Sokoke Breed Information
Learn all about Sokoke cats, read about the Sokoke breed information,
find out about the Sokoke Breed Standard, Sokoke behavior and more.
The Sokoke cats were discovered by Jeni Slater, a wildlife artist, who lives
in Watamu, Kenya, in 1978. Jeni's coconut plantation backs the Arabuke Sokoke
Rain Forest that used to run along most of Kenya's coast line on the Indian
Ocean. Now, sadly, only a fraction of this is preserved as a national refuge.
These lovely, elegant, African tabby cats are believed to be the
"Chippendale's" of all domestic cats. The original, unchanged kitty that man
first fell in love with and, 4000 years ago, invited into his home to become a
domesticated pet. These kitties have no undercoat beneath their short tight fur.
They have a fine, elegant boning, are loving and friendly, active, intelligent,
very curious, and even enjoy playing in water. They seem to bond with each other
in a way that is not common among our domestic kitties. They also come in a
"white tabby" or "snow Sokoke". This color seems to have been introduced when
Jeni, concerned about their close inbreeding, introduced a black local feral cat
to the gene pool.
The original work with this breed was done in Denmark, where Gloria Moeldrup
(a friend of Jeni's) took the first Sokokes from Kenya. Gloria and about 6 other
breeders formed the Sokoke Council and are still active today trying to save
these very special kitties. In 1998, through a friendship build on the internet,
Judy Allen and Sherri Parks brought the first Sokoke, a female named Kwaza, to
America in exchange for a pair of Bengals (the first in Denmark). Later that
year, Hesabu, her future mate arrived and on 3/8/99 presented America with the
her first litter.
Are these "wild" cats related to the African Wildcat or Taita Wildcats as Dr.
Richard Leake proposes? Or, are they simply a natural breed related to the many
street cats from nearby Watamu, as others believe? We are currently awaiting
results of DNA work being done at UC Davis, by Dr. Leslie Lyons, to know for
sure. Current DNA will be compared to museum wild cat samples donated to Dr.
Lyons in Nov. 1999. In the meantime, they remain a true modern feline mystery.
Which ever way it turns out, they are very rare with only about 35 fertile
adults in the world, which makes them very special indeed.
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