Abyssinian

Bands on the Run

Cat fanciers are apt to hoist an eyebrow skeptically whenever a spectator at a show peers into a cage and exclaims, "I've got a cat just like that at home!" Nevertheless some breeders make the same dewy-eyed declaration when first they gaze upon an age-old drawing or sculpture of a cat - especially if that likeness was rendered by one of those ubiquitous and godlike "ancient Egyptians" one hears so much about in cat-breed articles. Thus we read variations on the theme that Abyssinians' ancestors were worshiped "as children of the gods by the people of the Pharoahs."

Historical Fowl Up

The foregoing assertion, found in Helen and Sidney Denham's Child of the Gods, is based on perceived resemblances between modern-day Abys and the cats portrayed in various paintings, drawings and sculptures bequeathed to us by those fun-loving "ancient Egyptians." These perceptions frequently masquerade as premises - while adjectives are transformed into uppercase co-conspirators - on a merry brick road that leads to conclusions like the following: "It is certainly interesting to note that the Ancient Egyptian drawings show the Abyssinians' ancestors retrieving and putting up water fowl."

We, too, have seen cats retrieving water fowl, once it has been brought home, cooked and placed conveniently on a table; yet this does not inspire us to connect the dots between our cats and those "ancient Egyptian" felines. Resemblance may be in the eye of the beholder, but historical documentation is more than a matter of perception, and what those "ancient Egyptian" drawings suggest is that cats existed in Egypt a long time ago. Period. Any connection between those cats and pedigreed cats living or dead is plainly coincidental.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Like its resplendent coat pattern, made up of alternating bands of color, the Abyssinian's history is composed of alternating theories. Already we have seen one jolly band that believes Abys were the cat's meow along the Nile. A second band maintains that Abys originated in the jungles of North Africa from whence they were brought to England by soldiers returning from the Abyssinian War during the late 1860s.

This latter supposition is based on slightly more credible - yet scarcely overwhelming - evidence. As near as records can attest, the first "Abyssinian" to reach England was a cat named Zula, who was imported by Mrs. Barrett-Lennard in 1868. According to one writer, Zula "and possibly other imports were bred with similarly marked cats of partly unknown origin," and thus the Abyssinian breed was born. Trouble is, the names of those other possible imports - if indeed they ever existed - have either gone unrecorded or have been lost. Nor does Zula's name appear on any pedigrees that survive today.

Of the various theories purporting to explain the Abyssinian's origin the sensible-shoes description was advanced by Rosemonde S. Peltz in the 1972 Cat Fanciers' Association Yearbook, wherein she insisted "there is no doubt that the Abyssinian breed was made in England" by persons who "began with British Shorthairs, in most cases of unknown parentage, and gradually broke up tabby striping and eliminated white spotting and bars until they produced a cat with a uniformed ticked coat." Thus, concluded Peltz, "the Abyssinian is more at home on the Thames than on the Nile."

Another contestant in the battle of the bands is the theory that Abyssinians originated "along the shores of the Bay of Bengal." Proponents of this theory generally refer to "recent genetic studies" that support it. Unfortunately those studies are never identified, nor is any connection demonstrated between Bengalside Abys and current members of the clan.

Tick, Tick, Ticking

Whatever its origin the Abyssinian was listed as a separate breed in England by 1882. "In the beginning there was a great range of colors extending from the wild silver agouti ticking to an intense yellow ticking," wrote Peltz. "The silver color seems to predominate in the early Abyssinians if one notices the names of the cats. Such names as Aluminum, Quicksilver, Silver Memelik, and Silver Fairy hardly could have been given to ruddy-colored cats."

By 1900 many authorities believed that the name Abyssinian could hardly be used to describe a breed that was, when push came to pedigree, the result of chance matings among ordinary tabbies. Therefore Abyssinian was replaced for a time in official cat circles by Ticks, British Ticks or Bunny Cats. This revisionist opinion was supported by the fact that each of the 12 Abyssinians registered in the stud book of the National Cat Club in England for 1900-1905 was descended from at least one parent of unknown origin.

Further Developments

The first Abys to arrive in the United States were owned by Jane Cathcart of Oradell, New Jersey. Their names Ch. Aluminum and Salt suggest that they were silvers. These cats were exhibited in Boston in 1909. There is no record of additional Aby imports until the 1930s - when a great many Abys were brought to this country - and the first Abyssinian litter born in the United States was not recorded until 1935.

The growing interest in Abyssinians in this country was fortuitous because World War II had a detrimental effect on the Aby in Great Britain. The war forced many breeders to discontinue their efforts to preserve the Aby, and the list of stud cats in the 1947-48 General Council of the Cat Fancy records included just four Abyssinians, two of which were unproven.

The breed was able to rebound from this situation, however, and eventually became a perennial fixture among the top five cats in the United States. In 1998, for example, the Abyssinian ranked fifth among the 37 breeds recognized by the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA). New registrations totaled 2,012 for the year. Admittedly this represented a decrease of 13 percent from the preceding year, but the Aby was not alone on the down escalator. CFA's total new registrations fell by 6 percent in 1998, continuing a decade-long decline that suggests a parallel decline in public interest in pedigreed cats.

Mr. England's Cat

In 1985 a 3-year-old Abyssinian named Terra Cotta, who lived with her owner, Will England, in Eagle River, Alaska, made headlines when she became the first cat to receive a kidney transplant. Terra Cotta needed the new kidney because she was dying of amyloidosis, a form of kidney failure common to Abyssinians. Amyloidosis occurs when the protein amyloid is deposited in the kidneys under conditions other than ordinary. The amyloid buildup impairs normal organ function, and an affected cat can die or suffer from depleted organ function or organ failure. Amyloidosis can strike early and severely, but milder forms of the disease can go undetected throughout the cat's life. Current diagnostic tests are limited in value, and the mode of inheritance for amyloidosis in the Abyssinian cat has yet to be determined.

The Building Code

Some cat registries describe the Abyssinian as a medium-sized cat, while others describe it as a medium to large one. The Aby is also characterized as lithe, hard, muscular and regal in appearance: a cat that strikes a medium between the cobby type and the svelte, elongated breeds.

The Aby's effulgent color, its handsome ticking and its silky, dense, resilient coat are its most commanding features, accounting for 35 to 40 points in the various organizations' standards. The Abyssinian pattern is described as "a form of agouti ticking" with even, contrasting bands of light and darker color producing "a translucent effect." Coat length in the Abyssinian should be medium, but long enough to accommodate four or six alternating bands of color. Depending on the association, the Aby is recognized in ruddy, red (also called sorrel), blue, fawn, lilac, cream, silver, chocolate silver, blue silver and fawn silver.

The Abyssinian's head is shaped like a modified, slightly rounded wedge without flat planes. Large, almond-shaped, expressive eyes - in gold, hazel, green or copper, depending on the association - dominate the Abyssinian's face; and large, alert, moderately pointed ears, broad and cupped at the base, create the impression that the Aby is alert and listening.

The Abyssinian body, described variously as medium, medium long or rather long, should have a rounded rib cage with no evidence of flat sides, a slightly arched back, and a reasonably level flank with no tuck up.

Personality Profile

Abyssinians have been called "Lions of Love" by one dazzled enthusiast. "Do not get one of these cats if you want an entirely decorative, docile pet," this breeder continued. Abys are valiant and outgoing. They love people and it shows. Although more than intelligent enough to amuse themselves when left alone, they flower in a one-on-one person-cat relationship. Thus, we are told, "it's easy to fall in love with a splendid, little mountain lion of a cat that is quite willing to fall in love with you. If you want something wild, yet gentle and loving, something exciting, yet peaceful and serene, something unique, elegant and beautiful, share the good times of your life with an Abyssinian."

by www.petpublishing.com