Abyssinian

The ancestors of the abyssinian cat probably lived in the Nile valley for thousands of years. The abyssininan is still the same type of cat that already the ancient Egyptians worshiped. Mummies and statues of these cats are found all over Egypt.
When at the end of the eighteen sixties soldiers returned from the Abyssinian war to England they brought these cats with them. The breed was accepted in England in 1882. From there the abyssinian breed slowly spread to the rest of Europe and to America and Australia.

In 1961 were the first abys imported to Finland, but the first Finnish aby litters, Mount Badger and av Firousi, were not born until 1966.
The aby is a medium sized cat, with an elegant but lithe and muscular body without any coarseness. The goal has been to breed a natural, well balanced cat without the overtyped features seen in many other breeds.

The head of the aby is wedge-shaped with soft contours. Its large ears, preferably with hair tufts at the tips, give the cat an alert look. The eyes are almond shaped, expressive and brilliant in colour and surrounded by "mascara lines". The eye colour varies from emerald green to hazel brown and amber.

The special characteristic of this breed is the short, fine and close lying coat. Every hair on the back is ticked with 2-3 black or dark brown stripes. The ground colour of the ruddy aby is dark orange and the tip of the tail, the paw pads, the "boots" and the ear tufts are in the colour of the ticking.

The original colour of the abyssinian is ruddy and the other recognized colour varieties are sorrel, blue and fawn and the silver varieties of these four colours. The coat of the aby is very easy to groom and the cat usually takes care of this himself.
The abyssinian is lively, playful, inventive, wild, mysterious and dignified. Depending on its mood it may either sit thoughtfully and aloof watching the surroundings from a high place, or play funny and imaginative games. The aby is curious and quick to learn and it participates in all that happens in the house.

The voice of the abyssinian is soft and pleasant like the whole cat. The aby is lovable, gentle and immensly attached to its owner and shows its affection in many charming ways. Many abys go on car drives with their familiy and in the summer they enjoy boating and spending time at the family summer cottage.