Somali cat

The Somali is a special kind of cat. It has very long, soft hair. This hair makes it look like a little fox.

These cats are very active. They also love to be with people. They have long tails and big ears.

Most Somalis have a gold and black coat. Each hair has many colors on it. This makes their fur feel very fine.

These cats are not seen very often. They are a rare breed.

They are fun and social pets.

The Somali is a special breed of cat. It looks like a little fox. This is because of its sleek body and large ears. Somalis are very social and active. They have long tails and soft fur. Their hair is very fine to the touch.

These cats have a special coat. We call this a ticked tabby pattern. This means each hair has many colors on it. A hair can have four to twenty colors! Most Somalis are golden brown with black marks. This color is called ruddy. There are 28 colors in total. Some clubs also allow colors like blue or cinnamon.

Somalis are related to Abyssinian cats. They have long hair because of a recessive gene. A gene is a part of a cat that passes traits to its babies. Long-haired Abyssinians first appeared in North America in 1953. A cat named Raby Chuffa of Selene was one of the first. Breeders named them Somalis after the nation of Somalia.

Somalis are a rare breed. In 2024, only 230 kittens were registered by one group. They can have health issues like pyruvate kinase deficiency. This is a problem with how the body works. They can also have eye problems.

The Somali is a special kind of domestic cat. Many people call it the "Fox Cat." This is because of its sleek body and large ears. These cats are very social and energetic. They have long tails and a very soft coat. Their fur feels much softer than many other breeds. This is because their hair is very fine.

This cat has a very interesting way it works. They have a pattern called a ticked tabby. This means each single hair has many colors. One hair can have between four and twenty colors on it! Most Somalis are a golden brown color. This color is often called ruddy. The black marks on the fur are called ticking. There are 28 different colors for this breed. Some groups allow colors like blue or cinnamon too.

Somali cats are related to Abyssinian cats. They have long hair because of a recessive gene. A gene is a part of a cat that passes traits to babies. In the 1940s, Janet Robertson sent kittens to new lands. These cats later had babies with fuzzy coats. The first known long-haired Abyssinian appeared in 1953. His name was Raby Chuffa of Selene. Most breeders were shocked by this new look at first.

Breeders worked hard to name and group these cats. Evelyn Mague was a breeder from the United States. She called the long-haired cats "Somalis." This name comes from the nation of Somalia. Somalia is a country that borders Ethiopia. In 1975, the CFA started the International Somali Cat Club. The breed gained championship status in 1979. It was accepted in Europe by 1982. By 1991, the breed was known all over the world.

Somalis are still a rare breed today. In 2024, one large group had only 230 registered kittens. This was about 0.2% of all their kittens. These cats can also have some health problems. One is called pyruvate kinase deficiency. This comes from a change in a gene called PKLR. They can also have eye problems. These eye issues are caused by a mutation in the rdAc allele. This same eye issue can happen to Abyssinians and Siamese cats too.

The Somali cat is a specific pedigree breed of domestic cat. It is genetically very similar to the Abyssinian cat. The main difference is the length of the fur. Somalis possess a luscious, long coat. This happens because they inherit two copies of a recessive gene for long hair. This gene makes them look different from their Abyssinian cousins.

Physically, the Somali is a medium-large cat. It is known for having a sleek body and a long tail. They also have large, pointed ears. These features have earned them the nickname "Fox Cat." Their coat is very fine in texture. This makes their fur feel softer than many other cat breeds. The coat features a pattern called a ticked tabby. In this pattern, each individual hair contains between four and twenty different colors.

There are many colors and patterns within the breed. All Somali cats have the ticked tabby pattern. A common color is called ruddy. This is a golden brown ground color ticked with black. The official genetic term for this is black ticked tabby. There are 28 total colors for the Somali. Most registries permit black, blue, cinnamon, and fawn. Some also allow these colors to be combined with silver. Other registries might accept chocolate, lilac, red, or cream.

The history of the breed began with the movement of Abyssinian cats. In the 1940s, a British breeder named Janet Robertson exported kittens. She sent them to North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Over time, descendants of these cats produced kittens with fuzzy or long coats. The first known long-haired Abyssinian appeared in North America in 1953. This cat was named Raby Chuffa of Selene. Breeders believe the long-haired gene was passed down through his ancestry.

Initially, the arrival of long-haired kittens caused much disagreement among breeders. Many were appalled by the sudden change in appearance. They refused to mention the long-haired kittens. Some breeders even worked hard to keep the long-haired gene out of their lines. However, others were intrigued. Evelyn Mague, a breeder from the United States, began calling these cats "Somalis." She reached out to other international breeders to find others working with long-haired Abyssinians.

The name "Somali" refers to the African nation of Somalia. This country borders Abyssinia, which is modern-day Ethiopia. Mague chose this name as a unique interpretation of the Ethiopian-Somali conflict. She believed that since land borders are human creations, genetic borders can be too. The breed began to gain official recognition through organized clubs. The CFA founded the International Somali Cat Club in 1975. Mague also started the Somali Cat Club of America. The breed achieved championship status with the CFA in 1979. It was accepted in Europe in 1982.

Somalis remain a relatively rare breed in the global cat population. In 2024, statistics from FIFe showed the breed ranked 25th out of 54 breeds. It made up only 0.2% of their total registered kittens. This number represents only 230 cats.

There are certain health considerations for the breed. Somalis are commonly affected by pyruvate kinase deficiency. This condition is caused by an autosomal recessive mutation of the PKLR gene. They may also face hereditary retinal degeneration. This is caused by a mutation in the rdAc allele. This specific eye mutation is also seen in Siamese cats and Abyssinians.