No breeder is on record here yet. Portugal’s FIFe member club pages this breed but no member has registered under it.
Medium-sized, elegant cat with long ticked coat and bushy tail. Longhaired version of the Abyssinian.
Developed from longhaired kittens appearing in Abyssinian litters. First bred intentionally in the 1960s. Named for Somalia, neighbor to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Called 'fox cat' for its bushy tail.
Typically 3.6-5.4 kg and 25-30 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
Generally described as mischievous, tenacious, intelligent, affectionate, gentle, interactive, loyal and active.
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.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. The Cat API; UC Davis VGL — PK deficiency test; FIFe breed standard. 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.
FIFe standard · Somali
As the FIFe standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Extremely fine and very dense.
Texture very soft to the touch.
Medium length, except on the shoulders, where it can be a little shorter.
Shortened from FIFe standard SOM — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the Somali in general; any individual animal can differ.
Known hereditary risks for the Somali 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.
3 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)An inherited, untreatable form of blindness. Affected kittens have normal vision at birth that degenerates from around seven months old, with most cats fully blind by three to five years.
What to ask for
PRA-rdAc (CEP290) DNA test on both parents, showing an N/N (clear) result
A second, genetically distinct and more severe form of inherited blindness found in Abyssinian and Somali. Affected kittens show retarded retinal development and are blind by around seven weeks old, much earlier than the rdAc form.
What to ask for
PRA-Rdy (CRX) DNA test on both parents, showing an N/N (clear) result — a separate test from PRA-rdAc, since a cat can be clear of one and carry the other
An inherited haemolytic anaemia, documented in Somali and its parent breed Abyssinian, causing intermittent lethargy, weakness, jaundice and weight loss with unpredictable onset and severity.
What to ask for
PK deficiency DNA test on both parents, showing an N/N (clear) result
This is where Somali 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.
No Somali breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.
