Abbysinian

The first Abyssinians were brought to Britain from Ethiopia by the British soldiers; as a breed it was registered in 1874.
      Abyssinian is a medium sized, muscular, slender bodied, short haired cat with characteristically ticked coat. Each of the orange-brown hairs is marked with two or three dark bands. The darkest of the bands is is the one nearest the tip of the hair. Head slightly wedge-shaped, with large ears and almond-shaped eyes. Soft, dense fur. Long, tapering tail. There is a long-haired variant of this breed, recently developed from it, called the Somali.
     The humans, who like the breed, characterize the cat as intelligent, affectionate, gentle, graceful, sinuous, energetic, companionable, friendly, fearless, quiet, active, playful, alert, fast, sun worshipping. It is lithe and pantherine in its movements, requires considerable freedom and dislikes close confinement.
Those who do not like the breed give the following negative characteristics: difficult to handle, undisciplined, introverted, shy and cautious.
Color Forms:
CFA: Ruddy (Ruddy Brown or Burnt Sienna), Red (Sorrel, Cinnamon or Russet), Blue, Fawn.
GCCF: Usual (Ruddy, Ruddy Brown or Burnt Sienna), Sorrel (Red, Cinnamon, Russet), Chocolate, Lilac (chocolate-dilute), Blue, Fawn (sorrel-dilute), Red, Cream, Sorrel Tortie, Chocolate Tortie, Blue Tortie, Lilac Tortie, Fawn Tortie, Sorrel Silver, Chocolate, Blue Silver, Lilac Silver, Fawn Silver, Red Silver, Cream Silver, Sorrel Tortie Silver, Chocolate Tortie Silver, Blue Tortie Silver, Lilac Tortie Silver, Fawn Fawn Tortie Silver.
 
 

Abbysinian Cat Clubs:
Abyssinian Cat Association (ACA) - address: Danum, Fields Road, Chedworth, Glos., GL54 4NQ, England.
Abyssinian Cat Club (ACC) - publishes 6 month magazine, Papyrus. address: Alwyne, 15 Cramhurst Lane, Whitley, Surrey, GU8 5RA, England.
Abyssinian Cat Club of America (ACCa) - address: 4060 Croaker Lane, Woodbridge, VA 22193, USA

My Friend Mike

Abbysinians are shy. It's usually, the first thing about them you notice, so how they managed to produce Mike is still a mystery. Mike is my best friend, an Abbysinian, the wildest cat on the block and someone you wouldn't want to cross. He has a home, well-bred cats generally do, but his supporting staff's attempt to qualify him in a cat show were a complete failure as soon as he scratched the examiner, bit his servant and ran off towards the female cats' area. Mike isn't neutered because he's dead against it. Most cats are (I'm not going to discuss this but "Give me liberty or give me death" comes close to our view). 
        Once Mike decided to become a working cat in a neighboring restaurant but was disgusted with humans when he was fired after he had caught and meticulously arranged the carcasses of exactly 36 dead rats on one of the tables.
       He went on to working in a botanic garden, keeping birds away, but was also kicked out after a few rare and particularly soft plants began wilting for some inexplicable reason (inexplicable that is until someone caught Mike relieving himself on them).
       Mike decided to try barn catting (which is basically protecting farmers' stores) but there was no one who agreed to drive him to the closest farm. Basic vermin hunting was also a failure.
       In the end he told me this and I remember his words well, although a lot of them are obscene:
       "Humans are blind [impolite noun]s, one day they're gonna [impolite adjective] well regret the [impolite adjective] day they told me to [impolite verb] off."

Further reading for Abyssinian lovers:
Abyssinian Cat (Popular Cat Library) by Judah Track.
Guide to Owning an Abyssinian Cat by Judah Track.
This is the Abyssinian Cat by Kate Faler.
Abyssinians by Ruth Cooke-Zimmermann.

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