The Abyssinian is one of the oldest known breeds of cat and there is some uncertainty as to its history. The Abyssinian resembles the cats shown in Ancient Egyptian sculptures and papyruses. Science has so far not been able to determine the exact origin of the Abyssinian.

The first mention of the Abyssinian cat is in a British book by William Gordon Staples (Cats: Their Points and Characteristics) published in 1874 accompanied with a coloured lithograph of an Abyssinian cat that was brought into the UK at the end of the war.

It states that the wife of a Captain Barret-Lennard, while in Abyssinia, acquired a female cat called 'Zula', which she took back to England with her following the Abyssinian Campaign of 1867-68

The Zula in the picture did have a ticking in its fur but looked otherwise nothing like today's Abyssinians The name "Abyssinian" is not related to its believed origins but the fact that the first Abyssinian exhibited in England was reported to have been imported from Abyssinia.

There are no further records tracing today's Abysinnian to cats imported into the UK at that time and there is some opinion that today's Abysinnian was created through crossings of various breeds in the UK.

However studies carried out by geneticists show that the Coast of the Indian Ocean and parts of South East Asia are the most likely origin of the Abysinnian cat and the Leiden Zoological Museum in Holland has an exhibit of a stuffed Abysinnian purchased in 1833-1834 labeled "Patrie, domestica India".

In contrary to popular believe it is very unlikely that the Abysinnian is a direct descendent of the Egyptian from the time of the Pharaoh's.

The African yellow cat which was found in both Abyssinia (current Ethiopia) and the Egyptian Nile Delta does have the same build as the Abysinnian but it does not have the distinctive ticking in its fur. On almost all of the very small number of remaining ancient Egyptian color drawings of cats we find a yellow cat with a tabby pattern in its fur. We must not forget that the time of the start of the cat fancy in England with the 'Crystal Palace Show', was also the time of the great Egyptian excavations. Everything with an Egyptian look was high in fashion and worth a fortune. It is therefore not so strange that the Abysinnian who closely resembles the statue of the Egyptian Goddess Bast has become surrounded with some kind of an Egyptian mystery. The Abysinnian is intelligent, alert and active - a cat that likes to be busy. The Abysinnian likes people but is independent and will try to dominate the household.

The overall impression of the ideal Abyssinian is a medium cat, regal in appearance. The Abyssinian is foreign shorthair in type. Males proportionately larger than females, the female being finer boned and usually more active than the male. The Abyssinian shows firm muscular development and is lithe and panther-like in activity showing a lively interest in all surroundings. The coat of the Abyssinian has an iridescent quality reflecting warmth of color giving the impression of a colorful cat. Coat pattern is genetically a form of agouti ticking with even, dark-colored ticking contrasted with lighter bands giving a translucent effect. The Abyssinian is of sound health and vigor, well-balanced physically and temperamentally gentle and amenable to handling.