Sokoke cat

The Sokoke comes from one of the last areas of rainforest in Kenya – the Sokoke-Arabuke rainforest. The Sokoke cat has been known to local tribes for generations as the Khadzonzo. Not only the Sokoke cats, but also many other animal species in the area are threatened with extinction.

Not far from the Sokoke forest region, the Slaters lived on a coconut plantation in the 1970s. Farmer Jeni Slater ran into a wild cat on her property in 1978, which had given birth to her young here. The shy cat fled, leaving her kittens behind and the farmer took care of the orphaned kittens. She raised the litter and the young cats quickly became trusting. So Jeni Slater kept a cat and a tomcat from the litter. The kittens spent most of their time in the trees surrounding the property. However, they did not shy away from chasing birds, but mainly from insects and vegetarian food such as grass. The cats also inspired a Danish acquaintance of the farmer named Gloria Moeldrup, who in 1984, after a visit to Kenya, decided to take home a cat and a tomcat from different litters. To Gloria Moeldrup's astonishment, the Kenyan cats thrived in the relatively harsh European climate and the breeding of the Sokoke was promising. The new breed was initially granted experimental breed status by the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) in 1983 under the name African Shorthair and was recognized as a breed with the name Sokoke in the early 1990s. The majority of the very small population can be found in Denmark, but you will rarely find a Sokoke cat in Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway or the USA. The Sokoke is bred homozygous and to this day Kenyan Sokokes are imported again and again to avoid excessive incest.

The Sokoke has a close-lying, short, glossy coat that has little or no undercoat. Sokoke cats are always brindle. The basic color is gray to golden brown with black, brindle markings. Each individual hair of the Sokoke is individually striped light and dark and the tip of the tail is always black. The Sokoke is a medium sized cat in stature, with a lithe, long build with a strong chest. Due to the stocky bone structure, the Sokoke is quite heavy for its size. In relation to the body, the head is rather small and clearly wedge-shaped with a strong chin. The nose line should be straight without any swing. The medium-sized ears are round at the tips and should be set as high as possible on the head. The oval to almond-shaped eyes are set as wide apart as possible and are light green or amber in colour. Overall, the face should have an alert expression. The Sokoke's slender legs are quite long, with the hind legs being slightly longer than the front legs, giving the cat good jumping ability. The Sokoke cat's tail is of medium length, tapering towards the tip.

The basic color of the Sokoke is gray to golden brown with black, brindle markings. The individual hairs have different light and dark stripes. Eye color is light green or amber.

A person must first “earn” the love of a Sokoke. Anyone who gets a Sokoke cat must first give her plenty of time to gain her trust. Although she likes to stay with her people once the ice is broken, she is not a real "cuddly cat" like many other pedigree cats are known to be.The home of the Sokoke is in the wilderness and so they usually do not part from a certain degree of independence for the rest of their lives. Since the Sokoke cat is very lively, it needs enough space and variety to feel comfortable. In any case, the Sokoke should be allowed to run free – at least on a defined area. If a Sokoke has the opportunity, it also likes to swim. The Sokoke cat loves to socialize, which also means they get along well with other cats or dogs in a household.