The most popular legend tells us as the baby Jesus shivered in the manger on the night He was born, a small tabby cat jumped into the humble crib to warm Him with its fur. Mary touched the little tabby cat to thank it for its gift of love and warmth, bestowing her initial “M” on its forehead. From that day on, every tabby cat bears the Madonna’s initial.
If you’re looking for someone who’ll go bananas every time they see your dog or cat, knows them so well they notice one hair out of place, speaks their language, knows their favorite treat AND movie and most of all become their second favorite human in the whole world, then you’ve found the right person! Lisa resides in Westerleigh and is a Dogtec Certified Dog Walker, NYC Certified in Animal Care and Handling, FEMA Animals in Disasters Certified, a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) and Feral Colony Care Specialist and Red Cross Pet First Aid Certified.
You have a lovely blog. I found you while researching the place of cats in early Christianity for a blogpost of my own.
Thank you Snowbrush! We work very hard to add interesting and informative articles to our blog. So glad you enjoyed it!
I love the Virgin Mary! It’s nice to know that the m marking is the same as my cat’s kissing spot!
I did not know the legend of the tabby! What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it!
Carolyn
Love you Beanie.
Please, is there a book that tells this story?
I am a, 68 yesr old man who has loved kitties and all animals since I was born.today I live alone with Addie and Girttie Davis my two kitties who watch over me.i truly believe they are guardian Angels sent to me from Saint Francis and God.
A friend of mine just relayed this story to me, after I posted yet another photo our Covid rescue kitty. He’s been with us for 1-1/2 years now. He actually rescued us though. We had lost our golden retriever shortly after lockdown started and she had been a special part of our family for 12, years. This scraggly little kitten, about 3 months later, walked up to my husband while he was mowing. Hubby stopped the mower and walked the kitten back over to the neighbors corral, knowing it was probably part of a litter from the barn cats there. The kitten proceeded to follow him back twice immediately after being returned to the farm. Having never been cat owners (or lovers, we thought), we decided to take care of the kitten that was so determined. Needless to say, he moved in, took over our home and our hearts and we find ourselves laughing every day with Gibbs. Learning this story only makes him that much more of a blessing to us!
I say the rosary every day. If my Tabby, Finn, is nearby when I’m saying it, he insists on jumping up on my lap to be part of the prayer. I already knew about this legend. It’s seems to me that he senses what I am doing when I pray and wants to be part of it. It makes me smile every time.
I love all of the comments here.
We have 15 rescues and ZERO regrets for taking them all into our home.
May God bless each and every one of you and your sweet pets.
This is a charming and heartwarming tale for all of us ailurophiles. I had my Harry for 21 yrs and still miss him since he passed away just before the Covid pandemic. I always include him in my daily prayers. I encourage everyone to read Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudate Si which I found.a great comfort- particularly as it celebrates all of God’s creation and the need to carefully tend to our responsibility for all of our fellow creatures.
My 16 year old Bombay girl recently passed & a friend of mine found a tabby cat & brought him to me. I was looking around for information about tabby’s (we had a few while I was a kid but this story really touched my heart! Thank you for sharing!