Historia y Salud / History and Health
Breed History
Due to the loss of many Abyssinians during World War II, cats of unknown background were used to rebuild the breed and it is likely that cats carrying the recessive longhair gene made their way into the breeding population then. The introduction of the longhair gene may be much earlier as of the 12 cats registered in 1905 by the National Cat Club, all had at least one parent of unknown origin. Some though believe that the longhaired Abyssinians were the result of a spontaneous mutation rather than an expression of the recessive longhair gene.
The first Somalis were longhairs that appeared in litters of Abyssinian kittens. In the 1940s, a British breeder named Janet Robertson exported some normal Abyssinian kittens to Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Descendants of these cats occasionally produced kittens with long or fuzzy coats, and in 1963, Mary Mailing, a breeder from Canada, entered one into a local pet show. Ken McGill, the show's judge, asked for one to breed from. Despite popular belief, the cat is an Australian breed, not Somalian. The official first Somali was Mayling Tutsuta, McGill's cat.
An American Abyssinian breeder, Evelyn Mague, also received longhairs from her cats, which she named Somalis. Don Richings, another Canadian breeder, used kittens from Ken McGill, and began to work with Evelyn. As of the late 1970s, the Somali was fully accepted in North America, then later in the 1980s they were accepted in Europe. By 1991 the breed was accepted worldwide.
The first Somalis were longhairs that appeared in litters of Abyssinian kittens. In the 1940s, a British breeder named Janet Robertson exported some normal Abyssinian kittens to Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Descendants of these cats occasionally produced kittens with long or fuzzy coats, and in 1963, Mary Mailing, a breeder from Canada, entered one into a local pet show. Ken McGill, the show's judge, asked for one to breed from. Despite popular belief, the cat is an Australian breed, not Somalian. The official first Somali was Mayling Tutsuta, McGill's cat.
An American Abyssinian breeder, Evelyn Mague, also received longhairs from her cats, which she named Somalis. Don Richings, another Canadian breeder, used kittens from Ken McGill, and began to work with Evelyn. As of the late 1970s, the Somali was fully accepted in North America, then later in the 1980s they were accepted in Europe. By 1991 the breed was accepted worldwide.
Genetic problems
In the 1990s, many purebred Somalis had significant dental problems due to congenital problems magnified by inbreeding. As a result, many Somali cats had to have all their adult teeth removed. (Dental abscesses, especially below the gumline, can cause cats to stop eating, which often leads to hepatic lipidosis, a condition that's often deadly.) As of 2006, the CFA breed standard makes no mention of this, and breeders say they've made much progress in breeding out this unfortunate trait.
The Somali breed along with its parent breed the Abyssinian have been found to suffer from Pyruvate kinase deficiency (PKDef), with around 5% of the breed carrying the defective gene. There is now a genetic test to identify this recessive disorder within the breed, and as such all breeding stock should be tested to ensure no more affected kittens need be produced. A hereditary eye disease PRA (Progressive Retina Atrophy) was found from many abyssinians in Finland in 1979-80. As a result the breeders started actively testing their breeding cats for PRA and nowadays the disease is well under control and new cases are rare. Many breeders also test their cats for Patella Luxatio, which occurs occasionally. Otherwise, somalis and abyssinians are quite healthy breeds. |
Aby variant
As somalis are a fairly young breed, abyssinians are still allowed to be used for somali breeding. Aby variants are cats born from a mix somali-abyssinian couple and they can only be used for somali breeding.
Description above from www.catsofaustralia.com, the Wikipedia article Somali cat and www.somakiss.net