The Foxy Somali Cat

The Somali cat is a beautiful cat with a full ruff and bushy tail that gives it a wild look. This is a breed that is prone to go from sleeping to racing through the house playing within minutes.

A medium sized cat with medium length soft, silky coat they need little grooming to stay in good condition. Their coat is an agouti with bands of color on each hair, giving a unique look to the four recognized colors of ruddy, red, blue and fawn. Their eyes may vary from green to copper and they will have tufts of hair between their toes.

This is a cat that for all their charm is not for the faint of heart. They are intelligent cats who can figure out how to turn on faucets, open cabinets and drawers and hide in areas you would not expect. They are apt to toss toys in the air and bounce sideways playing. They’ll communicate with soft voices and epitomize the enjoying life that we humans don’t always follow. They thrive on companionship from people, they love to play with anything that can appear to be a toy and they are endlessly entertaining in their antics.

The Somali cat as compared to other breeds have smaller litters and mature slowly, reaching full size at a year and a half. They are typically easy to handle with a good disposition. Alert and eager to experience life the standard of perfection gives 30 points to the color of that beautiful coat. The head and body get 25 points each while the coat itself gets 20. they can be crossed to an Abyssinian as an acceptable outcross.

The ruddy color is a deep sienna brown color ticked with darker brown or black. The red is a rich color ticked with chocolate while the blue is shaded blues with a light color on the inside of the legs and underside of the body that is a peachy color. Fawns are the only other recognized color with a lighter surface color ticked with shades of light brown. The overall affect of these colors is a beautiful cat that seems to change color slightly from different angles.

They can be mischievous and ready for anything at any time. Their color stands out but their lively personality endears them to anyone with an open lap. Some that learn to turn on faucets will actually play in the water.

The Somali cat is a ‘cousin’ to the Abyssinian, evolving as an unwelcome recessive gene producing the longer hair unwanted in the Aby breed. Due to the low numbers of Abyssinians left after World War II there might have been other breeds introduced and, as the short haired gene is dominant, a short hair to short hair could produce long haired kittens if both carried a “covered up” gene for it. Initially these beautiful kittens were given away as pets as if to make them disappear.

Thankfully, they were developed into the Somali, saving these beautiful cats by creating a new breed and standard.