 | This article possibly contains original research .(June 2016) |
| Somali | |
|---|---|
 A ruddy Somali Cat | |
| Common nicknames | Fox cat; long-haired Abyssinian |
| Breed standards | |
| CFA | standard |
| FIFe | standard |
| TICA | standard |
| ACF | standard |
| ACFA/CAA | standard |
| CCA-AFC | standard |
| GCCF | standard |
| Domestic cat (Felis catus) | |
The Somali cat is genetically similar to the Abyssinian cat. Due to inheriting 2 copies of the recessive gene for long hair, they have a characteristic luscious coat, unlike their cousin the Abyssinian.
In the 1940s, a British breeder named Janet Robertson exported some Abyssinian kittens to Australia, New Zealand and North America. Descendants of these cats occasionally produced kittens with long or fuzzy coats. In 1963, Mary Mailing, a breeder from Canada, entered one into a local pet show. Ken McGill, the show's judge, asked for one for breeding purposes.
The first known long-haired Abyssinian, named 'Raby Chuffa of Selene', appeared in North America in 1953. Breeders assume that the long-haired gene was passed down through his ancestry. Most breeders were appalled by the sudden difference in appearance in their litters and refused to mention them. However, some breeders were intrigued and continued to breed the long-haired Abyssinian. At first, other Abyssinian breeders looked down upon the new development of the Somali and refused to associate them with the Abyssinian. They worked hard to keep the long-haired gene out of their own cats. [1]
An American Abyssinian breeder Evelyn Mague also received longhairs from her cats, which she named "Somalis". Mague put out a call for other cats to breed with her own long-haired Abyssinians and found the many other breeders internationally that had been breeding long-haired Abyssinians for several years already. [1] Don Richings, another Canadian breeder, used kittens from McGill, and began to work with Mague. The first Somali recognized as such by a fancier organization was Mayling Tutsuta, one of McGill's cats. In 1979, the breed was recognized by the CFA in North America. [2] The new breed was accepted in Europe in 1982. [3] By 1991, the breed was broadly (though not universally) accepted internationally. [4] [ verification needed ]
The name "Somali" is in reference to the African nation, Somalia. Somalia borders Abyssinia, which is modern day Ethiopia. The name of the breed is a unique interpretation of the Ethiopian-Somali conflict; Mague charitably assumed that since the land borders were a human creation, so are the genetic borders between the Abyssinian cat and the long-haired Abyssinian. [1]
Mague also founded the Somali Cat Club of America, which included members from Canada as well. The SCCA worked to grant the breed championship status by the CFA, which occurred in 1979. In 1975, the CFA founded the International Somali Cat Club. [1]
Somalis are recognised for their energetic and social nature. Their appearance with sleek bodies, long tails, and large pointed ears have earned them the nickname of "Fox Cat." Their ticked coats contain between four and twenty colours on each hair are very fine in texture making their coats softer to the touch than those of other cat breeds. The cat itself is medium-large in size. [5] [6] Within the GCCF, short haired Somalis are recognised separately from Abyssinian cats. [7]
All Somali cats have a ticked tabby pattern. The usual or ruddy coloured Somali has a golden brown ground colour ticked with black, so the official genetic term is black ticked tabby. The coat colour names in Somalis refer to the ticking colour. There are 28 colours of Somali in total although certain organisations accept only some of these colours. All organisations that register Somalis permit usual (genetically black, a.k.a. ruddy or tawny in Somalis), blue, sorrel (genetically cinnamon, a.k.a. red in Somalis), and fawn. Most clubs also recognise usual/ruddy silver, blue silver, sorrel/red silver, and fawn silver. Other colours that may be accepted by some registries include chocolate, lilac, red, cream, usual-tortie, blue-tortie, sorrel-tortie, fawn-tortie, chocolate-tortie, lilac-tortie, and silver variants of these (e.g. blue-tortie silver).
The Somali cat is usually healthy, with few breed-related health issues, though some problems may occur. These include gingivitis, tooth decay, and renal amyloidosis, which are also seen in many other breeds of cats. Renal amyloidosis (often called RA) is a condition in which there is a deposition of the protein amyloid in various tissues which hinders that part of the body's normal functioning. [8] Other problems that are prevalent in most cat breeds, the Somali included, are feline infectious anemia (FIA) and autoimmune-mediated hemolytic anemia (AIHA). [1] Some AIHA-related diseases are inherited erythrocyte disorders, such as pyruvate kinase deficiency and osmotic fragility.
Recently found in cats has been myelodysplasia. It is normally known to affect humans but was recently found in a litter of Somali kittens. Like AIHA, myelodysplasia causes anemia and is speculated to be the cause of anemia in Somalis in the past. [9] [10]
Somalis may also have hereditary retinal degeneration due to a mutation in the rdAc allele. This mutation is also seen in Abyssinians, Siamese cats, and other related breeds. [11]
The British Shorthair is the pedigreed version of the traditional British domestic cat, with a distinctively stocky body, thick coat, and broad face. The most familiar colour variant is the "British Blue", with a solid grey-blue coat, pineapple eyes, and a medium-sized tail. The breed has also been developed in a wide range of other colours and patterns, including tabby and colourpoint.
The Siamese cat is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. Derived from the Wichianmat landrace, one of several varieties of cats native to Thailand, the original Siamese became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America in the 19th century. Siamese cats have a distinctive colourpoint coat, resulting from a temperature-sensitive type of albinism.
The Australian Mist is a breed of cat developed in Australia. It is a cross between the Abyssinian cat, the Burmese cat, and the Australian Tabby cat. The Australian Mist has a distinct and unique coat pattern hence the name.
The Ocicat is an all-domestic breed of cat which resembles a wild cat but has no recent wild DNA in its gene pool. It is named for its resemblance to the ocelot. The breed was established from the Siamese and Abyssinian and later on American Shorthair would be added.
The Birman, also called the "Sacred Cat of Burma", is a domestic cat breed. The Birman is a long-haired, colour-pointed cat distinguished by a silky coat, deep blue eyes, and contrasting white "gloves" on each paw.
The Burmese cat is a breed of domestic cat, originating in Burma, believed to have its roots near the Thai-Burma border and developed in the United States and Britain.
Tonkinese is a domestic cat breed produced by crossbreeding between the Siamese and Burmese. Members of the breed are distinguished by a pointed coat pattern in a variety of colors. In addition to the modified coat colors of the "mink" pattern, which is a dilution of the point color, the breed is now being shown in the foundation-like Siamese and Burmese colors: pointed with white and solid overall (sepia).
Cat coat genetics determine the coloration, pattern, length, and texture of feline fur. The variations among cat coats are physical properties and should not be confused with cat breeds. A cat may display the coat of a certain breed without actually being that breed. For example, a Neva Masquerade could wear point coloration, the stereotypical coat of a Siamese.
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The Oriental Shorthair is a breed of domestic cat that is developed from and closely related to the Siamese cat. It maintains the modern Siamese head and body type but appears in a wide range of coat colors and patterns. Like the Siamese, Orientals have almond-shaped eyes, a triangular head shape, large ears, and an elongated, slender, and muscular body. Their personalities are also very similar. Orientals are social, intelligent, and many are rather vocal. They often remain playful into adulthood, with many enjoying playing fetch. Despite their slender appearance, they are athletic and can leap into high places. They prefer to live in pairs or groups and also seek human interaction. Unlike the breed's blue-eyed forebear, Orientals are usually green-eyed. The Oriental Longhair differs only with respect to coat length.
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The Singapura is the smallest breed of cat, noted for its large eyes and ears, ticked coat, and blunt tail. Reportedly established from three "drain cats" imported from Singapore in the 1970s, it was later revealed that the cats were originally sent to Singapore from the United States before being exported back to the US. Investigations by the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) concluded that no wrongdoing had occurred and the Singapura kept its status as a natural breed.
The Burmilla is a breed of domestic cat, that originated in the United Kingdom in 1981. It is a cross between the Chinchilla Persian and Burmese cats. In certain cat registries the breed falls under the Asian group, and is sometimes referred to as the Asian Shaded. Standards were produced in 1984, and the breed gained championship status in the United Kingdom in the 1990s.
The Chantilly-Tiffany or Chantilly/Tiffany, also known as the Chantilly or the Foreign Longhair, was a breed of domestic cat which originated in the late-1960s in North America. The Chantilly breed never got off the ground and has always been rare. It was near-extinction in the late-1980s and again in the late-2000s. Since 2015 the breed was considered extinct with the passing and neutering of the last two cats of Chantilly lineage, and with no intact Chantilly cats the inevitable resulting discontinuation of the breeding program. However, new sightings of the Chantilly have been reported in the United States, disproving their extinction classification.
The Colorpoint Shorthair is a variety of Siamese cat. The only major registries to recognise them are the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) and the World Cat Federation (WCF). This breed was established from breeding American Shorthairs with the Siamese to produce different point colors, beyond the four standard Siamese colors.
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The Asian or Asian group, is a cat breed similar to the European Burmese but in a range of different coat colours and patterns. Long-haired Asians of all varieties are called Tiffanies. Asians are grouped in section 5 (Burmese) by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy.
The Abyssinian is a breed of domestic short-haired cat with a distinctive "ticked" tabby coat, in which individual hairs are banded with different colors. They are also known simply as Abys.
The Persian cat, also known as the Persian Longhair, is a long-haired breed of cat characterised by a round face and short muzzle. The first documented ancestors of Persian cats might have been imported into Italy from Khorasan as early as around 1620, however, this has not been proven. Instead, there is stronger evidence for a longhaired cat breed being exported from Afghanistan and Iran from the 19th century onwards. Widely recognised by the North-West European cat fancy since the 19th century, and after World War II by breeders from North America, Australia and New Zealand. Some cat fancier organisations' breed standards subsume the Himalayan and Exotic Shorthair as variants of this breed, while others generally treat them as separate breeds.
The Balinese is a long-haired breed of domestic cat with Siamese-style point coloration and sapphire-blue eyes. The Balinese is also known as the purebred long-haired Siamese since it originated as a natural mutation of that breed and hence is essentially the same cat but with a medium-length silky coat and a distinctively plumed tail.
| Authority control databases: National |
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