Photo: My Foster Cat

I like this photo which I took this afternoon:

He is “Downtown”, my spotted tabby foster cat. I like this photo because it is stripped back to basics and the tabby cat can look a bit like a curled snake when resting like this. Small wild cats look very much a snake when resting in this position.

It has been suggested that it is a matter of evolution that the tabby cat has ended up being able to camouflage himself by looking like a snake which is also protection from predators.

There is another link to the snake that we know: the cat hiss. This mimics the snake to frighten off animals and other cats that would harm him/her.

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Comments

Photo: My Foster Cat — 23 Comments

Leah on November 4, 2014 at 10:24 pm said:
He’s so beautiful his face reminds me of Mrs Chippy a bit wasn’t she a spotted tabby as well?
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Suzy on November 4, 2014 at 5:20 pm said:
He’s beautiful and has a very happy smile on his sleepy face. That’s lovely.
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- Michael Broad on November 4, 2014 at 8:29 pm said:
  He is a young boy cat who is both confident and nervous in equal measure. He is not large. Quite a small cat at the moment. He thanks you for the compliment.
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Dan in Tempe on November 3, 2014 at 3:39 pm said:
Handsome cat.
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- Michael Broad on November 3, 2014 at 5:29 pm said:
  Thanks Dan. He does have a very nice spotted tabby coat and strong face pattern with “spectacles” – white fur around the eyes.
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Rudolph.A.Furtado on November 3, 2014 at 3:08 am said:
Excellent photo.
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- Michael Broad on November 3, 2014 at 8:32 am said:
  Thanks Rudolph.
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NANCY SCHWOPE on November 3, 2014 at 1:38 am said:
The grey and yellow are both just out of this world wonderful.
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- Michael Broad on November 3, 2014 at 8:31 am said:
  It makes him look like a handmade china model. It is a bit unreal which I why I like it.
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Alan on November 3, 2014 at 12:18 am said:
“Som” didn’t know Tabby cats were supposed to look like snakes when they sleep!
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- Michael Broad on November 3, 2014 at 8:29 am said:
  Oh…I like this photo. His coat has evolved to look like a duvet cover for protection in the wilds of the bedroom 😉
  It shows how tabby cats can look completely different. I think these two photos cover the ends of the spectrum of tabby cat coats. Great picture and a fabulous cat too.
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  - kylee on November 3, 2014 at 9:06 am said:
    Wow that looks a lot like how Rebel Sleeps sometimes. It be great if your next cat is ginger/red.
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- Dee (Florida) on November 4, 2014 at 8:07 pm said:
  Classic red and white tiger tabby, medium to long haired.
  Beautiful. He’s a happy and trusting boy to sleep that way.
  Good job.
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  - Alan on November 4, 2014 at 11:42 pm said:
    Ha-Ha thank you, I have yet to see her in the classic curled up cat sleeping position, as in the lovely photo of Downtown, but I like she sleeps this way it always makes me smile and I think she must feel safe to sleep in such vulnerable positions.
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    - Michael Broad on November 5, 2014 at 12:14 am said:
      Certainly very relaxed and contented.
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Ruth aka Kattaddorra on November 2, 2014 at 5:03 pm said:
What a lovely photo, he is absolutely magnificent 🙂 Perfect! And he has the M on his head from Mary’s blessing of all tabbies.
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- Michael Broad on November 2, 2014 at 5:42 pm said:
  He has a very nice tabby coat. 9/10 😉
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  - Michele S. on November 2, 2014 at 9:49 pm said:
    and now he has a name 🙂
    Michael, he’s working his feline magic on you.
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    - Michael Broad on November 2, 2014 at 10:50 pm said:
      He does and he is full of magic.
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  - Ruth aka Kattaddorra on November 3, 2014 at 7:47 am said:
    10/10 🙂
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DW on November 2, 2014 at 4:49 pm said:
Something else I noticed on my Bigfoot, is the the coloring around the eyes make it look like he is wide awake staring at you. I wonder if that is also the evolution of self protection. Stand back from the picture of Downtown and squint a little. You will see what I mean.
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- Michael Broad on November 2, 2014 at 5:35 pm said:
  Yes, good point. He has what cat breeders call “spectacles”. Breeders of the Bengal cat like this. If you close your eyes the black line of fur above the eyes surrounded by white looks like an eye. I think that is what you mean and it is a good observation.
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- Dee (Florida) on November 4, 2014 at 7:58 pm said:
  See it! So cool!
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