Abyssinian

It was often asserted that the Abyssinian was the descendant of the Egyptian cat because the first subject, Zulma, came to England in 1868 at the end of a military campaign led in Abyssinia (today, Ethiopia). This ticked cat (ticking: every hair carries strips of various colours) had an enormous success. Other subjects were found in many countries and used to create the Abyssinian breed. Originally, Abyssinian meant ticked cat.



Scientific studies examined the geographic distribution of cats carrying ticking. These studies showed on one hand that the corresponding gene cannot result from Africa, on the other hand that the cradle of these cats is located in Southeastern Asia. Researches allowed to ascertain that Zulma originally belonged to an Army of India officer who took it with him when transferred to Abyssinia before giving it to a fellow officer going back to England, Captain Barret-Lenhart.



Its longer rear paws give it a unique feline grace and its very feline look make it one of the public’s favourites. Every hair carries two or three lines of colour: that’s called the ticking.
The coat colours are hare (warm brown hair with black brown ticking and apricot sub-hair), sorrel (red copper hair with red brown ticking and apricot sub-hair), blue (blue grey hair with grey blue steel ticking and cream sub-hair) or fawn (beige hair with dark cream ticking and light cream sub-hair). The nose is encircled by a charming border and the face presents a magnificent make-up around the eyes and on the forehead. Muscular, athletic, very affectionate, it does not mew but rather coos. It is a very lively companion (not recommended to those who tend to mistake a cat for an ornamental item).

my first abyssinian was Lord Dollar du Lys des Vallées, a wonderful ruddy sire.

His father, Rasaby Skyllar, was coming from US.

A very nice line !