| The
Sokoke Cat is quite possibly the rarest Breed in the World, with only 10
breeding adults in the USA currently, and 3 in Canada. |
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ancient Breed, it is found in the Arabuko Sokoke Forest District near Watamu,
Kenya in Africa - tribal elders for generations had called the cats "Kadzonzo"
which in the native Swahili means "looks like tree bark". Jeannie
Knocker has since written from Kenya that Kadzonzo means, "Come, beautiful
one" to the local Giriama tribe - they describe Kadzonzo as "looks like
tree bark" but the fact the word means, "Come, beautiful one" tells us
that the tribe has had an affection and affinity for these cats for awhile
now.... All of the new-line found cats have been found semi-domesticated
in settlements - none have been found inside the Forest Preserve itself,
but since much of it is trackless and 400 sq. kilometers, the possibility
is always there that more may be inside the Forest Preserve boundaries.
These elegant cats are believed, along with the cats of Lamu, to have come
down from Egypt on trading boats and populated the area. |
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Three
Sokokes -Akuna, Dakika, and our Fulani, cuddled up.
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| Because
of their resemblance to the ancestor to all domestic cats, Felis Lybica
(African Wildcat) it is surmised that they are closely related to them;
because the African Wildcat's DNA is in all domestic cats, the DNA testing
on them has come up domestic, which they are. Dr. Richard Leakey,
famed anthropologist, has suggested that the Sokoke Cat may come from a
previously unknown branch of the Taita Wild Cat. Still others believe
they are a completely independent genera. An ancient, 'living antique"
domestic - quite possibly the "Missing Link" to the appearance of the classic
tabby pattern in our domestic cats - these rare, mysterious felines are
TICA's newest Breed, accepted for registration on August 29th, 2003. |
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| They
have been a FiFe Championship Breed for ten years, and are accepted by
CCA, and UFO as Experimental and NBC Breeds respectively. |
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| "Discovered"
in 1978 by Jeni Slater, a Coconut plantation owner, and later brought to
Europe by Gloria Moeldrup, a friend of Jeni's, the Sokoke has had a very
limited gene pool. A Sokoke Club in Denmark was formed after
Gloria brought a breeding pair over, and the first ones were shown in Copenhagen
in 1984. |
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| In
1987, Jeni had a black Watamu street cat breed some of her queens, in an
effort to thwart inbreeding. This is the logical source of the "snow"
gene in the old - line European cats, as Gloria imported three more in
1991 to Denmark. |
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| In
1993, the Sokoke was accepted for Championship in FiFe. |
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| In
1998, the first Sokoke arrived in the USA, and UFO accepted the Breed in
NBC. |
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Photo
copyright by Sherri Parks
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| The
first Sokokes imported to the USA, Hesabu and Kwaza, owned by Judy Allen
/ Sherri Parks of Shabengals Cattery, make a perfect picture - showing
the type and elegant grace these cats are noted for. |
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| In
1999, the first Sokoke was born in the USA. |
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| In
2001, the first new Sokokes were found on the edge of the Sokoke Forest
in Kenya after repeated inquiries and visits by European fanciers looking
for new blood. Having all but declared the Breed extinct in the Forest,
when Jeannie Knocker's son, Will, e-mailed the Danish Sokoke Club to report
that his mom and her gardener, Sammy, had a colony of Sokoke cats breeding
that they had gathered to star in a BBC Documentary that was later cancelled,
the finding was met with excitement and apprehension - many wanting more
information on the new cats, others claiming they weren't "REAL" Sokokes.
The found specimens and their offspring examined by FiFe Judges in Europe
have all passed muster - yes, they are REAL Sokokes! |
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| In
2002, the found cats Genet and Mara were taken from Kenya to Sweden, with
a six months quarantine in Denmark, by Breeders Robert and Edith Peulicke.
While in quarantine, they produced a litter of kittens, with two of them
exported to the USA, in March., 2003. Two weeks later, two more pair
were exported directly from Kenya to the USA, joining the handful of "old
line" European - bred Sokokes here and in Canada. These two pair
were brought over by Cathy Hidalgo, who while on safari in Africa, saw
an article about the Sokoke Cats titled, " New Breed Stalks the Catwalk",
on an in-flight magazine, while flying on a small connecting flight.
She promptly turned around after arriving home to the USA, and flew back
to Kenya to bring back her pair, Umande and Kaya, as well as our pair,
Mudzo and Ndume. |
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| Currently,
there are Breeders in: Kenya, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Finland,
Germany, France, Canada and the USA. |
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| These
cats are noted for the following Unique characteristics: Tip-toe gait in
the rear, accentuated by slightly longer rear legs and an "at the ready"
stance, even when relaxed. This is written into the TICA Breed Standard.
A ticked coat lacking an undercoat, with ticking going through the ground
color as well as the pattern, even including the tail tip at times!
A long, hard, tail, as well as a surprisingly hard, muscular body.
Sokokes are very "pack-oriented" behaving like a pride of lions when kept
together. The males are very much involved in the rearing of the
young, which is different than any other Breeds I have worked with.
The males can also let out a loud, possessive meow when their females are
handled, and also when "their" human friends interact with others.
They are sensitive, quiet cats as a rule, and can be possessive of their
mates as well as their special people. |
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Dakika,
owned by Chatterie Catzonzo Cattery, is a producing Sokoke Queen,
that
has a regal air about her, captured in this picture taken by her owner.
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| Pictures
have been taken in Kenya of spotted Sokokes not that long ago - so far
only the modified classic tabby - patterned cats have been used -
which, when bred together produce only modified classic. Perhaps
more spotted representatives can be found and added to the Program.
My experience with Bengals has shown that marble - marble breedings can,
and do - rarely produce spotted kittens when there's enough spotted in
the background, so perhaps we shall see the spotted cats come forwards
again using just the modified classic tabby. In the meantime, we
have the 'old" and "new' lines to breed together, which offers the Hope
for the Future of this fascinating rare Breed! |
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Photo
copyright by Bob Schwartz.
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A
spotted Sokoke in the background on the beach in Kenya, picture taken in
1991.
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