"m" Vs Scarab Beetle Marking

Jem

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I have been trying to figure out the difference between the "M" marking and the Scarab marking and I'm at a loss.:dunno:
Some sources use the terms interchangeably, some are more specific like with the Egyptian Mau who has the "Beetle" where Tabbies have the "M". One source even classified the Egyptian Mau as a type of "Tabby" (not a breed, I know.)
I've had several Tabbies, and some have had what I thought looked more like the Beetle, as the lines were very sharp and had more of a pattern further up on the head more than just the "M" closer to the eyebrows, where others clearly had the "M" pattern above the eyebrows but the lines were more muddled (the colors "bled" together) on the head part.
Even as I try to find pictures of each the "M" or "Beetle", to my non expert eye, they look the same. And sometimes the same picture gets used on a different site, each with a different name (either "M" or Scarab), so I can't trust them either.
Could someone please tell me the difference, if there is any? And please post a picture, if possible, of each one? I need the visual. My brain is not letting me let this go.:dizzy:
FYI, I'm not trying to convince myself that I have a "special" breed or ancestry in any of my cats, this is just for informational purposes and because I'm basically driving myself crazy. All the information I keep finding in contradicting and confusing. ALL of my cats are special, no matter what!!!
 

lutece

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It's confusing, I know. Tabby markings are a sort of Rorschach test, you can see all kinds of things in them if you look :)

The Egyptian Mau simply doesn't have unique head markings. It is a spotted tabby cat, and its markings are seen in other spotted tabbies. You can imagine a beetle on top of the head if you look at many tabby cats, and a scarab beetle fits the Egyptian Mau "theme," so it's entertaining for people to imagine seeing one on the Egyptian Mau... but the truth is that there is no special marking on the head that tells you whether a cat is an Egyptian Mau. You won't see any mention of a "beetle" marking in the CFA breed presentation; the "M" is mentioned, but that is seen in all tabbies.
http://cfa.org/Portals/0/documents/judges-ce/EgyptianMau.pdf

I'll just add that because this is a rare breed, most online articles about them were written by people who have no personal experience with this breed (have never even seen one!) and are just copying other things they see online. For accurate information about the breed, you will want to look for references written by breeders who actually work with this breed, or judges who have handled and judged them.
 
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Jem

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I was not really concerned about finding info the the Egyptian Mau specifically, or any "breed", I don't care about breed at all really. I only used it as a reference, as many sources speak of it as a "beetle scarab" marking when referencing the Mau. Again, it never made sense to me which is why I'm here. I'm a very visual person, and have an "artistic eye" with attention to detail, so the fact that I could NOT for the life of me see a difference between what "they" say is the Scarab vs the M, was really frustrating me.

So what you're saying is that the "M" marking and the "Scarab Beetle" marking are one in the same??? There is really only the "M", that can have subtle differences depending on how distinctive or sharp the lines are? And any other name is just describing that same "M" pattern with a different name?
Can I finally let this go???:hyper:
 

lutece

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Yes, you can let it go :)

The difference between the "M" and the "scarab beetle" marking is mostly in the way you look at the tabby markings. The "M" just includes the markings on the forehead, while the "scarab beetle" also includes the markings on the top of the head.

It's like looking at constellations in the sky... our human minds have a tendency to connect the dots and make pictures out of things we see, but there are different ways to group and interpret the same dots or markings.
 
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Jem

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Yay! Thank you!

It's funny because, my one kitty (RIP), had one the most striking mackerel tabby patterns I ever saw. There was such a contrast and crisp lines to follow in his coat. He's the one who clearly had the full "beetle" look as well as the mascara lines on the sides. He was such a striking cat for a "simple" orange tabby. He also had the "gooseberry green" colored eyes that I saw in that link you provided. One thing though, he definitely was not athletic or long and lean, and I also question how smart he was! LOL!! (FYI, I'm not saying he has some special ancestry in him, or that he may be part "Mau" just comparing him to the photos from the link) God I miss him.

Thanks again for the clarification on the head markings.
 

katocats

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Hi Jem, I don't know jf you can see the markings on any of our Mau photos in my profile.
 

cuppa

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I agree that it is probably kinda like a Rorschach test. You could see it as an M or a beetle depending on your imagination
tabby.jpg
 
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