Somali Cat

With its beautiful coat of many colors, the agile Somali is enjoying a roller coaster ride to fame and popularity. It makes a delightful and entertaining pet. Did you know that the name Somali was chosen for this cat because of its close relationship to the Abyssinian. Somalia and Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia) are next door neighbors.

History

A longhaired version of the Abyssinian, the Somali was developed from longhaired kittens that appeared in the litters of Abyssinians carrying the gene for long hair. Somalis, conversely, never produce shorthaired kittens. The Somali Cat Club was founded in 1972 and recognition for championship showing was soon gained from the now defunct National Cat Fanciers Association. Somalis are now accepted for championship showing in all USA association and are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world, although not all of the glorious coat colors are accepted for show purposes.

Description

The medium long body is lithe and graceful with strong, well developed muscles. The rib cage is rounded and the back is slightly arched, which makes it look as if the cat is about to spring. Its structure strikes a balance between cobby and svelte.

The head is a modified, slightly rounded wedge, without flat planed, the brow, cheek and profile lines all showing a gentle contour. The almond shaped eyes are large, brilliant and expressive, either gold, green or hazel, with deeper shades preferred. They are accented by dark lids and above each eye is a short, dark vertical stroke, dark horizontal strokes continue from the upper lid toward the ear. The large, moderately pointed ears are broad and cupped at the base. They are medium set toward the back of the head. The inner ear should have horizontal tufts that reach nearly to the other side of the ear and tufts on the tips of the ears are desirable.

The legs are in proportion to the torso and the oval feet are small, with tufted toes. The paw pads vary with the coat color. The tail has a full brush, is thick at the base and tapers to a slender tip. The double, medium length coat is very soft, extremely fine and the denser the better. It does not mat, but should be combed regularly to remove dead hair. Preference is given to those cats with a ruff and britches, giving a full coated appearance. Any white must be confined to the upper throat, chin or nostrils.

Varieties

The Somali comes in red, ruddy, blue and fawn. The hair is ticked everywhere, except on the underside of the body, but the ticking is not fully developed until the cat is about 18 months old. Each hair may have as many as three distinct bands. The chest, inside of the legs and belly must be clear of markings. A faint broken necklace, although not desirable, is acceptable. A dark unbroken necklace would cause disqualification in a show specimen.

Temperament

Intelligent, extroverted and very sociable, the Somali has a zest for life, loves to play, and thrives on human companionship. It likes to spend time outdoors and may be restless if confined. It has a soft voice, but is not usually very local.

The Somali is the semi longhaired version of the Abyssinian cat. Although the Abyssinian is a shorthaired breed, semi longhaired kittens have occasionally appeared in their litters over several decades.

In the United States it was eventually realized that a new breed was appearing spontaneously. The long fur was the result of a naturally long established recessive gene within the breeding population.

The Sorrel Somali is rather paler than the Usual as the basic apricot is ticked with cinnamon rather than black. White the adult shoes full coloring, it is not uncommon for a kitten to show greyish roots, and this is quite acceptable if you are showing a youngster.

It may have been introduced via ticked tabby cats of unknown parentage in the breeding program. These cats would have been introduced to sustain the breeding viability of the early Abyssinians, for the gene pool was extremely restricted at the turn of the century, a state of affairs that lasted well into the 1920s and 1930s.

The Blue Somali is attractively marked in a soft blue overlying a pale mushroom undercoat. With its fur lying flat along the back, the coat of the Somali should be distinctly longer around the neck, hindquarters and ont he tail – as this Blue Silver shows.

Any fluffy Abyssinian kittens were initially regarded as below standard and banished to pet homes. Then an American breeder discovered that a longhaired Abyssinian at a humane society home had actually been sired by her own stud cat. The stud was tried out again to see if a consistent line of semi longhairs could be produced, and the Somalis were established during the 1960s. Because of its Abyssinian or Ethiopian connections, the breed was named after the nearby African country of Somalia.

An example of the Usual – or original color – with an undercoat overlaid with rich golden brown and each hair tipped with black.

The coat pattern of the Somali is quite distinctive; it is ticked with three two color bands of color on each hair. The color combinations now bred range from the traditional, or Usual, Black and Sorrel Cinnamon to Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Fawn, Red and Cream. There are also Tortoiseshell and Silver variations.

The ideal Somali is a beautifully balanced cat of medium build. Its body is firm, lithe and muscular with long legs and a long, bushy tail. It has tufts of fur between its toes. Ears are tufted, too, and are set wide apart, prominent and pricked. The head is slightly pointed and well contoured.

The Somali’s foreign ancestry is evident in its pointed face and almond shaped, slanting eyes. Ideally, the eyes are beautifully defined by a dark outline surrounded by a ring of light fur.

Although not quite as outgoing as its Abyssinian relations, the Somali is not a cat that is suited to being confined indoors. It is a charming and striking animal, with a bright eye, alert and fix like cheeky demeanor.

In recent years, silver variations of the breed have been introduced. This Fawn Silver Somali (silver undercoat ticked with fawn) is quite rare.

A Brief Information On Somali Cats!

Fun loving, active, loveable and loyal, that’s what a Somali cat is. If you are a cat lover and looking for some quality real cat breeds then you have come to the right place. This post is all about the techniques to buy a good Somali breed without any trouble or problem. These cats are very affectionate and always have the tendency to stay put with their owners all the time. So, if you are fun loving and love to spend time with cats then this Somali breed is for you. You can read the whole article to learn the behavior, characteristics and appearance of this cat.

A lot of people are interested to know more about the origin of this cat because of its awesome behavior and appearance. History reveals that this semi long haired cat breed was first emerged in Abyssinian era but it went viral due to the dedication and devotion of many breeders all around the world including Australia, England and America. Only because of the great devotion by these cat breeders in various countries, Somali cat breed spread so quickly. The best part is the acceptance and registration of Somali breed all around the world. This cat is highly accepted by a large group of people without any hesitation.

Appearance And Colors Of Somali Cat:

Somali breed is a middle-sized athletic physique active cat with many features that you ever imagined of. This cat is present in many forms including long haired, short haired and small sized form that really grabs the attention of cat lovers easily. The weight of male Somali cats is ranges from 4 – 5 KGs and their females are a bit smaller in size and weight. Moreover, you can see the marking of M on their forehead that really gives an artistic look to them. Not all the cats have the tabby markings on their forehead so if you are not inspired by these markings there are a large variety of other Somali breeds with more distinctive colors and fur.

If you are in Australia then you can adopt four types of Somali cats that are Tawny, Cinnamon, Blue Silver And Fawn Silver. All of these cats have a special appealing feature and color of fur that can be breathtaking for the cat lovers.

Personality of Somali Cat:

Somali cats are bright, loving, intelligent and quick when it comes to spend time with their partners and owners. I bet, owning a Somali breed will be your best thing in life because of the live and care this cat gives to its master. Even though they are famous cat breeds but these cats love to play fetch with their owners. The only thing that may be different from other cats is its unique nature that they don’t love to sit on laps. Other than that, these Somali cats are a great family pet and they can give pleasure and mental satisfaction to the family members with their cuddling and love.

I am sure that this information on Somali cat will be enough for you guys to buy it without giving a second thought.

Somali Cat Colors And Patterns

Usual – rich gold brown, apricot ticked with black

sorrel – apricot ticked with cinnamon

chocolate – apricot ticked with dark brown

blue – mushroom ticked with blue

lilac – mushroom ticked with lilac

fawn – mushroom ticked with fawn

Also Red, Cream, six Tortie colors and Silver versions of all these colors.

Somali Cat Breed Information

coat – soft, fine, dense, lies flat along the spine

eyes – almond shaped, slanting, outlined with a darker surround, amber, hazel or green, the richer and deeper the better

other features – smiling expression

grooming – easy if done regularly

temperament – intelligent, lively, alert, interested, may be shy, freedom loving (must not be confined indoors)