Graceful, distinguished by refinement of forms, sculpturally magnificent body of the Abyssinian cat is covered with thin, soft, silky, shiny hair of medium length, each hair of which is painted in two or three colors: at the root – lighter, at the tip – darker. This coat color is called ticking. Reverse ticking, that is, a dark coloration near the root and a lighter end of the hair, is considered a color defect. A triple, more pronounced ticking is preferred. Due to this color, it seems that the cat’s coat is iridescent.
The colors of the Abyssinian cats can be divided into two types: classic colors and silver colors.
Four variants of the classic color of Abyssinian cats: ruddy, sorrel, blue and fawn.
Ruddy – ABY n (earlier it was called “rabbit” because the color is similar to the color of a wild rabbit) is a traditional color for an Abyssinian cat. It is characterized by a uniform ticking of auburn, red-brown and dark brown or black. The back, head, tail, outer surface of the paws are ticked darker, up to black. The chest, belly and inner side of the legs are light brown, auburn, apricot. The paw pads are dark brown or black.
Sorrel – ABY o (red and cinnamon) – a lighter version of the ruddy color. Warm, rich orange-brown color, ticked by the darker color of milk chocolate. Any black hair on sorrel color is considered a fault. The paw pads are dark pink.
Blue – ABY a – blue with beige, light apricot hair is ticked with gray and gray-blue, on the ends of the hair – in a darker slate color. The paw pads are gray-blue.
Fawn – ABY p (“Coffee with milk”) – undercoat and roots of a delicate beige-pink color, ticking form stripes of a darker coffee with milk color and even darker tips of hairs. The paw pads are pink.
White undercoat in blue Abyssinian cats and fauns is considered a disadvantage.
Patterns in the form of stripes or spots are not allowed in the color of Abyssinian cats. Disadvantages of color, depending on the standard, are cold, gray shades in the color of the coat or undercoat, bleached undercoat, stripes in the form of rings on the legs and tail, spots, markings, stripes on evenly colored parts of the body: chest, abdomen, throat and inner surface paws, uneven ticking, markings and stripes, color mismatch of the pads of the paws with the main color, any color other than the four recognized ones.
It is surprising that kittens born, for example, from a Abyssinian cat ruddy color (eumelanin – black) and an Abyssinian cat sorrel color (pheomelanin – red), will not receive a mixed color, but each of their own – either ruddy or sorrel. Moreover, if the parents of the kittens are carriers of light gen color, and their ancestors had such colors as blue or fawn, then there is a possibility that the kittens born from this pair will be owners of a blue color or fawn color. Therefore, for a more accurate prediction of the colors of kittens, it is not enough to see the exterior of the parents – it is necessary to analyze their pedigrees.
In addition to the classic color, Abyssinian cats have a more rare silver color. As well as in the classics, the silver color has four variants:
Silver black – ABY ns 25 (black silver) – silver, white wool ticked with black ticking. There is a darker shade on the back. The tip of the tail, the pads and up to the hock are pure black. The nose is brick red with black eyeliner. The eye color is green, sometimes with a blue tint.
Silver sorrel – ABY bs 25 (sorrel silver) – silver, white coat with a brown-red ticking. There is a large concentration of ticking on the back, gradually tapering to nothing towards the stomach. The tip of the tail and feet from the pads to the hock are reddish brown. The nose is brick red with brown eyeliner.
Silver blue – ABY as 25 (blue silver) – silver white coat with a ticking of blue, steel color. The tip of the tail and feet from the pads to the hock are steel blue in color. The nose is brick red with blue eyeliner.
Silver fawn – ABY cs 25 (fawn silver) – silver white coat with a warm cream ticking. The tip of the tail and feet from the pads to the hock are creamy beige-pink. Pink nose with creamy eyeliner.
In our cattery you can buy Abyssinian kittens of both classic colors and silver colors.
