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SOMALI
The Somali is medium sized cat. Their body is elegant but muscular. They have long, slim legs and medium sized, oval shaped paws. The tail is long, thick in root and thin at the end, when you don't put attention to their fluffiness. It is striking, bushy tail, which, combined with their ruddy coat, has earned them the nickname of "fox cats" in some circles. They have beautiful shaggy coat, fluffy „trousers“ or breeches and exaggerated ear tufts. Their coats are ticked, which is a variation on tabby markings, and some Somalis may show full tabby stripes on portions of their bodies, but this is seen as a flaw, and tabby Somalis are only sold as neutered pets. The only tabby marking on a show Somali is the traditional tabby 'M' on the middle of the forehead. Like Abyssinians, they have a dark rim around their eyes that makes them look like they are wearing kohl , and they have a small amount of white on their muzzles and chins/throats. White elsewhere on their bodies disqualifies them from show-status.
ORIGIN: The breed appeared spontaneously in the 1950s from Abyssinian breeding programs when a number of Abyssinian kittens were born with bottle-brush tails and long fluffy coats. The name Somali is given after Somalia , a country next to Ethiopia (formerly known as Abyssinia ) to emphasize the breed similarity to Abyssinian. At first registries did not want to recognize the breed because it was believed that Abyssinian was crossed with some longhaired breed. Now is known that Abyssinian can carry a gene for longhair for generations. Since this gene is recessive, they always breed true. Kittens of two Somalis will always be Somali.
Other links: FBRL ACFA WCF CFA CCA
