Other Name
If you love the confident air and athletic physique of the Abyssinian but prefer the glamour of a longhaired cat, take a look at the Aby’s sibling, the Somali, a foxy lady if ever there was one. Like the Abyssinian, the Somali bears a look of the wild and is characterized by large ears, a masked face, a full ruff, britches on the legs, a bushy tail and a ticked coat in ruddy, red, fawn and blue. The Somali is endowed with more than its fair share of good looks. It is an attention getter from the start, an Abyssinian with long hair, often full at the chest and around the chin (the area referred to as the ruff), ending in a thick fluffy fox-like tail, and topping with large fox-like ears. If one judged by appearance, the Somali appears feral, but one look into its eyes and it is clear that this cat has a lot more going on in its head than the average cat. The Somali is so well known for its alertness that the standards for the breed include "alert" in the physical description. The eyes are almond-shaped, and may be green or copper-gold.
The Somali is the longhaired variety of the Abyssinian, a cat whose origin is surrounded by many romantic tales. Despite his name, he’s not from Somalia (the next door neighbor to Ethiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia) but more likely the coast of the Indian Ocean and parts of Southeast Asia. He resembles a small African wildcat but is domestic through and through. Breeds that probably figured in his background include Siamese, Burmese and Russian Blues. The longhaired gene was introduced after World War II when breeders were trying to bring the breed back after the privations of the war. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Somalis truly began to be developed as a breed. The Aby is highly popular, but the Somali is less well known.
