The Somali cat breed got its start in the 1940s, long before breed registries granted official recognition. An Abyssinian cat breeder named Jante Robinson exported kittens from Britain to New Zealand, North America, and Australia. These cats occasionally produced long-haired Abyssinian kittens.
The first individual to make a stir in the cat fancy world was Raby Chuffa of Selene, a long-haired Abyssinian cat that was shown in the United States. In 1963, a Canadian breeder named Mary Mailing entered a long-haired Aby into her local pet show. The show’s judge, Ken McGill, was so impressed that he asked for one of Mailing’s cats to breed.
Despite growing interest in long-haired Abyssinian cats, many breeders expressed disdain and worked to prevent their numbers from increasing. At the same time, breeders who enjoyed the looks and personalities of the long-haired Abyssinians did the opposite, working to develop and promote the new variety.
We have an American breeder named Evelyn Mague to thank for naming the Somali breed. Cats from Ken McGill and another Canadian breeder named Don Richings were bred with Mague’s Somalis and international attention grew.
The Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) created the international Somali Cat Club in 1975, and granted the breed official recognition in 1979. It took over a decade for the Somali cat breed to achieve widespread international recognition.