- The Somali is a longhaired Abyssinian, originating
as an undesirable product of a recessive gene in the Abyssinian cat. In
early years, the Somali was not held in high regard; Abyssinian breeders
were appalled to find these fuzzy kittens popping up in their litters,
especially after all the hard work they had put into line breeding to "fix
type," working with their imported English Abys. These longhaired kittens
were petted out or otherwise "swept under the carpet," and many Aby breeders
refused to even admit having them.
In 1963, CCA Allbreed Judge Ken McGill was asked to judge a show in
Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a practical joke, Aby breeder Mary Mailing
put a longhaired Aby in the cage amongst the class of Abys. Ken took out
the cat, looked down to describe how the cat fit the standard, and was
surprised to see the longhaired Aby in his hands. The exhibitors had a
good laugh, but Ken was so taken with this beautiful cat that he asked
Mary for one to breed. With this cat, Ken founded the oldest Somali line
in Canada.
About the same time in the United States, Evelyn Mague began working
with Somalis, after finding that two of her Abys carried the longhair gene,
Lynn-Lee's Lord Dublin and Lo-Mi-R Trill By. She and a friend had bred
the two and produced a dark fuzzy kitten. Before Evelyn knew it, her friend
had given the kitten away. Evelyn had been working with an animal welfare
group, Cat Placement, and one day received a call from a woman who had
developed an allergy to her cat. She brought it to Evelyn to place, and
Evelyn found it to be the most beautiful cat she had ever seen. "George"
turned out to be the very same longhaired kitten from the Lord Dublin x
Trill By litter that had been given away. From that time on, Evelyn worked
diligently for recognition and development of the Somali breed. Evelyn
had the distinct honor of naming the breed with a bit of humor. Since some
Aby breeders saw the Somali as an unwanted interloper, she picked a name
of equal stature to the one derived from Abyssinia - she chose to call
them Somalis after Somalia, the ancient neighboring country of Abyssinia.
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written permission.
Article © 1993 by Bethany T. Tod, Tadofa
Somalis. Copied with permission.
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