History of the Abyssinian

According to lore, Abyssinians were once owned by the Egyptian pharaohs, but some people claim they were developed in Britain by selective breeding of silver and brown tabby cats.

Since their mysterious premiere at the Crystal Palace Cat Show in 1871, genetic testing has determined that Abyssinians likely developed somewhere along the Indian Ocean's coastal regions and parts of southeast Asia. A taxidermied cat with the Aby's ruddy color and ticked markings at the Leiden Zoological Museum in the Netherlands supports this theory; the stuffed cat is thought to have hailed from India.

Many believe Abyssinians were given their name because Zula, the cat displayed at the 1871 Crystal Palace Cat Show, was allegedly imported from Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia). Variations in the coat color and markings are likely the result of Abys breeding with other domesticated cats.

American cat fanciers began to import Abyssinians in 1900 but didn't start breeding programs until the 1930s. During this time, many cats were exported from Britain to the United States, which was fortunate because the breed was nearly wiped out in Europe during World War II.

Since then, Abyssinian populations have grown rapidly, and they've become one of the most popular cat breeds in the world. The Cat Fanciers’ Association ranked the breed the 7th most popular breed for 2023.

In pop culture, an Abyssinian was featured in the 1978 Disney movie, The Cat from Outer Space.

‍