Aug 09
they didn't spell Mau with an "M"
there are all kinds of stories about the "M" on the tabbies' heads.
One says that the baby Jesus was crying and crying until a despised (cats were despised because the Egyptians worshiped them) cat climbed into the manger and started purring. So Mary put the "M" on the cat's forehead.
Now, another story, says that Mohammad loved his cat so much he cut the sleeve off his coat so not to disturb the cat. And he put the "M" on the cat.
@doogy300 (26)
• United States
11 Aug 09
I don't know exactly how it all started. I think I heard a variation where an explorer who visited egypt first found the cats as being highly revered, and upon learning they were named Maus, he used a chemical to mark some cats he came across with M. Hey, it could be something else. but whatever it is, the M is here to stay.
1 person likes this
@bjcyrix (6901)
• Philippines
8 Aug 09
Hi! Welcome to myLot.
I know that my cat has one but I really didnt know that all cats have them.
That was a very interesting piece of history trivia you have shared. Im curious, did the paint job that early Egyptians did to the cats kinda stuck or was absorbed by their skin that in the years of cat evolution they just "grew" those "M" to save the trouble of the paint job?
Thanks for sharing this.^_^
That was a very interesting piece of history trivia you have shared. Im curious, did the paint job that early Egyptians did to the cats kinda stuck or was absorbed by their skin that in the years of cat evolution they just "grew" those "M" to save the trouble of the paint job?
Thanks for sharing this.^_^@doogy300 (26)
• United States
8 Aug 09
I don't know all the details on the markings and if they lasted. I do know, though, that if you come across any pictures of a cat statue made in egyptian times, they will always have the M marked on the cat's head. Note that the M only applies to small cats. Large cats like lions and tigers do not appear to have the M.
