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Breed guide · Cats
He's on top of the door before I've shut it. I put up a shelf so he'd come down.
Last updated 12 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Up the curtains, along the shelf, into the cupboard, and back again.
What's going onAbyssinians are busy rather than loud. They tell you they are bored by climbing the curtains. Two or three short, hard play sessions a day are the answer.
At home
Top of the door, top of the fridge, top of the wardrobe.
What's going onThey need height more than a lap. Shelves and a tall cat tree give them a route round the room that is not your curtains.
At home
Laptop, cooking, unpacking the shopping: they want to be part of all of it.
What's going onAbyssinians want to be where you are, and they show it by joining in. A perch in the kitchen and a puzzle feeder give them a job of their own.
At home
A pulled-up rug, a pee on your bed, or crying at the door after you leave.
What's going onQuieter does not mean independent. If they cry, pee on your things or wreck the flat while you are out, they may be distressed. Film them and talk to a vet.
At home
A hop, or a back leg held up for a few strides, then off they go again.
What's going onPatellar Luxation (PL, a slipping kneecap) is a known risk from kittenhood. A hop or a held-up back leg is worth a closer look. Film it and show a vet.
At home
The cat who lived on top of the door is spending the day on the floor.
What's going onA cat this busy staying on the floor can have sore joints, a slipping kneecap or failing eyes. Call your vet the week it starts.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their energy
Built for: Bred to be athletic and curious.
In Dubai: A flat with flat walls, so the energy goes into the curtains.
Their people
Built for: Bred to want people around.
In Dubai: Nobody home all day, and long hours alone are hard.
Their voice
Built for: Not much of a talker.
In Dubai: They climb, explore and join in instead.
Give them height, and the curtains get a rest.
Height, a hunt to finish and puzzles to solve stop much of the damage. The ten things below are how. If they panic when you leave, contact your vet: it can be helped.
Your plan is built around what an Abyssinian is prone to at every age, from their eyes and knees to their kidneys later on, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
They are busy all day, and a predictable one helps them settle.
Every age
Why
They are busy all day, and a predictable one helps them settle.
What to do
Same times each day for play, food and time with you. If they wake you for food at dawn, do not get up: an automatic feeder can do breakfast.
They have a great deal of energy, and a laser dot leaves them wound up.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 2 years
Why
They have a great deal of energy, and a laser dot leaves them wound up.
What to do
A wand toy moved fast and high, up the cat tree and across the floor, two or three sessions a day. Let them catch it, then feed them. If they bring a toy back, throw it.
A curious cat with nothing to explore will explore your cupboards.
Every age
Why
A curious cat with nothing to explore will explore your cupboards.
What to do
Part of their food in a puzzle feeder, and new puzzles often. Teach them to come, sit and jump to a shelf on cue, with treats from their daily food.
They are busy, but they still want people around, and long days alone are hard on them.
Every age
Why
They are busy, but they still want people around, and long days alone are hard on them.
What to do
Arrange someone to visit and play on long days and when you travel. Never leave them alone for days with only an automatic feeder. Talk to a vet before getting a second cat for company.
In a busy cat, distress can look like mischief. It is treatable, but not with a home fix.
Every age
Why
In a busy cat, distress can look like mischief. It is treatable, but not with a home fix.
What to do
Film them for the first half hour after you leave. Look for crying, pacing, peeing on your things or damage by the door. Do not tell them off for it. Show the film to a vet.
They are climbers, and a balcony rail is one more thing to climb.
Every age, most of all in the first two years
Why
They are climbers, and a balcony rail is one more thing to climb.
What to do
Cat netting on any balcony they can reach, checked for gaps. Restrictors on every window that opens. Never leave them out there alone.
They need height more than a lap, and they will find it on your doors if you do not give it to them.
Every age
Why
They need height more than a lap, and they will find it on your doors if you do not give it to them.
What to do
Shelves, a tall cat tree and a warm bed at the top, out of the flow of the air conditioning. Add steps as they age, so they keep using it.
Bladder trouble is a risk from their junior years, and kidney trouble later on.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Bladder trouble is a risk from their junior years, and kidney trouble later on.
What to do
Scoop daily and notice the number and size of the clumps. If they drink more or pee more, call your vet. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day. A baseline urinalysis (a urine test) is in your plan in their junior years, so their normal is on record.
Dental disease is a risk from their junior years into old age.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Dental disease is a risk from their junior years into old age.
What to do
Lift their lip and look at the teeth and gums. Start brushing as a kitten, a few seconds at a time. Call your vet if they drop food or chew on one side. A dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) is in your plan every year from their junior years.
In a cat this active, less climbing or a skip in their step is often the first sign of a sore knee or failing eyes.
Every age
Why
In a cat this active, less climbing or a skip in their step is often the first sign of a sore knee or failing eyes.
What to do
Weigh them monthly: step on the scales holding them, then without them, and take the difference. Notice if they stop going up high, miss a jump in dim light or hop on a back leg, and call your vet. An ophthalmic evaluation (eye exam) and a patellar and orthopaedic evaluation (knee, joint and bone exam) are in your plan from their kitten months.
Three of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Abyssinian cats
Every Abyssinian has the same ticked coat: each hair carries bands of colour, so the coat glows rather than forming stripes or spots. What changes from cat to cat is the colour of those bands.
Colours
Ruddy, a burnished red-brown, is the best known. Abyssinians also come in cinnamon, blue and fawn, each with the same glow from the ticking.
The first six months
Their vaccinations, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, and the vet looks at their eyes and knees from the start. Put up the first shelf now, before they choose the curtains.
Kitten health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Abyssinians settle well into indoor UAE life when they have somewhere to climb. Put up shelves and a tall cat tree, net the balcony, and plan who will keep them company on long days.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA, gradual loss of sight) and Patellar Luxation (PL, a slipping kneecap) are known risks from kittenhood, and Renal amyloidosis (an abnormal protein building up in the kidneys) later on. Their care includes eye and knee evaluations from the first months, so plan for those visits from the start.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
He'll still beat you to the top of the door. If he stays on the floor, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Before the breed
Genetic studies place the Abyssinian closest to the street and village cats of the Indian Ocean coast and Southeast Asia, cats that travelled with the sea trade.
What they still carryAn agile, alert, busy cat.
In Britain
The story goes that the first Abyssinian came from Abyssinia, now Ethiopia. What is certain is that British breeders shaped the ticked cat into one of the oldest recognised pedigrees.
What they still carryAn athletic, curious cat that was never meant to sit still.
The 20th century
Breeders kept the Abyssinian lean, athletic and interactive, and never pushed the breed towards an extreme head or a loud voice.
What they still carryA cat that joins in with everything and needs to move.
Today
A pedigree kept indoors, happiest with climbing, enrichment and play.
What they still carryA tireless climber, happiest when the flat gives them height.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Abyssinian suits you, so might these.
Oriental ShorthairThe same kind of cat: another lean, people-loving shorthair, with very large ears and a lot more to say
SiameseThe same kind of cat: another slim, athletic shorthair, in a pointed coat with blue eyes and a much louder voice
Cornish RexThe same endless play and quiet voice, in a curly-coated cat who wants even more company and warm beds
BengalA similar size and an easy short coat for flat life, in a spotted or marbled cat with more to say
