Abyssinian: Cat Food and a Description of the Breed
The Abyssinian cat is one of the oldest pedigree cats in the world. The intelligent animals prove to be extremely curious and tend to be very close to their owners. Thanks to their pleasant nature, the Abyssinian cat enjoys great popularity with many cat owners.
History of the Abyssinian cat
Even if its name indicates it, the Abyssinian cat does not come from the East African empire of Abyssinia, which was located on the present territory of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Instead, it is assumed that its ancestors came from the rainforests of Southeast Asia and that it probably descended from the Falcon Cat.
The breeding of the Abyssinian cat known today began in the second half of the 19th century. The first mention of the breed in the British cat book dates back to 1874. The official recognition as an independent cat breed took place in 1882 and the breed standard of the Abyssinian cat was established in 1889. This makes it one of the oldest cat breeds at all, besides the Persian and the Siamese cats.
At the beginning of the 20th century the Abyssinian cat finally reached North America, where it was recognized as an independent cat breed by the American CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) in 1911. In Germany, however, the first Abyssinian cats were not registered until 1933.
Like many other breeds, the Abyssinian cat almost disappeared from the scene during the Second World War. Since the 1970s the population has slowly recovered. But the Abyssinian cat still cannot keep up with the spread of breeds like the Maine Coon or Siamese and Persian cats.
Appearance of the Abyssinian cat
The appearance of the Abyssinian cat reminds of wild cats. Sometimes they are even called miniature pumas. The physique of the Abyssinian cat is slim and muscular. It has long legs and small oval paws.
Males reach a weight of 3.5 to 5 kilograms and female Abyssinians weigh 2.5 to 4 kilograms. The medium-sized animals have a slightly wedge-shaped head and a rather long, slender neck.
The widely spaced ears of the Abyssinian cat are very large in relation to its head and occasionally have tufts of hair that resemble a lynx. The large, almond-shaped eyes are either green, amber or nut brown.
The coat of the Abyssinian cat
The Abyssinian cat has a short, dense coat with little undercoat. Apart from the dark eel line on its back, it is the so-called ticking which gives the coat its characteristic appearance.
The term ticking means a dark banding on the individual hairs, which gives the coat a great shimmer. In the Abyssinian cat the back, the flanks, the head, the outer sides of the legs and the tail are ticked.
The rest of the body is coloured exclusively in the basic colour of the animal. The breed standard of the Abyssinian cat allows the coat colours blue, sorrel and fawn as well as wild colours. White markings on the nose and chin are permitted.
Character of the Abyssinian cat
The Abyssinian is a very active cat, which appreciates sporting activities. At the same time she is happy about regular strokes. However, she does not prove to be as cuddly as many a typical lap cat.
Furthermore the Abyssinian cat is very curious and observes its human roommate with great interest during all kinds of activities. It gets along just as well with dogs as with children, with whom it likes to play persistently.
Keeping and care of the Abyssinian cat
If you are interested in buying an Abyssinian cat, you should definitely consider the high urge to move of the breed. Since it needs comparatively much occupation and company, the Abyssinian cat is only conditionally suitable for working people. Furthermore it is advisable to keep it together with at least one conspecific.
It is possible to keep the cat only indoors, as long as there are enough offers of employment in the form of climbing possibilities and suitable toys. If the local conditions allow it, the Abyssinian cat is of course also happy about a cat-safe garden, where it can romp around and go on a discovery tour.
The coat of the Abyssinian cat is very easy to care for. Occasional brushing is quite sufficient to remove loose hairs and to support the coat care of the four-legged friend.
Abyssinian cat diseases
Abyssinians are robust cats that remain quite active until old age. Inbreeding proves to be a problem in some cases.
There are also different hereditary diseases:
- Renal Amyloidosis (RA)
- Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
- Pyruvate kinase deficiency (PK)
The life expectancy of the Abyssinian cat
Abyssinian cats from a serious breeder normally reach an age of 12 to 15 years.
The right food for the Abyssinian cat
With regard to its nutritional needs, the Abyssinian cat proves to be relatively uncomplicated. However, you should be aware that inferior food can have serious consequences for the health of your cat in the long run and can, for example, favour feed intolerances.
In order to avoid this, cat food from I love my cat is the right choice. Our range consists exclusively of high-quality products with natural ingredients and a high content of animal proteins from meat, fish or insects.
In addition, both our wet cat food and our dry cat food are free of cereals and other inferior ingredients. So you can be sure that the nutritional requirements of your Abyssinian cat are optimally covered and that your four-legged friend will tolerate his new food well.
Additionally we recommend to supplement the diet of your Abyssinian cat with the following products, if necessary:
- I Love My Cat Dental Powder for effective dental care
- Shiimun Immune as natural support for the defences of your Abyssinian cat
- I Love My Cat Kidney Power to promote the detoxification function of the kidneys
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