Abyssinian Cat Breed Description and Facts

(Last Updated On: April 16, 2021)

Abyssinian is a species of the domestic short-haired cat with a distinctive “tick” tabby coat, where individual hairs are tied with different colors.

Abyssinian cat Description

The breed is named Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia), where it is thought to have originated.

History

It is known that the Abyssinian cat was born in Great Britain in the middle of the 19th century. It is alleged that British troops deployed to North Africa in the nineteenth century returned to the country with kittens bought by local merchants.

Appearance

Abyssinian cat is a slender, fine-woven, medium-sized cat. The head is moderately fork-shaped, with a slight break of the puzzle, and the nose and chin ideally form a straight vertical line when viewed on the profile. They have caution, with relatively large pointed ears.

The eyes are almond-shaped and coat depending on the color of gold, green, hazel or copper.

The legs are long in proportion to a beautiful body, with a small oval Punjabi; The tail is similarly long and tapping.

Coats and colors

Abyssinian cats are born with dark coats that slowly grow to light as they mature, usually for several months. The adult coat should not be too short and ideally delicate, thick and close, silky to the touch.

The trademark of the Abyssinian cat breed – genetically a diversified tick or forearm of the tabby pattern should have the same effect on the body, although the spine and tail edges, the back of the legs and the paw pads are always noticeably darker with each hair having a light base on the tip of the three or four bands darker.

Either the growing base color should be as clean as possible; Any wide mix with gray Abyssinian cat is considered a serious fault.

A tendency to whiten on the chin of an Abyssinian cat is common but similarly must be minimal. The typical tabby M-shaped mark is often found on the forehead.

The main color value of the breed is a warm deep reddish-brown base with black ticks, known as “common” in the UK and “uncompleted” elsewhere.

Sorrel (also known as cinnamon or red), a light copper base with chocolate brown ticking, is a unique variation of this original pattern.

Other variants have been introduced by outcrossing the Burmese and other short varieties, notably blue (above a warm beige base) and black (on a soft creamy peach base).

Chocolate and lilac are no less recognized by the Cat Fancier’s Association (CFA) species standards but have been awarded the full champion status in the International Cat Association (Vaccines) and in the UK.

The United Kingdom also recognizes the Silver Abyssinian cat, where the base coat is a pure silver white (called “ordinary silver”), blue, cream or sorrel tick.

Various other color combinations are in development, including “Torbie”, in which a patched turtle pattern is visible in any of these colors below the tab banding.

A different coat of the Abyssinian cat species is called the dominant mutant gene, as the first cat’s whole genome is cataloged by an Abyssinian named cinnamon.

The mood

The Abyssinian cat is, in large part, a popular breed thanks to their unusual intelligence and generally outgoing, intriguing, deliberate personality.

They are reported to be frustrated with continuous activity and without the attention of their owners.

Veterinarian Joan and Joshua wrote that “dog-like attachment” to Abyssinian and Burmese cats causes “greater reliance on human communication.”

Abyssinian cat stands in stark contrast to the “tolerant acceptance of human resources” surrounding “ease” that demonstrates multiple other varieties.

The Abyssinian cat is called the Clown of the Cat Kingdom, with their curious intelligence eager to unite with their owners.

They have an active, outgoing nature, yet tend to be quiet cats. They have soft chirping-like voices that don’t sound like the expected “Mia”.

Abyssinian cat loves attention because they love showing. They are affectionate and friendly towards people.

Health

The Abyssinian cat breed is prone to gingivitis, which can lead to more severe periodontitis. Kidney disease, caused by alterations in the familial renal amyloidosis or AA amyloidosis, AA amyloid protein gene, has been observed in Abyssinians.

The Abyssinian cat had a serious problem with blindness due to degeneration of the hereditary retina due to its conversion to the RDAC gene, but in Sweden, the incidence in Sweden decreased from less than 5% to less than 5%.

With the wide availability of RDAC mutation detection tests and services provided by the UD Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, it is possible to reduce disease frequency in all Abyssinian cat populations.