The Somalicat

The breeding of somalis started in North America and Australia in the nineteen sixtiies when some aby breeders became interested in the longhaired kittens that now and then were born in aby litters.

The somali is the longhaired variety of the abyssinian and research has shown that the gene for long hair was introduced to the abyssinian breed already in 1930-40 when there was a shortage of abyssinian studs and the breeders had to turn to males from other breeds. Both American and Australian somalis descend from English abyssinians.

In the spring of 1983 Josinia Musayid from Australia was the first somali to be imported to Finland and in February 1984 the first somali litter was born here. The somali has often large litters (5-7, sometimes even 9 kittens), which has contributed to the quick rise of the breed.

The standard for the somali is the same as for the abyssinian except for the coat. The somali has a very fine and soft semi-longhair coat. A long and well furnished "fox tail", woolly "breeches" and, for the more mature cats, a handsome frill and shirt front make the somali a very stylish cat. The hairs on the back of the ticked coat have 3-6 colour stripes and the recognized colours are the same as for the abyssinian.

The character of the somali does not much differ from that of the aby. It is a quick, lithe cat and loves climbing. A striking trait of the somali is its trust in and affection for people. The somali is very gentle and expects with great confidence a response on its gentleness. The somalis are as curious as the abys and they are always ready to take part in any new happenings while discussing these with their owners in an agreeable soft voice.
The abyssinian and the somali enjoy having access to a shelterd outdoor pen or they can be taken for a walk on a leash like a dog, but when its freezing or cold and rainy weather not even the somali with its well-furnished coat should be let outside. Both the aby and the somali are very intelligent, and they may with surprising ease learn to open doors and windows.

To improve the type and ticking of the somalis they are outbred to abyssinians. The kittens born from these crosses are shorthaired like abys. They are registered with the addition "var" (variant) and a note "only for somali breeding" will be added to their pedigree. This is done to show that they carry the gene for long hair. At shows the aby-var cats compete for certificates with the abyssinians and they can do very well.

Cats are, however, always individuals and all are different. Even if the family consists of 10 abys and/or somalis and crosses between these, everyone of them has its own manners and characteristics.