Colors of Abyssinian cats: varieties, definition, choice

Abyssinian - one of the oldest cat breeds. She was brought to England from Ethiopia in the 19th century, and in 1900, American breeders brought her to the United States. The ancestors of these royal animals lived on the territory of ancient Egypt, where they were revered as the earthly incarnation 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 in our days.

The Abyssinian cat has a graceful appearance: a slender, moderately muscular body, large almond-shaped eyes, large pointed ears, and also a graceful long neck. But one of its main differences and advantages is the color. Each hair of her fur coat is painted 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 "calling card" of an Abyssinian cat. Representatives of this breed got such an unusual coat because of genetics, thanks to the agouti gene "A", which prevails in the genotype of these cats.

The structure of the hair of the Abyssinian cat is solid and smooth, the fur coat is adjacent to the body, glistening and shimmering in the sun. The length of the coat is short, the whole body is colored evenly, and there can be no pattern on the legs, tail or muzzle.If you stroke the Abyssinian opposite the growth of wool, then the undercoat will be visible. As a rule, it is one or several tones lighter than the leading shade. Too few tick ticks are considered a deviation from the breed standard.

In Abyssinian cats, the “signature” color appears with age. So, the kitten’s hair seems faded and inexpressive, but over time, the baby acquires a bright fur coat typical of its breed. Despite the fact that the hair of an adult cat should not have patterns, the presence of white spots on the chin or collar zone is acceptable. The following symptoms may be a reason for removal from participation in the exhibition:

• the difference between the base color of the coat and the color of the paw pads;
• ring strips on the tail and legs;
• dark spots on the face;
• fur coat of a cold shade, not saturated enough, with a predominance of gray.

The first from Ethiopia were brought Abyssinian cats of wild (Ruddy) color. Until 1963, he was the only color of the Abyssinians to receive official status. Despite the name, cats with a wild color are friendly to humans, playful and sociable like ordinary pets. The color Ruddy got its name due to the fact that in their natural habitat Abyssinians look that way.

Sand coloring served as a wild predator an ideal disguise in the Ethiopian steppes and savannahs.

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

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

• Abyssinian nose painted in terracotta color, has a black-brown cut. 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.

• The color of the eyes of the representatives of Ruddy color in most cases is golden, however, cats with eyes of hazel-ocher or even emerald color are found. Such eye shades are also acceptable for Abyssinian cats, although they are extremely rare. The eyes, like the nose, have a dark outline, which gives the look of the wild Abyssinian special expressiveness. Kittens have blue-blue eyes from birth, but their color changes with age. So, after reaching about 10 weeks, the eyes of the 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 evenly colored golden brown wool.

The color of the faun (ABY p) is the latest of the common colors of Abyssinian cats. After registering with the CFA Cat Lovers Association in 1989, he received official status. Today this amazing color is considered one of the rarest, since only recessive genes are involved in its formation.Due to this feature, experienced breeders by crossing wild Abyssinians with representatives of the Faun color test the genotype of wild color carriers.

Absolutely all kittens in the litter will have the color of a wild parent, if a dominant gene was involved in its formation. The birth of kittens with the colors of the fauns is possible only if both the cat and the cat are carriers of the recessive gene. Among Abyssinians, girls are born several times less often than boys. Well, a girl of the Faun breed is even more rare, and therefore a valuable phenomenon. So, the following are the main features inherent in the Abyssinian cats of the fauna color.

• Shades of wool range from champagne to pinkish cream and milky coffee. A ticking is zoned as follows: the undercoat has a milky beige color, the middle segments include pinkish-cream and coffee shades, and the tips are painted in intense chocolate color. It is important that the undercoat is not too white. The abdomen and the inside of the paws are painted in a shade of ivory. On the back, along the entire ridge, there is a saturated pinkish-beige strip, and the tip of the tail has assumed the maximum intensity of the main tone. The color of the faun manifests itself in the greatest way when the kitten reaches an age of several months, namely, after the first change of the coat.
• The faunas nose is coral 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 of the faunas is emerald, but more often varies in the range from copper to golden tint.

Thus, the Abyssinians of the fauna color resemble miniatures in appearance. Only their graceful structure gives them out - long thin paws and neck, large ears and large eyes with respect to the size of the muzzle.

In 1984, the British Governing Body of Cat Lovers recognized and registered the blue (ABY a) color of Abyssinian cats. Its amazing bluish-silver shade conquered many breeders. This is the only official color in which a cold palette of shades is presented. Blue Abyssinians are quite rare, this is due to the fact that most of the breeding specialists prefer classic wild cats and light color cats.

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

Listed below are the main criteria that blue Abyssinian cats must meet.

• The color palette of a fur coat varies in the range from light gray to gray-blue and dark gray. Zoning of a tick is distributed as follows: the undercoat is a delicate pinkish-apricot hue, the middle of the hair is painted in dark gray tones, and the tip is of an intense gray-blue color. The back of the paws and belly got a warm peach color with pinkish notes. Along the spine, a shaded area of ​​a bluish color with a blue tint is visible.
• 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 fluff is traced.
• The color of the iris is emerald, golden, copper, ocher. With any of these options, representatives of the blue color will be as bright as possible.

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

The color Sorel (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 breed breeding specialists.

Below is a detailed list of distinctive features that must be matched by Abyssinian sorel cats.

• This color includes the largest color range.. The color palette of wool varies from pale apricot and caramel red to red brown and chocolate shade. A ticking is zoned according to the following pattern: the undercoat is bright apricot, the middle part of the hairs is terracotta and orange-coral, and the tip has a chocolate color. The abdomen and the back of the legs are peach in color. A terracotta strip is visible along the spine, and a tip of the tail is coffee. Sometimes the representatives of the color litter have a white chin, which gradually turns into a basic shade.
• Abyssinian nose is orange-pink with terracotta cut. The paw pads are pink, between them there is a fluff of a dark coffee shade.
• Eye color is golden, copper, emerald or ocher. Any of the possible options will be expressed as brightly as possible.

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

See below for more details.