Abyssinian Cats

As said in the front page, the word “Abyssinian” refers to Ethiopia, but we believe that Abyssinian cats originate from Egypt. Recent genetic research suggest that this breed originated around the coast of the Indian Ocean where most trading between colonists took place.

Many people believe that the breed originated from Egypt due to the recent research. There are stories floating about saying Abyssinian cats originated from a female Egyptian kitten named Zula-which was taken from a port in Egypt by a British soldier to England. The story of Zula is pretty well known, especially around Abyssinian cats’ communities around the world. We cannot confirm whether the story is true or not, but the first Abyssinian cat was listed in 1882 though stories say that Abyssinian cats were around for a few thousand years as they are in ancient paintings.

Records show that the first Abyssinian cats arrived in North America from England in the early 1900′s, but it was in the late 1930′s when the top quality, well bred Abyssinian cats were exported from the Great Britain to form what we call today as the “American breeding programs.”