Colors of Abyssinian cats: varieties, definition, choice

Abyssinian is one of the oldest cat breeds. It was brought to England from Ethiopia in the 19th century, and in 1900 American breeders brought it to the United States. The ancestors of these royal animals lived on the territory of ancient Egypt, where they were revered as the earthly embodiment of the goddess Bastet. Pharaohs and nobles decorated their tombs with images of graceful Abyssinians. The cult of the goddess Bastet fell into decay many centuries ago, however, the Abyssinian cat does not lose popularity today.

The Abyssinian cat has a graceful appearance: a slender, moderately muscular body, large almond-shaped eyes, large pointed ears, and a graceful long neck. But one of its main differences and advantages is its color. Each hair of her fur coat is dyed simultaneously in several colors - this color is called ticking or zonal. Each villus has at least 4 color segments, where there are dark and light shades.

Ticking is a kind of "visiting card" of the Abyssinian cat. The representatives of this breed got such an unusual coat due to genetics, thanks to the agouti gene "A", which prevails in the genotype of these cats.

The structure of the coat of the Abyssinian cat is solid and smooth, the fur coat is close to the body, shines and shimmers in the sun. The length of the coat is short, the whole body is colored evenly, there can be no pattern on the legs, tail or muzzle.If you stroke the Abyssinian against the growth of the coat, then the undercoat will become visible. As a rule, it is one or more shades lighter than the leading shade. Too few ticking segments are considered a deviation from the breed standard.

In Abyssinian cats, the "firm" color appears with age. So, the kitten's coat seems faded and expressionless, but over time, the baby acquires a bright coat typical for its breed. Despite the fact that the coat of an adult cat should not have patterns, the presence of white spots on the chin or collar area is acceptable. The following signs may be a reason for suspension when participating in an exhibition:

• the difference between the base color of the coat and the color of the paw pads;
• ring stripes on the tail and legs;
• dark spots on the face;
• a coat of a cold shade, insufficiently saturated, with a predominance of gray.

The first abyssinian cats of wild (Ruddy) color were brought from Ethiopia. Until 1963, he was the only Abyssinian color that received official status. Despite the name, wild-colored cats are friendly to humans, playful and outgoing like regular pets. The Ruddy color got its name from the fact that Abyssinians look exactly like that in their natural habitat.

The sandy color served as an ideal camouflage for the wild predator in the conditions of the Ethiopian steppes and savannahs.

Listed below are the standards that a classic wild Abyssinian cat must meet.

• The ticking color palette is represented by a composition of different shades - from ocher to orange-brown and dark brown... The shades are distributed as follows: the undercoat is orange-ocher, the middle segments may include orange-brown, chocolate-black, and the tip is intense black. The abdomen and the back of the tarsi are evenly carrot-colored. The paws are brown with a reddish tint, and a darkened stripe is visible along the spine, having the maximum intensity of the leading color shade.

• The Abyssinian's nose is terracotta-colored and has a black-brown cut... The paw pads can be dark brown or black, they must be combined with the main color. A pronounced gray tint on the pads for the wild color of the Abyssinian is one of the clear signs of deviation.

• Ruddy's eye color is mostly golden, however, there are cats with walnut-ocher or even emerald eyes. These eye shades are also acceptable for Abyssinian cats, although they are extremely rare. The eyes, like the nose, have a dark rim, which gives the wild Abyssinian a special expressiveness. Kittens have blue-blue eyes from birth, but their color changes with age. So, upon reaching about 10 weeks, the eyes of a young Abyssinian acquire their permanent shade.

So, in the color of the fur coat, nose and paw pads of wild Abyssinian cats, shades of gray are unacceptable. You will recognize a bright representative of the classic color by the uniformly colored golden brown wool.

Fawn (ABY p) is the latest of the generally accepted colors of Abyssinian cats. After registering with the CFA Cat Fanciers Association in 1989, it received official status. Today this amazing color is considered one of the rarest, since only recessive genes are involved in its formation.Thanks to this feature, experienced breeders, by crossing wild Abyssinians with representatives of the fawn color, test the genotype of the carriers of the wild color.

Absolutely all kittens in the litter will wear the color of the wild parent if the dominant gene participated in its formation... The birth of kittens with a faun color is possible only if both the cat and the cat are carriers of the recessive gene. Abyssinians have girls born several times less often than boys. Well, the faun girl is an even rarer and therefore valuable phenomenon. So, below are the main features inherent in fawn Abyssinian cats.

• Wool shades range from champagne to pinkish cream to milky coffee. The ticking is zoned as follows: the undercoat is milky beige, the middle segments include pinkish cream and coffee shades, and the tips are intensely chocolate colored. It is important that the undercoat is not overly white. The belly and the inside of the paws are colored ivory. On the back, a rich pinkish-beige stripe runs along the entire ridge, and the tip of the tail takes on the maximum intensity of the main tone. The fawn color is most pronounced when the kitten reaches the age of several months, namely after the first change of coat.
• Fauns have a coral nose with terracotta cut. The paw pads are pale pink, and between them you can see a beige fluff with a pinkish tint.
• The color of the iris of the eyes in representatives of the faun color is emerald, but more often ranges from copper to golden hue.

Thus, the Abyssinians of fawn color outwardly resemble miniature lionesses. They are given out only by an elegant structure - long thin legs and neck, large ears and large, relative to the size of the muzzle, eyes.

In 1984, the British Administrative Council of Cat Fanciers recognized and registered the blue (ABY a) color of Abyssinian cats. Its amazing bluish-silver color has won over many breeders. This is the only official color that features a cool palette of shades. Blue Abyssinians are quite rare, this is due to the fact that most of the breeding specialists prefer cats of classic wild and sorel colors.

In the countries where Abyssinian cats were first bred, there are practically no catteries specializing in breeding representatives of the blue color.

Below are the main criteria that must be met by blue Abyssinian cats.

• The color palette of the fur coat ranges from light gray to gray-blue and dark gray. The ticking zoning is distributed as follows: the undercoat is a delicate pinkish-apricot shade, the middle of the hair is colored in dark gray tones, and the tip is an intense gray-blue color. The underside of the paws and belly have acquired a warm peach coloration with pinkish notes. A darkened area of ​​bluish color with a blue tint is visible along the vertebral ridge.
• The nose of blue Abyssinians is gray with a blue tint or coffee-coral, has a dark cut... The paw pads are lilac with a pinkish tint, between them a delicate bluish downy fluff can be traced.
• The color of the iris of the eyes is emerald, golden, copper, ocher. With any of these options, the representatives of the blue color will have it as bright as possible.

So, you will recognize the color of a blue Abyssinian cat by its external resemblance to a tailcoat: a uniform gray-blue tint covers the crown, back, sides and tail. While the lower part is painted in lighter colors.

The sorel color (ABY o) of the Abyssinian cat was officially recognized as the oldest British felinological organization in 1963. Until the early 80s, it was called red.Such an amazing fiery copper color went to the Abyssinian thanks to the efforts of British breeding specialists.

Below is a detailed list of distinctive features that must correspond to the Abyssinian Sorel cats.

• This color includes the largest color range.... The color palette of wool varies from delicate apricot and caramel red to reddish brown and chocolate shades. The ticking is zoned according to the following pattern: the undercoat is bright apricot, the middle part of the hairs is colored terracotta and orange-coral, and the tip is chocolate colored. The belly and the back of the legs are peach-colored. A terracotta stripe is visible along the vertebral ridge, and the tip of the tail is coffee. Sometimes the representatives of the Sorel color have a white chin, which smoothly turns into the base shade.
• The nose of the Abyssinian is orange-pink with a terracotta cut. The paw pads are pink, with a dark coffee-colored fluff found between them.
• Eye color is golden, copper, emerald or ocher... Any of the possible options will be expressed as clearly as possible.

Thus, you can easily recognize the representative of the Abyssinian Sorel breed by the incredibly bright fiery red color of the coat. Sometimes they have a light edging around the eyes, making the look even more expressive.

See below for more details.