Bugün öğrendim ki: Tekir, alnında belirgin bir 'M' şeklinde işaret bulunan herhangi bir evcil kedidir. "Tekir" bir kedi cinsi değil, evcil kedilerin hemen hemen tüm genetik hatlarında görülen bir kürk türüdür. Tabby başlangıçta Fransızca tabis kelimesinden "zengin sulanmış ipek" anlamına gelen "çizgili ipek tafta"ya atıfta bulundu.

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Domestic cat with distinctive coat markings [](/wiki/File: Cat_November_2010-1a.jpg) Mackerel tabby, with the distinctive striped pattern and forehead 'M' A **tabby** is any [domestic cat](/wiki/Domestic_cat "Domestic cat") ( _Felis catus_ ) with a distinctive 'M ' shaped marking on its forehead, stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail, and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, dotted, lined, flecked, banded or swirled patterns on the body—neck, shoulders, sides, flanks, chest and abdomen. "Tabby" is not a [breed of cat](/wiki/Cat_breeds "Cat breeds") but a coat type seen in almost all genetic lines of domestic cats, regardless of status.[1] The tabby pattern is found in many official cat breeds and is a hallmark of the [landrace](/wiki/Landrace "Landrace") extremely common among the general population of cats around the world. The tabby pattern occurs naturally and is connected both to the coat of the domestic cat's direct ancestor and to those of their close relatives: the [African wildcat](/wiki/African_wildcat "African wildcat") ( _Felis lybica lybica_ ), the [European wildcat](/wiki/European_wildcat "European wildcat") ( _Felis silvestris silvestris_ ) and the [Asiatic wildcat](/wiki/Asiatic_wildcat "Asiatic wildcat") ( _Felis lybica ornata_ ), all of which have similar coats, both by pattern and coloration A genetic study of tabbies found five genetic clusters to be ancestral to cats of various parts of the world.[2]