Sokoke

Photograph © Helmi Flick

Introduction

Is the Sokoke the rarest of all domestic cat breeds? Is this breed the missing link in the evolution of the classic tabby pattern in cats?

Is the breed, in fact, a domestic cat or a tame wild cat? And how do you tell the difference between the two, anyway? There are mysteries surrounding this elegant cat.

Helmi's photographs on this page show you very clearly what this cat looks like. When you put a picture of a Savannah cat (this breed was created in 1986) side by side with a picture a Sokoke (discovered in 1978 but see below) you can see a marked resemblance (barring the coat color and pattern) particularly in their posture and the way that the spine bends at an angle rather than being gently curved.

Savannah Cat © Helmi Flick

Sokoke Cat © Helmi Flick

I have seen this marked bend in the spine, when sitting, in pictures of rangy cats such as the Maine Coon, Savannah and the Sokoke. It occurs when the cat's body is a long or of a "rangy" type. The Savannah is a cross between the Serval (a wild cat) and a domestic cat and later on in their development, the Bengal was introduced. The Serval inhabits the African Savanna and the African Savanna crosses from North Tanzania to South Kenya.

A theory

The breed's history is fascinating and a little hazy. According to the those who know, this cat is a naturally occurring breed found in the Arabuko Sokoke Forest District, South East Kenya, Africa (the green arrow on the map below marks the area - map courtesy Google maps). The Sokoke Forest is reasonably near the African Savanna.

As the Serval's habitat is near the location where this cat was discovered it would seem to be not beyond the bounds of possibility to suggest that the original Sokoke is a cross between a wild Serval and a local domestic cat. Although this is pure speculation on my part.

Wild/domestic

It is also accepted that wild cats can and do mate with domestic cats.

Because of the potential hybridization of wild/domestic cats it is difficult to separate domestic cats from wild cats genetically.

When differentiating wild from domestic cat researchers use "a set of diagnostic morphological traits" (a variety of indicators working backwards from what is evident to examine the root cause)

DNA testing on the Sokoke indicate that the breed is a domestic cat. But of course the domestic cat has her origins in the wild cat. This compounds the complexity of differentiation of domestic from wild cat. There is some doubt therefore as to the status of this cat breed.

To me she has the appearance of cross between the Serval and marbled Bengal.

photo © Helmi Flick

Origin

It is not uncommon for new breeds to be discovered (e.g. the American Bobtail and Munchkin - there are others).

This breed was discovered in the back garden of a plantation owner and wildlife artist, Jeni Slater, who I presume lived in or near the forest.

Before the "discovery" the cat had been well known to local people (the Giriama tribe) for a considerable time. Indeed they had eaten this cat on a regular basis as a sweet tasting delicacy (thankfully, no longer it seems). This practice is indicative of how cats are treated in the poorer countries (think of China too - not so poor but a very poor animals rights record).

Back to the Sokoke. It is said that this is, in fact an ancient breed inhabiting an area near to Watamu, Kenya. Watamu is about 20 miles north east of Sokoke town and on the edge of the Sokoke Forest. This cat then it seems originates from the Sokoke Forest.

Local people gave the cat their own name, "Khadzonzo". This word means "look like tree bark" reflecting the coat pattern and color.

The Giriama tribe differentiate this cat from the wild cats that live in the Forest and the domestic cats of the area, which are cobby in conformation. In contrast, the Sokoke has an elegant rangy look.

Photo ©Helmi Flick
click for large image
Photo ©Helmi Flick
click for large image
Photo ©Helmi Flick
click for large image

This cat, being genetically a domestic cat, would seem to be a feral domestic cat. They are obviously rare in the West but also seem to be rare in Africa as there was a time after their discovery when none were seen until 2002 (see table)

As Jeni had experience of breeding animals (horses) the discovery interested her. She decided to care for two of the kittens and invited a Danish friend Gloria Moeldrup to see. Read on..........

Date	Event
? to 1978	This breed created and evolved without human interference
1978	Discovery of the breed by a person from the Western World
1984	Two cats from the breed taken to Denmark by Gloria Moeldrup
1984	This breed was shown in Copenhagen, Denmark
1987	Jeni breeds her queens with a black Watamu feral cat. This could be the origin of the Snow Sokoke
1990 or 1991	Gloria imports 3 more cats from Kenya to strengthen breeding stock
1992	One cat imported into Italy
1993	Recognized as a new breed by FiFe and granted full status (can show can in competition)
1998	Importation of one female and one male into the USA by Shabengals Cattery
1999	The US pair above produce first litter
2002	8 new "original" cats found around the forest in Kenya. This is important for breeders are the gene pool is narrow and inbreeding a potential problem.
29-8-03	TICA (2nd biggest cat registry based in USA) accept the breed for registration

Characteristics of note

Medium sized cat with an "elastic" coat that is short haired with no undercoat. Snow Sokoke's are being developed. The coat is a marbled tabby pattern and is different because the hairs in the center of the swirl are "ticked" (meaning "salt and pepper" look) causing a hollow looking center to the blotch.

This breed is friendly (no aggression apparently), active, talkative and intelligent. Being domestic cats there are no permit issues that may accompany the keeping of wild/domestic hybrids. They are muscular. They deal with water better than most cats.

Breeding is strictly controlled to keep the breed uniquely Sokoke so there is no out-cross breeding.

New keepers of this breed should be prepared to give consideration to the purity of the genetic make up by careful breeding and showing.

Health concerns

The coat is thin so that this cat feels the cold. At the beginning of the development of this breed of cat (in Denmark) they picked up infection easily but that seems to have been resolved. Perhaps keeping warm helps.

How rare?

Apparently there are only 10 breeding adults in the US and 3 in Canada. I am not sure how many in Denmark or Europe generally but it would seem that the total population in the Western World in less than 50. Since building this page I have researched rare cat breeds and this cat breed I would rank 10 on a scale of 1-10.

Breeders

Sunbright Cats
USA based breeder of Sokoke, Abyssinian and Bengal cats. The website has an Alexa traffic rank in the 4m and no PageRank (but not greyed out). Nice site in fact. One negative for me - they don't say or at least don't make it obvious where they are located. This may be deliberate for security purposes but for a business (where location is important) it seems odd. If you disagree tell me on the forum page (see NavBar).

This is the only breeder to feature (independently, meaning not as part of a directory) on any of the first three pages of a Google search.

Arabuko Cattery Jeannie Knocker
corncon@africaonline.co.ke
No website - based in Africa

MaManon Charest - Chatterie Catzonzo
catzonzo@hotmail.com
No website - based in Canada

Kimburu
Based in Norway - Site in English and Norwegian. No Alexa traffic rank as this is a Tripod Site (integrated hosting as opposed to free standing site). There is a Google PageRank, however.

There are a few other North American breeders but it seems no websites. This is a rare breed and the breeders are rare too.

I would contact Sunbright cats if you live in North America and go from there.

Sources:

http://www.sunbrightcats.com
Messybeast
http://www.livescience.com
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org
Wikipedia
http://www.kadzonzo.dk
CFA
http://www.fanciers.com

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