Abyssinian Rescue – list of Abyssinian cat rescues 2022

This page on Abyssinian cat rescue was first compiled about 14 years ago but updated and refreshed 26/9/2022. As you might imagine, a lot of the rescue organisations have closed as have their websites. However, some have opened on Facebook and so there is still a possibility of adopting a rescue Abyssinian cat. Although, I must say that it is difficult to find an Abyssinian rescue cat on the Internet although not beyond the bounds of possibility. There are links to functioning websites on Abyssinian rescue below.

I suppose you have to take into account the fact that when an Abyssinian purebred cat is in a rescue situation or managed by a rescue organisation, you have to query whether these are genuine purebred cats because there might not be any documentary evidence as to pedigree for these cats. I don’t know. You will certainly find out when you contact these organisations.

I would expect that these cats have not been abandoned because of their behaviour but because perhaps the owner has passed all there has been some other unusual circumstances leading to the cat being cared for by a rescue organisation.

In general, purebred cats are very rarely in rescue organisations for obvious reasons. Very few cat owners abandon purebred cats if for no other reason than they are financially valuable!

Here is a compilation of Abyssinian Rescue Centers in the USA and UK and any other that come up in searches together with information on their location so you know roughly (at least) how to get to them without having to fiddle around on the internet too much. These centers do not usually ship so location is important.

I confess this was quite a lengthy task. It is much easier to find breeders, but most cat breeders will take back a cat from a customer if there are problems. That route should be tried first for a cat keeper of a purebred cat having problems. This may partly account for the lack of rescue centers for the Abyssinian cat.

Note: the Somali Cat is a long-haired Aby.

USA

Adoption fees vary but seem to be in the order of $100. There are very few rescue organizations dealing exclusively with Abyssinian cats. There are a number of purebred cat rescue centres, however. I list both types of organization here. NOTE: I FIRST LISTED THESE ORGANISATIONS 14 OR MORE YEARS AGO AND MOST HAVE CLOSED. SORRY. I HAVE LEFT THEM LISTED JUST IN CASE. HOWEVER, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT SOME HAVE MOVED TO FACEBOOK FROM WHICH TO RUN THEIR RESCUES – SEE BELOW.

• Southern California Abyssinian Rescue, Inc. (S.C.A.R.). As the title states the catchment area is Southern California. HURRAY! THIS SITE AND ORGANISATION IS STILL RUNNING 12 YEARS AFTER I FIRST LISTED IT HERE. AND THEY HAVE SOME ABBYSINIAN CATS FOR ADOPTION. ✔️👍😃💓. I have received a message from them which updates the info about the rescue: “I am the adoption coordinator for Southern California Abyssinian Rescue and want to thank you for mentioning our organization. We have been around for over twenty years and specialize in Abyssinians and Somalis. As the need to help rescue Abys has grown, we now help in the western U.S. states and if able to we will help in New Mexico and Texas. Last year we helped with an Aby in Oklahoma. We are the only 501c3 aby/somali cat rescue in the U.S. On the East Coast is Northeast Abyssinian Rescue. NAR, National Aby Rescue on Facebook is a page for connecting people with abys and SCAR and NEAR are also admins on that page. We get our abys from individuals, maybe the owner has passed, or a new family member is allergic, or someone had to move. We also get them from the shelters as we are partnered with them. Sometimes there are papers, sometimes there are not. Marla Pelz.”
• Abyssinian Cat Rescue on Facebook. In their words: “A network of dedicated Abyssinian cat lovers who have joined forces to help any Aby in need. NAR is National Abyssinian (Cat) Rescue”. National Abyssinian Cat Rescue (NAR) is an Abyssinian breed rescue and education organization. Co-founded in 2001 by Carol McCutcheon (Mellowmews Abyssinians) and Mimi Cary Drake (W.M.D., since 1967), NAR is a network of dedicated Abyssinian cat lovers who have joined forces to help any Aby in distress, anywhere, anytime. With over 60 years of combined experiences from its members, NAR facilitates the rescue and placement of abandoned, lost or abused Abys in almost any type of situation. Its network extends from coast to coast. NAR helps individuals who cannot keep their Abys, local Abyssinian rescue groups, and all rescue organizations around the world.
• California Abyssinian Rescue – this site is running at Sept 26th 2022.
• There is a page on California Abyssinian rescue groups. It looks somewhat defunct and may not be useful, but you may be lucky. This is the link. I think it overlaps with the rescue above.
• DFW Purebred Rescue. This as the name suggests is for purebred cats. But actually, they rehome purebred and non-purebred because there are so few purebred cats that are in the rescue system. But they are still running with a new website. Their website was down at one time and archived. I believe that they are now a general cat rescue organisation, but they do state to be purebred and non-purebred. They link to the Petfinder.com website where you will see moggies nearly all the time. Great cats but not Abyssinians!
• Specialty Purebred Cat Rescue. They don’t give an address as far as I can see but do say that the don’t ship and therefore you pick up. That means driving distance from these places: Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee, Burlington, Madison and northern Illinois. They are based in the Mid-West. UPDATE SEPT 26, 2022: THIS ORGANISATION IS STILL RUNNING AND THEIR SITE IS STILL UP! GREAT.

The National Abyssinian Cat Rescue (NAR). UPDATE: THIS SITE IS SHUT DOWN – SORRY. I was probably shut down years ago but I have found out today Sept 26th 2022. This seems to be a kind of co-ordination organization. I can’t see exactly where they are located except it must be in California. I found this site from another slightly hard to find site, The Internet Cat Club, which lists rescue centers or organizations for other cat breeds (link broken May 2012).

Cat Purebred Rescue. UPDATE SEPT 26, 2022. THIS ORGANISATION NO LONGER EXISTS OR AT LEAST THEIR WEBSITE NO LONGER EXISTS. Located in the Greater Puget Sound area of Washington State. This is a small site and not much activity is indicated as at May 2008. This may be due to it being new or old and fading.

Devine Felines Purebred RescueUPDATE: THIS SITE IS DOWN AND I PRESUME THE ORGANISATION HAS CLOSED. Located Northern Nevada. Some adopters come from Northern California. Nice site. Couldn’t see any Abys on the available page.

Purebred Cat Breed RescueUPDATE: THIS SITE IS DOWN AND THE ORGANISATION CLOSED. The linked page lists breeds other than the Aby. This organization if affiliated to the Cat Fanciers Association. This is a directory of rescue centers so it operates at a national level.

Northern CA Abyssinian Rescue-Foster & Placement – no website so please contact by phone or email: Email: SHRescue@abyssinians.org
Phone: (530) 701-8077.

Click on the link to go to a page dedicated to purebred cat rescue on this site

UK

The Abyssinian Cat Association – This organization is recommended by the GCCF (premier UK cat association). The site as at May 2008 is being rebuilt so I couldn’t test it (update: link broken so removed – 13-5-08). I would start here if you are looking for Abyssinian rescue (when the site is working). They seem to connect people as opposed to list available cats.

Abyssinian Cat Club Once again, I would contact them for information on adopting a rescued Abyssinian cat. Always keep in mind the Somali as well. An Aby in a long coat.

Sorry to have limited this to the USA and UK. Obviously Abyssinian rescue is possible in many other countries but the best way to deal with that is to approach associations first and go from there.

Below are some more pages on the Abyssinian cat.