Cat breed · Ethiopian Empire, United Kingdom
The Abyssinian , or Abys, is a standardised breed of cat with a distinctive "ticked" tabby coat, in which individual agouti-hairs are banded with different colours. The breed's distinctive appearance, seeming long, lean and finely coloured compared to other cats, has been analogised to that of human fashion models. Abys have a distinctive wildcat look with their ticked coat and large erect ears. They are a highly social breed and can be demanding for attention. They do well in multi-cat households due to their social nature. Not a lap cat, Abyssinians are in constant motion, either exploring or playing.
The first members of the breed to be exhibited in England were brought there from Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia), hence the name. In contradiction, genetic studies place the breed's origins in Southeast Asia and Europe. However, it is possible that the breed was introduced to Abyssinia by travellers who had stopped in Calcutta, India.
Behaviour: Veterinarian Joan O. Joshua has written that the "dog-like attachment to the owners" of Abyssinian and Burmese cats causes "greater dependence on human contacts". This stands in contrast to the mere "tolerant acceptance of human company" based around "comforts" that multiple other breeds display.
With their interest in playing with their owners combined with their curious intelligence, Abyssinians are sometimes called the "Clowns of the Cat Kingdom". They have soft chirrup-like vocalisations which do not sound like the expected "meow".
A study comparing Oriental Shorthair, Siamese and Abyssinian kittens to Norwegian Forest cat kittens found that the former group was more likely to recede and hide as well as display other 'shy' behaviour.
Appearance: The Abyssinian is a lithe, fine-boned, muscular, medium to large sized cat. The average weight is [dose — ask your vet] (10 lb) ranging between 3.6–[dose — ask your vet] (8–12 lb) with height ranging between 20–25 cm (8–10 in). The head is moderately wedge-shaped, with a slight break at the muzzle, and nose and chin ideally forming a straight vertical line when viewed in profile. They have alert, relatively large pointed ears. The eyes are almond-shaped and are gold, green, hazel or copper depending on coat colour. The legs tend to be long in proportion to a graceful body, with small oval paws; the tail is likewise long and tapering.
Coat: Abyssinian kittens are born with dark coats that gradually lighten as they mature, usually over several months. The coat is short, and is ideally fine, not soft, dense, close-lying and silky to the touch. The ticked or agouti effect that is the trademark of the breed—genetically a variant of the tabby pattern—should be uniform over the body, although the ridge of the spine and tail, back of the hind legs and the pads of the paws are always noticeably darker. Each hair has a light base with three or four bands of additional colour growing darker towards the tip. The base colour should be as clear as possible; any extensive intermingling with grey is considered a serious fault. A tendency to white on the chin is common but likewise must be minimal. The typical tabby M-shaped marking is often found on the forehead.
The breed's original colour standard is a warm deep reddish-brown base (high degree of rufism) with black ticking, known as "usual" in Europe, "tawny" in Oceania, and "ruddy". Cinnamon (also called "sorrel" or "red"), a lighter coppery base with cinnamon-brown ticking, is a unique mutation of this original pattern. Other variants have been introduced by outcrossing to the Burmese and other shorthaired breeds, notably blue (on a warm beige base) and fawn (on a softer creamy peach base). The less common chocolate and lilac are not recognised in some registries, but have been granted full champion status with others. Most registries also recognises the silver series, in which the base coat is a pure silvery-white with eumelanistic-coloured ticking. Various other colour combinations are allowed, including the "torbie", in which a tortoiseshell pattern in any of these eumelanistic colours is visible under the tabby banding.
In summary, Abyssinians are accepted in the following eumelanistic base colours, all in the ticked tabby coat pattern:
Health: Familial renal amyloidosis or AA amyloidosis, a kidney disorder due to a mutation in the AA amyloid protein gene, has been seen in Abyssinians. The Abyssinian has had severe problems with blindness caused by a hereditary retinal degeneration due to mutations in the rdAc gene. However, the prevalence has been reduced from 45% to less than 4% in 2008 in the country of Sweden. An Australian analysis found the Abyssinian to be over-represented in cases of feline infectious peritonitis when compared to the expected frequency based on census data (4.4% versus 1.5%). An US study had similar results with an odds ratio of 8.98.
In a review of over 5,000 cases of urate urolithiasis the Abyssinian was significantly under-represented, with only one of the recorded cases belonging to an Abyssinian.
The Abyssinian was found to be predisposed to feline atopic dermatitis in a retrospective study of cases of the disease.
The Abyssinian is predisposed to psychogenic alopecia.
An US study found the Abyssinian to be at increased risk of aortic thromboembolism with an odds ratio of 6.03.
History: What is thought to be the earliest known designated Abyssinian cat is in an exhibit still residing in the Zoological Museum in Leiden, the Netherlands. It was purchased around 1834–1836 from a supplier of small wild cat exhibits as a taxidermy and was labelled by the museum founder as "Patrie, domestica India."
