- 2 or 3 bands of colour on each hair with dark tips for preference.
About the Abyssinian
Origin: Egypt
- Typical life span
- 14-17 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 3.6-5.4 kg
- Height
- 25-30 cm
- Registry status
- Recognised by TICA
- Breed group
- Short-haired
- Origin
- Egypt
- Known hereditary risks
- 6 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a Abyssinian?
Medium-sized, elegant cat with a distinctive ticked coat pattern giving a wild appearance. Known for its athletic build, almond-shaped eyes, and highly active, curious personality.
Abyssinian history and origins
One of the oldest known cat breeds, believed to have originated in the coastal regions of the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. The breed was developed in Great Britain from cats imported from Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in the 1860s.
Abyssinian appearance and size
Typically 3.6-5.4 kg and 25-30 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
Abyssinian temperament and personality
Generally described as active, energetic, independent, intelligent, gentle, curious and playful.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
Breed reference from The Cat API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 2 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 6 conditions documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Abyssinian
What you get with the Abyssinian
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Short, fine and close lying. Resilient to the touch.”
- Commonly described as: “Active, Energetic, Independent, Intelligent”
What you are taking on
- 4 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in eyes and kidneys & urinary. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FIFe breed standard; The Cat API; UC Davis VGL — PRA rdAc (CEP290) test. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FIFe standard · Abyssinian
Coat and colour
As the FIFe standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Short, fine and close lying.
Resilient to the touch.
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FIFe’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FIFe standard ABY — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Temperament
ActiveEnergeticIndependentIntelligentGentleCuriousPlayful
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the Abyssinian in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Abyssinian
Known hereditary risks for the Abyssinian breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
6 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Bones & joints
Patellar luxation
Monitor
A dislocating kneecap that produces a bow-legged or knock-kneed gait and can worsen over the cat's first one to two years. Abyssinians are named as one of the breeds with rising reported incidence, alongside Devon Rex and Chartreux.
What to ask for
No DNA test exists — ask for a veterinary orthopaedic exam (kneecap palpation) on both parents
Protruding sternum
Monitor
An outward or inward bend in the lower chest bone. It is seen mostly in oriental-bodied breeds but is also documented, less often, in Abyssinians. Outward protrusion is typically harmless; an inward one can press on the chest cavity and needs veterinary assessment.
What to ask for
No DNA test exists — ask for a veterinary chest exam noting sternum conformation, on both parents
Eyes
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA rdAc, CEP290)
Serious
An inherited late-onset retinal disease: affected kittens see normally at birth, but photoreceptor degeneration begins around seven months of age and most cats are blind by three to five years old. There is no treatment, so a breeding cat's genotype is the only way to know a kitten's risk before it is sold.
What to ask for
UC Davis VGL PRA rdAc (CEP290) DNA test result, on both parents
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA Rdy, CRX)
Serious
A separate, rarer and more aggressive inherited blindness in the same breed: affected kittens already show retinal degeneration by seven weeks old. It is inherited as a dominant trait, so a single copy of the mutation causes disease, unlike the more common rdAc form.
What to ask for
UC Davis VGL PRA Rdy (CRX) DNA test result, on both parents
Kidneys & urinary
Renal amyloidosis
Serious
A kidney disease in which insoluble protein deposits build up in the kidneys, usually appearing in young adults and sometimes progressing to kidney failure within a year of diagnosis. It is well documented as prevalent specifically in this breed, but despite extensive study the mode of inheritance has not been established, so there is no DNA test.
What to ask for
No DNA test exists — ask for the breeding line's known family history of kidney disease, and recent urinalysis/kidney bloodwork on the parents
Blood
Erythrocyte pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency
Serious
An inherited haemolytic anaemia caused by low activity of the pyruvate kinase enzyme in red blood cells. Onset and severity are variable — some cats have intermittent lethargy and weight loss, others become jaundiced — so a clear DNA result is the only way to rule it out before breeding.
What to ask for
UC Davis VGL PK deficiency DNA test result, on both parents
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Abyssinian owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Kittens
No kittens listed right now
That is not the same as none existing. Publishing a litter is part of a breeder's subscription here, so a Abyssinian breeder can have a litter and no listing — ask them directly.
See Abyssinian breeders