Discourse
on Abyssinians and Somalis
in
Connection with the FIFé Annual Meeting on 28 May 1989
Translated from
German by Christine Megens, Bidadari cattery, Canada
Scanned,
OCR’d & “tidied up” by George Kennedy, Nile cattery, Australia
{Click on any of the icons below to get the corresponding full-screen illustration}
Introduction
To supplement the
following discourse, I will start by giving the judges and breeders involved a
detailed basis for this discourse, as it is certainly impossible to go into
extreme detail on each subject.
First
of all, I would like to explain to you my basic point of view regarding both
breeds. I am of the opinion that we are basically dealing with one and the same
breed (which history has proved, since Somalis are descended from Abyssinians).
Thus I cannot understand why different standards exist for both breeds, as well
why these breeds, to a certain extent, are judged differently. We urgently need
a decisive change in the standard for both breeds, with a difference regarding
coat only.
During
the past few years, both breeds have developed a multitude of colours, often
created by hybridisation. The result of this was that type, which was not all
too uniform to start with, became even more diversified, and the tendency of
both coat types to become increasingly dissimilar cannot be ignored.
I
have the clear impression that breeders as well as judges feel equally uncertain
regarding this, and I believe that this is the reason why we see so many rather
contrasting opinions regarding the type of this breed.
My
general observation is that the quality of the Aby has improved, whereas the
Somali still has faults which are, generally, no longer apparent in the
Abyssinian. Certainly, this is due to the serious breeders who, through years of
breeding, contributed to the fact that the quality of the Aby is high compared
with other breeds.
Unfortunately,
this positive tendency is less often apparent in the Somali, and the few
breeders who have been seriously working with this breed, have not been able to
alter the overall appearance. Somali breeders are much more often
“fly-by-nights”, who want instant success (in whichever shape or form), and
quickly give up when they realize that one show winner does not make a
successful breeding program, and that breeding is more exerting, laborious and
time-consuming than anticipated. Patience, work and the ability to plan ahead
seem to be unknown qualities in most.
Only
a handful have been able, after breeding many generations, to create solid
breeding stock with its own recognizable “look”. Especially Somali breeders,
albeit in small numbers only, have been able to develop a view all their own
regarding their breeding goal. Those few are prepared to take detours into the
bargain (e.g. by crossing to high quality Abys) to help the breed go another
step forward. The goal of most breeders, however, is to appear on stage with
their own cats, and they cannot be bothered with a generation of
“non-winners”. Not enough distinction is made between valuable breeding cats
and show stoppers ready for the big time. Unfortunately, experience shows that
the former is needed to produce thee latter. And, also unfortunately, the
combination of various show stoppers seldom produces offspring that are equally
successful, just as it is almost impossible to clone a superb cat.
Contrary
to the opinion of most Somali breeders, I feel that a successful Somali breeding
program is only possible by crossing to good quality Abys, which broadens the
gene pool as well. I can disprove the argument that this will harm the length of
the Somali coat. Who wants to see Somalis with a lavish coat such as that of a
Maine Coon or a Norwegian Forest cat anyway? Health problems attributed to the
Aby are carried by Somalis in the same fashion, and could, due to a limited gene
pool, develop regardless.
In
the past Abys and Somalis were bred and judged rather superficially. In contrast
with most breeds, type (head as well as body type) were the least important. It
seems that nowadays, at least as far as the Aby is concerned, type is becoming
more important. For example, when Mr Rettenmund held his judge s seminar in 1987
in Zurich, that was the first time, to the best of my knowledge, that the
Aby’s type was discussed in depth.
Unfortunately,
this change of attitude has not affected the Somali yet, and one can only advise
breeders to keep the subject of type in mind when the next step in the breeding
program is taken.
I
would like to discuss body and head type next, and only then to discuss colour
and coat, and I wish to stress again that I am discussing these breeds together,
since I do not, as already mentioned, accept a different standard for each of
these breeds. I urge the judges’ committee to change and unite the two
standards.
Body
Type
The current Somali
standard demands a medium to large sized cat, where the Aby standard speaks of a
medium size. I would prefer the term “medium size”. Large, to me, is a Maine
Coon, a British Shorthair or a Norwegian Forest Cat, but riot an Aby or Somali.
The body should be firmly muscular and hard. The total picture should be
graceful and sleek, perfectly elegant and winsome. How the body should be
proportioned has not been described anywhere. I visualise the ideal Aby to
resemble roughly an imaginary square, when drawing an imaginary parallel line
from the shoulder to the hips, and an equally long line from the shoulder down
to the paw pads. The back should be straight, although a slight rise towards the
back quarters is quite acceptable. Because of this imaginary square, a cat with
a long body and comparatively short legs (rectangular) does not fit this norm.
Nowadays
we see, of course mostly cats with a slight tendency towards the rectangular
shape, and that is acceptable, as long as the legs are sufficiently long and
elegance is not lost or suffering because of it. The breed can be subdivided
into three main body types:
1.
The quite massive, stocky type, with firms legs and large, often round, feet,
broad chested and often too long in the body.
2.
The medium, and actually the most harmonious, type, that combines the required
attributes, elegant and sleek.
3.
The extreme, super elegant type on very slim, long legs, and a slim body that
tends towards the rectangular shape
These
types are all used for breeding, whereas preference should be given to types 1
and 2. Type 1 is not a show cat but could be selectively used for breeding.
The
tail should be long (too long being impossible), broad at the base and tapering
towards the tip.
Regarding
body type, there is, of course, a difference between male, female and kitten.
Males are generally more heavily built, with a broader chest and stronger neck,
musculature. This lessens the impression of elegance, but its look is imposing.
Experience shows that a female has to possess clearly better qualities than a
male in order to win at shows. I believe this is due to the above. Females –
when they have produced a litter or more – often have problems keeping their
slim figures. Such a cat tends to develop a more solid look, the belly is not so
teenage-slim any more, not to mention the belly that tends sag somewhat, and
other such problems that are not so easy to avoid. The observer, will obviously
have to keep all this in mind.
To
judge a kitten for type can be quite difficult. Often, however, the most
extreme, elegant kitten with a “too slim” took, often develop the best body
type. Kittens that display the cute, chubby look often lack the necessary type
later on.
Faults
regarding type include: Coarse, massive type that lacks elegance; legs that are
too short; a tail that is too short (the tail, when measured alongside the back,
in a totally relaxed pose, should at least reach the shoulder blades); a
rectangular shape; a very prominent or hollow chest.
In the sketches showing body type, Illustration (Bild) 1 shows a body that is too long — the legs should be longer. Illustrations 2 and 5 show correct body proportions, elegant with a slight tendency toward the rectangular. Illustration 3 shows the most harmonious type, and illustration 4 a body that, although too long, is still elegant.
Different
body types, all correct, are possible, and the same goes for head types.
Including the ears, it should show a double (equilateral) triangle viewed from
the top as well as, from the front. Contours are gently rounded; angular or flat
contours are not correct.
The
head sits on a slim, elegant neck; males, however, owing to their heavier neck
musculature, may not show this as clearly. Eyes are large, expressive, placed
well apart and almond in shape. Eye colour varies from a bright hazel through
green-gold to green. Deeper shades are preferred.
Ears
are comparatively large, placed well apart, moderately painted, cupped, broad at
the base and slightly pricked forward. Illustration 6 shows the front view of an
adult entire male with correct contours, super ear sent and size; the clearly
visible stud jowls, however, have to be smoothed down to determine the actual
head type.
Illustration
(Bild) 8 shows an approximately 2-year old female with correct contours as well,
although the ears could be set a little wider. Illustration 7 shows the front
view of a cat with the wrong triangle shape; her contours resemble a isosceles
triangle standing on its tip. The ears are narrow at the base, and, owing to the
incorrect width of tie head, give the impression of being placed too close
together.
Illustration
9 shows the correct shape of a male's head without stud jowls, and the same goes
for Illustration 12. Illustration 10 shows the head a kitten that promises
correct contouring and beautiful ear size and set to come. Illustration 11 shows
a somewhat oriental head type, lacking in width of head, but with good size ear
and set.
The
moderately long profile line of the Aby avid Somali, with a slight break at the
point where nose and forehead meet, should be one-third for the length of the
nose and two-thirds for length of forehead, from at the eyebrows up to the base
of the inside of the ear. The forehead itself is slightly arched and the perfect
profile includes a strong chin.
Faults
most often seen regarding profile include a weak chin, flat forehead, a nose
that is too long, too much break or no break at all between nose and forehead.
Illustrations
14, 15, 18 and 20 show varying but correct profiles, and in Illustration 13 the
forehead is too flat and the total length of the head is too long.
Illustration
16 shows a nose that is too long and without sufficient break, a flat forehead
and chin. Illustration 17 gives the impression of a correct profile, but on
closer examination one is able to determine that the nose is too long and the
chin should be stronger. Illustration 19 shows an exceptionally weak chin, and
there is not enough break between nose and forehead.
Illustration
21 shows a wedge that is too long and a flat profile, and the same goes for
Illustration 22 with its oriental profile and flattish chin.
Illustration
23, in closing, shows too strong a break (stop) between nose and forehead; the
nose itself is too long and the chin too weak. Experience has shown that the
greatest problem in breeding for type is to balance the desired, harmonious head
type with the desired, elegant, long-legged and long-tailed body type. Often
long legs and tails go hand in hand with a body and head that are too long.
Where the cat has a well-proportioned head, short legs and tails are not
uncommon.
To
balance the two is not an easy task. Generally, cats that are too oriental with
a head that is too long, also have an inclination toward a pinch.
In
closing, I would like to point out the required facial markings; they should be
strong and intense in combination with the correct colour. It seems that strong
facial markings and excellent ticking, and the desirable black hocks, go hand in
hand. Unfortunately these qualities are also often seen in combination with the
undesirable markings on legs and throat.
Coat
— Quality
The
Abyssinian coat consists of the usual undercoat, topcoat and guard hairs. It is
very dense with lots of substance and resilience, while soft and silky to the
touch.
The
coat is short, but riot super-short like for instance the Siamese coat, and is
not as long, dense and woolly as that of the British Shorthair. It would be
well, however, to guard against a tendency that is becoming quite common: To
prefer a super-short coat that is very close lying and has virtually no
undercoat. At first sight such a cat will have a well-groomed look, and as a
rule it does not need much grooming. Unfortunately, this type of coat often
lacks excellent ticking as well as deep vibrant undercoat colour.
Our
American breeder colleagues are having problems with thin coats nowadays. It
used to be that Europeans were of the opinion that US imports usually had too
much coat. There, too, breeders were selecting for close lying coats with less
undercoat, with the result that in some bloodlines coat is rapidly decreasing in
quality. Now the tendency is again to select for thicker coats to improve coat
quality, but that requires time. It is much better not to let matters go that
far to begin with.
The
Somali is a semi-longhaired cat. Its coat consists of the three basic types as
well: Undercoat, topcoat and guard hairs. The coat should not be as woolly as a
Persian’s; it also has to be silky, glossy, hanging down rather than standing
off. From shoulders to elbow, the coat is shortest, while it is longest on
underbelly, pants and tail. The overall elegant impression should be neither
emphasized nor hidden by the coat. Judges should not put undue emphasis on
overall coat length. Of course there will always be judges and breeders who, in
the case of the Somali, will first look at the length of the coat, even though
this should be done after type, colour, ticking and coat quality have been
judged. The quality of the coat is the deciding factor; it should be soft and
silky — the well-groomed Somali is neither stringy nor greasy, and the coat on
the back exhibits a certain gloss that decreases towards the underbelly where
the coat becomes even softer and a little woollier. Alters show a full coat all
year long; males, depending the season, have sometimes more, sometimes less
coat, and the female coat depends on heat cycles and raising litters.
The
preferred ruff is not too often apparent, and when it is, it is usually on
alters and males that happen to be in full coat.
In
conclusion, it should be added that a cat which is better in the area of type,
ticking and colour, should not be placed second to one who, at that time, has
more coat.
Coat
—Ticking
Ticking
is the Aby and Somali’s most outstanding feature, and thus is one of the most
important. A single hair starts at the base with a coloured zone, which should
be as even as possible. Then a darker band of ticking follows; either black,
brown, blue or dark cream, followed by another coloured zone, and ending with
another band of ticking at the tip. A clear contrast is most desirable. There
are more – although not correct – possibilities. Firstly there is reverse
ticking, where the hair ends in a lighter band of colour and the last band of
ticking is missing. Another possibility is where the hair at the skin starts
with the lightest colour, followed by a slightly darker pigmentation which, at
the tip, ends with the darkest pigmentation.
It
is generally assumed that the Somali with its longer coat should consequently
show more bands of ticking. In my many years of experience not only as a breeder
but also as an observer of this breed, I have never found this to be the case.
Rather, I have found that in the case of the Somali, each zone only becomes
wider, and not an increase in the number of bands of colour [see Illustration
(Bild) 24]. It has been noticed, however, that the Somali needs more time to
develop full ticking. In comparison with the ruddy and blue, the sorrel and fawn
are even slower regarding ticking development. The ticking in the last two
colours does not show as much contrast as ruddy and blue. The reason is possibly
because two warm colours are side by side (dark brown next to apricot, dark
cream next to soft apricot), where on the ruddy and the blue, the contrast is
sharper, and the required bands of ticking are of a colder colour (black and
blue next to dark apricot and apricot).
In
any case, the slower development of the ticking, regarding these colours and
their possible (or impossible) contrasts should be kept in mind while judging.
The same goes for the late-blossoming Somali, where even the ruddy and the blue
require more time.
Coat —Colour
The Aby and Somali
require – except for those colours with silver – first of all a deep base
colour, and ruddies and sorrels must have a glowing shimmer. In the quest to
obtain ever richer colour, the ruddy’s black or bluish black ticking changed
more and more into a dark brown, which logically gives a warmer impression since
black is actually a cold colour. Genuinely black-ticked cats are few and far
between nowadays, and as a consequence, black on the back legs and hocks has all
but disappeared as well.
In
the past, grey roots were a major problem in the ruddy, and ashy orange on the
sorrels. With selective breeding, it has been possible to limit this on certain
parts of the body, but are almost always still apparent on the elbows, and can
be found more frequently on the Somali, on the hips, neck and tail.
More
often than not, these unpleasant marks suddenly and surprisingly appear around
the age of six months, but disappear again as colour and ticking fully develop,
up to the age of twenty months. First a coloured area is noticeable under the
grey, and then the grey disappears slowly. It should be noticed, however, that
after treatment with medication, e.g., antibiotics, reappearance of grey rooting
is not uncommon – all over the body – which later will slowly disappear
again as described above.
Nowadays,
grey roots, through selective breeding, are hardly a problem any longer. Roots
are generally just as colourful as the rest of the coat.
White
spotting is hardly ever a problem, nowadays, and the white on the upper lip,
chin and throat have generally been bred into a clear cream. The judge should
pay particular attention to the upper lip area. If it is snowy white, then
usually this extends to the chin area as well. There are cats, however,
(especially females with their heat cycles and pregnancies) that temporarily
have more white than usual. But generally, the upper lip will not turn white.
There
are two lines of thought regarding the white around the muzzle. One is that it
gives the face a certain pizzazz and that it makes the cat look “wild”. When
one sees a cat without any white at all, one will be able to understand this.
The second opinion is that the lighter areas should be bred entirely out, to be
replaced by the body colour. My own opinion is that these areas should be
neither fully coloured in nor totally white. These areas should be distinctly
lighter than the overall colour, preferably a cream tone.
Equally
unpleasant are markings on the body, especially on the legs and chest. Some
success in eliminating these can be noticed on cats that are lighter in colour.
As soon as the emphasis is back on obtaining good colour, however, markings will
reappear.
When
two cats equal in type, ticking and colour are compared, then the one with the
least markings should be chosen. However, a cat witty superb colour, type and
ticking, but same markings, should not lose to one that has no type nor colour,
but is without markings. I would allocate points for this breed as follows:
50
points for type (including head, body, eyes, ears, tail)
45
points for coat, colour and ticking (equal parts)
5
points for condition and show temperament
The
newer colours like blue and fawn have even more problems with undercoat colour.
Most are very light, almost white, at the roots. The standard demands clear
beige for a blue and clear cream for a fawn, but this, I feel, is not correct.
It should state that the undercoat of a blue should be apricot, and soft apricot
for a fawn. This is genetically possible, and there are cats with this colour
that could be introduced. To reach this goal, it is imperative that we use the
most colourful ruddies and sorrels in a blue/fawn breeding program, and this
would give the added bonus of type improvement since blue and fawn cats hardly
ever display good type. Breeders and judges are uncertain regarding undercoats,
especially of the blue and the fawn.
If
breeders try to convince us that the almost white undercoat is all right on cats
of these colours because it is the easiest to get, then in that case judges
should react accordingly and be consistent. Let’s face it: Do we see a ruddy
or sorrel with grey all over the body or one that is too light in colour receive
a nomination, let alone become Best in Show?
However,
that is happening with blues and fawns despite these faults, and I know that
breeders feel this is perfectly OK. Now that these colours are bred more than
ever, compared with 3-4 years ago, I cannot accept that these cats have not
shown an improvement in this respect. If the breeders are not working on this,
the judges will be forced clarify matters in their show results.
I
remember well the time when the first blues were shown in Germany. First the
judges had a wait-and-see attitude, which was understandable. Then followed the
“new colour bonus” phase, with its nominations and Best in Show wins. Now is
the time to ends this phase as well, and now results should come from these
“advancement wins”. This is, by the way, a natural attitude of judges, to be
cautious first, then to praise a colour or breed highly so as to motivate
breeders, and finally come to the “proof phase”, where breeders demonstrate
an overall improvement in quality. If they have not succeeded, then show results
will decline. The number of breeders, consequently, will also decline, instead
of the same breeders working patiently, with time, thought and lots of work to
reach their goal.
Basically
the same thing happened with silvers. Here, however, other factors played a
part, and these have not made breeding easier. The ideal silver is a cat with a
pure white undercoat, with corresponding ticking plus tip of tail and ears in
black, blue, brown or cream.
Because
of the lacking undercoat colour on blues and fawn, and the often still-visible
colour patches on silvers, it is easy to confuse these two colour groups. To
avoid this, it is imperative to insist on a colourful undercoat on the blues and
fawns.
Ruddy
and sorrel are easier to distinguish. Another problem is the distinction between
sorrel-silver and fawn-silver. There is much variety in the colour of the
sorrel, while on the silvers this is obviously the case as well. It we look at a
sorrel-silver with light-coloured ticking and a fawn-silver with darkish
ticking, differentiating becomes a hard task. The only solution (and this is a
weak solution at best) would then be to note the colour on tips of tail, ears
and paw pads, preferably in good daylight. If these areas have a blue-lilac hue,
then we are likely looking at a fawn-silver. To be- absolutely certain, test
breeding could be done.
The
undesirable colour patches on the silvers could, with selective breeding to pure
silvers, be reduced and the next step would be to improve type with very typey
ruddies, sorrels, blues and fawns; this would expand the gene pool as well.
Because the
undercoat on blues and fawns is still so faulty, it is not advisable to cross
them with silvers. On the other hand, the blues and fawns with the worst colour
undercoats could be helpful in combating patching on silvers. But non-silvers
from these breedings should generally not be used, unless they had such superb
qualities to offer that it would be justified.
In
conclusion, I would like to stress again that the Aby and Somali should be
judged according to one standard for type, colour and ticking only; they differ
only with regards to coat types. In this respect I find it extremely important
that a judge is consistent in his judging, but he has to have ample opportunity
and desire to create his views. I advise breeders to re-evaluate their breeding
programs, to set a breeding goal for themselves, and to follow that route to its
ultimate goal.
Show
results are not necessarily proof of a good breeding program.
This page was last updated on 02-Feb-02
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