Abyssinian Cat

Abyssinian Cats

by Caroline Macaulay

The Abyssinian cat is said to be descended from a cat called Zula, brought to England by Captain Barrett Leonard when he returned from service in the Abyssinian wars in the 1860's. Apparently, he brought two cats, but Zula was the sole survivor. Needless to say, there is no verifiable record of Abyssinian cats directly descended from Zula, but Abyssinians were certainly exhibited at Crystal Palace in 1871, so that this breed may claim to be one of the original pedigree cats. Certainly every Abyssinian in the world is descended from cats bred in the United Kingdom. There are no records of the names or owners of the Abyssinians exhibited at Crystal Palace in 1871, to the best of my knowledge, and certainly no indication of their pedigrees. Nor is the Abyssinian the only ticked cat European history records. The so-called British ticked tabby, or "bunny cat", a cobby creature with ticked coat, short legs and thickish tail, might well be behind Abyssinians such as Ras Imru, judging by photographs. The agouti coat pattern is dominant, which explains its survival. Indeed many tabby cats have distinct ticking in addition to their stripes, spots and bars.

The origins of the domestic cat, whether pedigree or not, are shrouded in mystery, but it is beyond dispute that the Egyptians venerated the cat, forbade its export from Egypt and established temples to its worship, notably at Bubastis. Egyptian cats were mummified in their thousands. Grotesquely, many were shipped to Liverpool in the 19th century by plunderers of Egyptian sites - to be used as fertiliser! The Abyssinian Cat Club has one of these mummified cats as its mascot. The cat's status in Egypt derived from its ability to protect the stores of grain harvested in the Nile Valley. The Egytians also used cats in hunting, as various murals attest. Analysis of cat remains at Egyptian sacred sites indicated two main types: the African Golden Cat and Felis Chaus. So if you think the Usual Abyssinian bears more than a passing resemblance to Egyptian statues or murals, you may well be right. The late Alannah Coleman, internationally known art critic and judge of Abyssinians, certainly was convinced that Abyssinians had an Egyptian provenance.

The Roman conquest of Egypt put a stop to the ban on cat exports. When the Romans discovered that the British climate was extremely favourable for growing the wheat they needed to feed their armies, you may be sure that the descendants of cats plundered from Egypt were used to guard granaries in Britain. And what could be more probable than that colonies of these cats survived the Roman evacuation of Britain. Furthermore, Britain had a native cat - Felis Silvestris, the European wild cat, which is genetically compatible with our modern domestic cat, as many hybrids confirm. Intriguingly, Felis Sylvestris hybrids exhibit the dominant white tummy spotting which Abyssinian breeders strive to eradicate, but which is not found in the pure wild strain!

So the truth is the origins of the Abyssinian are impossible to verify. Beyond dispute, however, are its distinctive type, ticking and colour, which have survived at least a century despite outcrosses to other breeds, notably Siamese and British. The former certainly accounts for the tendency to weak chins and straight profiles so censured in the modern Standard of Points. The British influence is to be found occasionally in thick, short tails, large round feet (as opposed to the required dainty paws and legs), not to mention the cobby type which forfeits all awards on the show bench today.

Today one may hear Aby lovers deplore the variation in type which commonly occurs. It is more remarkable that true Abyssinian type is as consistent as it is, given that the breed has been undermined by two World Wars, the depredations of leukaemia before the days of testing and vaccination and a small gene pool, not to mention irresponsible practices such as inbreeding and inappropriate outcrossing. The breed was almost lost to Britain as a result of these disasters. Fortunately it was possible to import cats descended from Abyssinians exported in earlier times, notably from Holland and the United States. Fine specimens are also to be found in Australia and New Zealand. The Scandinavian ciybtrues gad kivekt Abys too, through a gene for Progressive Retinal Atrophy was something of a scourge to be eradicated. Key importers of these Abyssinians were Edith Menezes (Taishun), Morris Sklader (Arolam) and the group known as the Pure Abyssinian Breeders (Derren Green, Alan and Valerie Lockwood and Anne and Tony Rose). These imports were vital to the survival of the British Abyssinian. Grace Denny (Pi Den) imported cats from Norway and Caroline Macaulay (Annera) brought in Bastis Ashanto (23a) and Tauserts Habanera (23) from California in 1986. Today, no breeding Abyssinians in this country are of purely indigenous descent.

A study of early photographs reveals the persistence of the characteristic gently rounded Abyssinian head, with wide-set, large, tufted and listening ears. The ears extend the lines of the moderate wedge. Eyes are a rounded almond shape, in an oriental setting. The hair around the eyes is pale and the eyelid edge darker. The Aby has slight nose-break, rounded muzzle with a slight indentation and a firm chin. Most characteristic of all are the markings, in the ticking colour, which extend from the inner edge of the eye to the top of the head and from the outer edge of the eye to the ears. The "Aby look", wild but not savage, centres on the large expressive eyes, whose glance is intelligent, mischievous, demanding and yet affectionate and sensitive. Body shape and coat, however, have varied widely. Some early cats such as Ras Imru, mentioned above, were heavy and cobby with a long, course coat, not at all like the lithe, medium sized, muscular cats of foreign type specified today. Others, particularly in the 1950's tend to the oriental in shape and quite a few have completely straight profiles. Certainly two Siamese appear in the back lines of every modern Abyssinian: Miss Melodious Venture and Dreamland Peter, and these are unlikely to have been the only outcrosses used to improve the vigour of a numerically small breed. Then there are the "white Abyssinians", almost certainly Siamese variants! The Aby coat is distinctly ticked, with three or four bands of colour, ending in the ticking colour. A clear undercoat is desirable, but grey roots (in Usual Abyssinians only), a common feature of agouti coats, persist. They are a serious fault if found all over. Today's cats usually have the find short coats specified by the current Standard. However, some modern Aby coats are arguably too short and soft, which probably reflects outcrosses to Siamese and Burmese at various times. The older-style coat is preferred by some, including myself; fine and nearly double, resilient and close lying and with just a hint of crispness, like polished rice, on the surface.

by http://www.theabycat.com/abyssinian_cats.htm