Facts of the day! (Tabby Cat)

1. The tabby pattern is found in many breeds, as well as among the general mixed-breed population.
2. The English term "tabby" comes from the 1630s, "striped silk taffeta," from the French "tabis," meaning "a rich, watered silk (originally striped)," from Middle French atabis (14c.), from Arabic attabiya, from Attabiy, a neighborhood of Baghdad where such cloth was first made, named for Prince 'Attab of the Umayyad Caliphate. Compare to Spanish "ataviar", meaning to decorate or to dress or wear (often implying very elegant and/or expensive clothing).