Abyssinian Cat Names, Cat Names of Abyssinian Breed, Page 9

The Abyssinian's name is misleading. "Abyssinia" is the old name for Ethiopia, which is where the first show-exhibited Abys happened to come from in the late 1800s — but DNA evidence collected since has placed the breed's actual genetic origin in the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, particularly around the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. CFA records the geography directly: "the name only indicates that the first Abys who were exhibited at shows in England happened to be imports from Ethiopia." TICA agrees — the romantic Egyptian-mummy lineage stories are not supported by genetic research.

The breed's documented show debut was Zula, an Abyssinian who placed at the Crystal Palace cat show in 1871 — the same Harrison Weir exhibition that founded the modern cat fancy. CFA registered the breed as one of its founding 1906 cohort. GCCF recognition followed in 1929. The defining trait is the ticked coat: every individual hair carries 4 to 6 alternating bands of color, producing an iridescent shimmer in sunlight. Standard colors are ruddy, cinnamon, blue, and fawn.

The temperament is what TICA calls "the cat of the dog world." Abyssinians are intensely loyal, intensely curious, and rarely still — CFA describes them as "busy, active, agenda-driven." They are not particularly talkative, but greet humans with what GCCF calls "a lovely 'chirrup.'" They do not tolerate solitude well; many owners keep two Abys.

Choosing a name for an Abyssinian asks a question first. Do you honor the breed name (Abyssinia → East African names like Selam, Dawit, Solomon, Ras), or its DNA (coastal-Indian and Southeast Asian names like Bengal, Asha, Indra, Java)? Or do you honor the breed's documented show history — Zula, after the 1871 Crystal Palace winner? Each direction is honest; the breed itself does not pick.