The FIFé breed standard of the Abyssinian and Somali cat

Head

Shape

  • wedge shaped
  • of medium proportions
  • wide at the top
  • the contours are soft and graceful

Nose

  • medium long
  • in profile the head shows a soft curve, with neither stop nor a straight nose

Chin

  • firm and well developed

Muzzle

  • not sharply pointed
  • a shallow indentation forming the muzzle is desirable, but a pinch is a fault

Ears

Shape

  • relatively large, broad at the base
  • slightly rounded at the tips with a thumb print and
  • tufts of hair at the tips are desirable

Placement

  • set well apart and pricked

Eyes

Shape

  • large, almond in shape and set well apart

Colour

  • brilliant and expressive
  • amber, green or yellow, pure, clear and intense colour
  • outlined with the colour of the ticking

Neck

 

  • graceful

Tail

 

  • fairly long and tapering
  • broad at the base
  • Somali: The tail should be well furnished

Body

Structure

  • medium built, medium long
  • firm, lithe and muscular, having a firm feeling

Legs

 

  • slender and elegant, in proportion to body

Feet

  • small and oval

Coat

Structure Somali

  • extremely fine and very dense; the denser the better
  • texture very soft to touch
  • of medium length, except on the shoulders, where it can be a little shorter
  • preference is given to those cats with well-developed frill and breeches

Structure Abyssinian

  • short, fine and close
  • lying flat

Colour

  • 2 or 3 bands of colour on each hair with dark tips for preference
  • For colour varieties refer to the following tables
  • Somali: The development of the ticking is slow; the true coat is not developed until the age of 2 years; allowance for this should be made in kittens and young adults
  • Remarks: White is tolerated on the chin and the nostrils.
  • Silver varieties: Ground colour should be without brown or yellow tinge or patches
 

Faults

Head

  • too deep stop
  • too much marking on the face

Ears

  • small or pointed ears

Eyes

  • round eyes
  • unclear eye colour
  • absence of outline around eyes

Body

  • cobby appearance

Tail

  • rings on tail

Coat

  • cold or sandy tone in colour
  • ghost markings on stomach, chest and legs
 

Faults precluding the certificate

Head

  • siamese type
  • round head

Legs

  • bars on all four legs

Tail

  • whip tail

Coat

  • grey or too dark or too light undercoat
  • too little or lack of ticking in parts of coat where desired
  • unbroken necklaces
  • markings on belly and chest
  • white locket
  • white extending onto the chest
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Recognized Colour Varieties

General description of the coat colour

Coat colour
  • Body colour: as described in the General Part, with darker ticking according to the corresponding colour varieties.
  • Ground colour: as described in the General Part
  • Underside of the body, chest and inner sides of the legs uniformly coloured with the ground colour, harmonizing with the upper parts of the body, without any ticking, bars, necklaces or markings on stomach or belly.
  • Darker shading along the spine
  • White or off-white is only permitted above the lips, beside the nostrils and down the chin as long as it does not extend to the chest
  • The tips of the ears are in the same colour as the ticking
  • The back of the hind feet is dark
  • Hair tufts between the toes are in the same colour as the ticking
  • The colour of the tail is an extension of the darker shading along the spine and ends in a solid dark tip, coloured with the colour of the ticking, without any rings
  • Silver varieties: Ground colour should be without brown or yellow tinge or patches (without rufism)
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Somali

SOM n/a/o/p

Abyssinian

ABY n/a/o/p
Colour FIFé
EMS-
Code
Coat colour Eye
outline
Nose-
leather
Paw pads Picture

ruddy / usual

SOM n
ABY n
Body colour: Rich, burnt sienna with black ticking

Base colour: burnt sienna

Ear tips: black / seal

Tail tip: black
black brick red with black outline Pads: black / seal

Hair: black / seal
Somali cat Int.Ch. Marilyn M. von Torremolinos
Ruddy Somali cat Int.Ch. Marilyn M. von Torremolinos
Abyssinian cat (N) Villkatten's Electra
Ruddy Abyssinian cat (N) Villkatten's Electra

blue

SOM a
ABY a
Body colour: Soft warm blue-grey with dark steel blue-grey ticking

Base colour: rich oatmeal

Ear- and tail tip: dark steel blue-grey
blue-grey old rose with dark steel blue-grey outline Pads: old rose / blue-grey

Hair: steel blue-grey
Male Somali cat Mojana's Blue Curaçao
Blue male Somali cat Ch. Mojana's Blue Curaçao

sorrel / cinnamon / red

SOM o
ABY o
Body colour: Pale warm honey with bright burnished copper ticking

Base colour: warm honey

Ear- and tail tip: red brown
red brown light red with red brown outline Pads: cinnamon/ chocolate

Hair: red brown
Somali cat Int.Ch. Foxgarden's Kiss Me Kate
Sorrel Somali cat Int.Ch. Foxgarden's Kiss Me Kate
Abyssinian cat Eur.Ch. Karatoya's Gameela (Photo: Alice Rosol)
Sorrel Abyssinian cat Eur.Ch. Karatoya's Gameela

fawn / beige

SOM p
ABY p
Body colour: Pale ivory with warm beige ticking

Base colour: beige

Ear- and tail tip: dark warm beige
salmon pink rose with old rose outline Pads: rose

Hair: dark warm beige
Somali cat Purrkin's Belissima (Photo: Birgit Linke)
Fawn female Somali cat Purrkin's Belissima
Abyssinian stud Ch. S*Maghreb's Enzo (Photo: Maria Christiernin)
Fawn Abyssinian stud Ch. S*Maghreb's Enzo
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Somali silver

SOM ns/as/os/ps

Abyssinian silver

ABY ns/as/os/ps
Colour FIFé
EMS-
Code
Coat colour Eye
outline
Nose-
leather
Paw pads Picture

black silver

SOM ns
ABY ns
Body colour: pure silver white with black ticking

Base colour: pure silver white

Ear tips: black / seal

Tail tip: black
black brick red with black outline Pads: black / seal

Hair: black / seal
No picture available

blue silver

SOM as
ABY as
Body colour: pure silver white with dark steel blue-grey ticking

Base colour: pure silver white

Ear- and tail tip: dark steel blue-grey
dark steel blue-grey old rose with dark steel blue-grey outline Pads: old rose / blue-grey

Hair: dark steel blue-grey
No picture available

sorrel silver

SOM os
ABY os
Body colour: pure silver white with bright burnished copper ticking

Base colour: pure silver white

Ear- and tail tip: red brown
brown light red with red brown outline Pads: cinnamon/ chocolate

Hair: red brown
No picture available

fawn silver

SOM ps
ABY ps
Body colour: pure silver white with dark warm beige ticking

Base colour: pure silver white

Ear- and tail tip: dark warm beige
old rose rose with old rose outline Pads: rose

Hair: dark warm beige
No picture available
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Not Recognized Colour Varieties

Colour FIFé EMS-Code
Chocolate / Brown SOM x b
Chocolate Silver SOM x bs
Lilac / Lavender SOM x c
Lilac Silver SOM x cs
sex-linked Red SOM x d
Cream SOM x e
sex-linked Red Silver SOM x ds
Cream Silver SOM x es
Black Tortie SOM x f
Sorrel Tortie SOM x q
Chocolate Tortie SOM x h
Blue Tortie SOM x g
Lilac Tortie SOM x j
Fawn Tortie SOM x r
Black Silver Tortie SOM x fs
Sorrel Silver Tortie SOM x qs
Chocolate Silver Tortie SOM x hs
Blue Silver Tortie SOM x gs
Lilac Silver Tortie SOM x js
Fawn Silver Tortie SOM x rs


Breed standards of other international cat societies:

WCF (World Cat Fanciers Association)

TICA (The international cat Association, Inc) (PDF)

CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc) (PDF)

ACF (Australian Cat Federation Inc)


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Bamboo