The Abyssinian cat is often believed to be descended from the sacred cats of Egypt (I know for a fact that my cats believe that!). There is some evidence that a certain Mrs Barret-Lennard, wife of an army captain, brought Zulu, her cat, into Britain from Abyssinia in 1868. However, recent genetic evidence points to the origin of the Abbys to be from the coast of the Indian Ocean. However, it is one of the oldest recognised breeds and was refined in the UK. The first Abbys to be imported into the US was in the early 1900.

What does the Abby look like:
It is a medium sized cat with lithe muscular body. The coat is well-ticked and close-lying. The head is gently rounded and quite wide between the ears. The ears are large, and have ear tufts (unlike most domesticated cats). There is a slight nose break. The almond shape eyes are set apart, large and arched in an oriental setting. The colour of the eyes is a deep shade of amber, green or hazel. The colour of the Abby is Usual (rich golden brown ticked with black), Sorrel (copper ticked with chocolate), Blue, Fawn, and Silver (and a variation of these).

Character:

Active, friendly, intelligent and curious. Often exhibiting an almost dog-like behaviour (sorry cats). They often bond to one particular person. They can get easily bored and then depressed if not stimulated. This can lead to neurotic behaviour.

Some famous Abbys
Cinnamon: First cat to have its entire genome published http://genome.wustl.edu/genome.cgi?GENOME=Felis%20catus

Links:
http://www.computan.com/~klawrenc/abys/