I've always adored animals, especially cats. It started in South Africa where I had 2 Siamese. When we moved back to Belgium they came with us and although Prince passed away recently, Camelot is still with us and doing well. Then we got Aragorn, an Abyssinian stud, and I was so enchanted by this breed's beauty that I got Chicca (Ca Chiccan Van De Abbai). She lives with me where I study, in Ghent. Now, she is so amazingly beautiful, that I decided to have kittens with her. After months of searching for the perfect stud, I came across International Champion, Sethos von Quiomme. We drove her all the way to Eastern Germany to let the 2 angels meet and they liked each other so much that Chicca decided to have her first kittens with him. For more information, see "Kittens"
If you decide to keep an Abby, make sure you can give it enough time and attention. Deciding to keep a pet means that you are responsible for it for the rest of its life. If it gets sick or if it has other (e.g. behavioral) problems, you can't just abandon it. You should love it enough to stick with him/her for better or for worse.
If you have a garden and you plan on letting it roam free in it, make sure you cat-proof it and fence it so that the cat can't escape. This is especially dangerous if you live in a city area. The number one death-reason for cats (especially pedigree cats) is exactly this.
By letting it roam freely in unattended areas, your cat easily brings home deadly contagious diseases (e.g. Feline Leukemia (FeLV),
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), rabies etc.) it got from coming into contact with other cats or places where other (infected) cats have been. It can get run over by cars, get stolen, get eaten by dogs... You catch my drift.
CHARACTER AND TEMPERAMENT
The Abyssinian is an affectionate intelligent cat, very people orientated, extremely active and a cat that thrives on interaction and play. They are not constant lap cats, rather, they need to know what you are doing; like to help you make a telephone call; read your newspaper or make your bed, in fact they insist on being included in all family activities as a right. Whatever it is, an Aby has to be totally involved. Abyssinians are not always ideal for every one so if this higher level of activity will annoy you then a quieter breed should be sought. Abyssinians make good family pets but tend to bond with Adults and older children rather than young toddlers.They prefer and seek higher places to sit such as backs of chairs, refrigerators and scratching poles. They get on well with dogs and will quickly teach the dog who is the boss. Abys can be taught to fetch and retrieve small objects and because of their dog like antics, they are often attractive to men who previously thought that they did not like cats. Once a relationship is formed there is no breed more loyal than an Abyssinian. Expect to be greeted with enthusiasm and devote enough attention to your Aby on your homecoming. Being "people" cats, they can become very lonely if left for long periods of time alone so it's often wise to have two as company for each other.
