My Aby Cat Found Me

I too have problems remembering what colours all of those names refer to, and when I have to switch to English it really gets hard. In Danish 'ruddy' is called 'vildtfarvet' which means 'deer coloured'. 'Sorrel' is called 'sorrel', so that's easy enough - at least until somebody start calling it 'cinnamon'. Very confusing, but thanks Maggie, for clearing things up by listing them together. 😉

Julie, I'm still puzzled by that breeder's behaviour.
Not all kittens in a litter will have the "show quality" breeders aim for. Besides that some may get so stressed by the show situation that it's no use entering them again. But don't get me wrong - I see plenty of cats at the shows that clearly enjoy the attention and everything that goes on there.
The breeders sell their "surplus" cats (sorry for using that word) as family pets, usually spayed/neutered or with a condition to have it done - and at a lower price than the cats destined for shows and breeding. Responsible breeders will of course make sure the kittens go to good homes - if they don't it's a sign that something might be wrong!
Well, Carson's breeder brought him to the vet to have him neutered, but then decided to have him put down instead. I simply don't understand why he changed his mind like that, because even a bad tempered purebred cat could have been sold at a sizeable amount of money. He really must have been short tempered himself to forget about the money in the heat of the moment. No wonder if this poor Aby kitten didn't get on well with him. 😉

You on the other hand treated him with nothing but kindness (although little cautiously at first), but when he jumped into your lap he had made up his mind that you were OK. And Abys are great cuddlers - as you have discovered.
If Carson was a total disaster, I reckon Bella would never have accepted him. It's not an easy thing for an old cat, but she did, thus proving herself to be much wiser than the breeder.

Maggie -

You are correct. It is my mistake. Carson is definitely a red/sorrel color. For some reason I was thinking that Ruddy and Red were the same and as you have pointed out they are not. Good catch - my mistake. I'm learning more about this beautiful breed everyday.

--J

I'm a bit confused, is the cat in the picture Carson? If so, that's not a Tawny (Ruddy) Abyssinian, that's a Cinnamon (Red/Sorrel) I own a Tawny Aby http://chilliandfriends.weebly.com/index.html and a Tawny Aby has black paw pads, a dark brown base coat and black ticking. Whereas a Cinnamon has pink paw pads, a caramel coloured base coat and chocolate brown ticking.

I've been studying Abys for almost 2 years and have owned them as pets since birth, so I can easily tell which colour is which. =)

Thank you Finn and Michael for your comments.

I do feel blessed to have Carson join the family. The funny part too was that I had absolutely no intention of getting another cat. I've always owned just one cat at a time...so the way Carson entered my life made me think that it was 'definitely meant to be'.

When I brought him home I placed an ad (no fees just a donation to a shelter) for him on Craigslist and I had approximately 10 people interested in him on the first day. Many of the people I spoke with had owned abyssinians and they told me about the beautiful temperment of this breed. I jotted down the names on a back of an envelope, but I really wanted to see how he was socially before I placed him in a home somewhere.

At first I was cautious. Would you believe I didn't handle him for the whole month he was in the bathroom? I just talked to him daily and started lightly petting his neck when he would eat. He enjoyed playing with the ping pong balls and other toys and I was mesmerized by his concentration and playfulness.
I have to laugh now because he must have thought I was nuts for not picking him up, because at the end of the month he virtually jumped into my lap and purred to beat the band. I suspect that there was absolutely nothing remotely true about the "aggression bit" the breeder told the vet. My sister told me that she thought that Carson must not have been show worthy in some physical way and that is why the breeder chose this unethical route. Its sad and I hope people are careful when they chose their breeders. There are a lot of ethical ones out there but a good share of unethical ones as well. Please try to learn as much as possible before giving them your business.

In the end when it came time to find him a home I couldn't locate the envelop with all of the names I had written on it. Yet another sign to me that he was meant to stay with us. When Bella showed signs of accepting him and I had decided to keep him...I finally found the envelop under the table in the den. Hmmm...wonder if Carson had something to do with that? Anyway, if you're thinking about adopting an abyssinian I would say go for it. They are great with other cats as Bella is finding out now, and he is certainly a cuddler too. He has such a beautiful "bell" sounding meow and a very gentle spirit that is hard to resist.

Hi Julie. Carson's story clearly shows that the fault was on the side of the breeder, not the cat. He must have had some other problems in his life with that weird behaviour...
Abyssinians and their Somalis cousins are super active cats and known to devote their attention 100% to whatever they are doing. It should not come as a surprise to any breeder that an Aby kitten in the middle of play do not like being interrupted and picked up. But when it's time for cudling, they do that 100% too.
Whatever was wrong with that breeder, you and Bella apparently have the right chemistry for Carson to become a good and affectionate cat.
Live is made of many small coincidences and this one turned out to be a blessing. I believe everything we do come back to us, so you must have deserved this great gift somehow. 🙂

I love this story for a number of reasons. It shows how fate or chance can bring good things. But is it chance? Julie made a lot of effort to help Carson. Not much chance there except for the chance encounter.

Another interesting thing is that it is a breeder who is throwing away cats! Shocking behavior.

Thirdly, this breeder must be a bit of a brute judging by how beautifully behaved Carson is when treated properly by Julie.

Fourthly, I have said before that breeding cats can encourage the breeder to see cats as "objects". After all they are a commercial product to a breeder.

Lastly, it is a beautiful story of love found and the saving of a cat, in this case a purebred Abyssinian one of the most popular purebred cat breeds in the USA.

Well done Julie...!