Abyssinian Colours  

Below is a table giving all the acceptable colours for the breed, including their respective numbers and a brief description. At this time the Tortie colours are not included in this table, all Tortie colours are presently at the Preliminary stage of recognition (2007).

The difference between Sorrel and Red can sometimes lead to confusion, in both this breed and others with both these colours. The Sorrel colour is called 'Cinnamon' in all other breeds. Briefly the three basic colours (Usual, Sorrel and Chocolate), are all versions of the same gene, whereas the red is caused by a different kind of gene called a 'sex-linked' gene. They are called 'sex-linked' because they are carried on a sex chromosome (XY). In simple terms this means that a female cat must inherit two copies of the red gene to be red herself, but a male need only inherit one copy to be red.

The introduction of the 'sex-linked' red has also brought about the Tortie Aby colours. This is because when a female inherits only one copy of the red gene, that gene will affect the second colour gene of the cat. This produces patches of colour which distinguishes the tortie markings.

The Abyssinian colours have not all achieved championship status with the GCCF as yet, the table below is marked to show what stage each colour has reached at the present time.