Somali

The Somali is a cat breed created from long-haired Abyssinian cats. The breed appeared in the 1950s from Abyssinian breeding programs when a number of Abyssinian kittens were born with bottle-brush tails and long fluffy coats. Abyssinians and Somalis share similar personalities — intelligent, playful, curious — however Somalis are more relaxed and easygoing than the more active Abyssinians. The body type and markings of the two breeds are similar, however the fur length of the Somali requires more grooming than the Abyssinian. Unlike most long-haired cats, Somalis shed very little... excess hair. Their coat is generally shed en masse, or "blown", once or twice a year, rather than constantly shedding like a Persian or other long-haired cat. 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.
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