During the mid 20th Century, Abyssinian breeders were surprised to see the occasional longhair kitten in their aby litters. As time passed some breeders became captivated by the longer haired version of the Aby, and worked to develop the breed and gain recognition for them in their own right.

Due to its close relationship with the parent breed, the Somali shares many of the same features. Like the Abyssinian, they are "ticked" there are alternating bands of colour on each hair. Much of the wild look comes from the ticking.  The accepted colours are the same as the Abyssinian.

While some may vary from state to state in Australia, the basic colours are:

• Tawny - reddish brown base colour ticked with black
• Cinnamon (also called sorrel) reddish brown ticked with chocolate brown
• Blue - greyish blue ticked with deeper blue, with an undercoat of oatmeal
• Fawn - milk coffee beige colour, ticked with Chocolate or Lilac

Somalis and Abyssinians have a real "joie de vivre" - they love life and share this joy with their human companions. Lively and intelligent, they love to help around the house and form intense relationships with their special people. They get on well with other animals and thrive on company. Somalis and Abys are also great indoor cats. This is strongly recommended as their busy lifestyles do not allow for good road sense.

They love to play games and can easily learn to walk on a lead, and retain this playfulness into adulthood.