Sokoke, that already sounds very exotic, but this cat breed is a real feast for the eyes. Granted, every cat is beautiful. But you can fall in love with the Sokoke right away. It comes from Kenya and grows to a medium size. This cat is always an eye-catcher at cat shows. The shorthaired coat is imposingly marked and she is considered a speciality among today’s recognised breeds. Learn more about this beauty here, and get to know the Sokoke in all its facets.
The beautiful pedigree cat bears its name because of its origin. It originates from the Sokoke-Arabuke rainforest, which is located in Kenya, in East Africa. Members of the Giriama tribe say that the Sokoke cat has lived here for a very long time. It is therefore a wild cat that originated in the rainforest. It was only in 1978 that a farmer found a litter of orphaned kittens. Jeni Slater, the name of the farmer of the coconut plantation, raised the kittens.
It turned out that the cats were extremely trusting and attached to humans. In 1984, the Dane Gloria Moeldrup took a pair of Sokoke cats to Denmark. The cats felt very comfortable in the European climate and were bred from there on. It was not until 1993 that the Sokoke was officially recognised as a cat breed. Unfortunately, there are only very few specimens of this breed. Most of them live in Denmark. However, a few Sokoks are also at home in the USA, Italy, Norway as well as Finland and Germany.
This is what the Sokoke cat needs in any case
Love, love and love again. The Sokoke loves its human and urgently needs his attention. In terms of character, it requires little care overall and is actually considered one of the easiest cat breeds to care for. Nevertheless, she feels very comfortable when she is brushed by her human. Some Sokoks are even very fond of grooming by their family. Furthermore, this cat breed is very communicative and likes to meow a lot and loudly when it wants to tell its human something. She loves to cuddle and is considered to be quite a lively breed. What she does not like at all is to be held. Here a slightly aggressive behaviour may well be the reaction.
The quite freedom-loving and agile cat needs a lot of opportunity to move. This means, among other things, that she should have a large flat and ideally a garden or a secure balcony or terrace at her disposal. In fact, Sokoke loves to run around in the fresh air and this is where all her power and agility come to the fore. She delights with her exuberant, very quick play, which can quickly become very fast-paced. In a flat that is too small, things can easily get broken if the Sokoke does not get enough exercise. Here, too, the owner is challenged, because the cat wants to be kept busy and also seeks this activity from its humans.
The visual appearance of the Sokoke
The very well developed chest area of the Sokoke is one of the characteristics of its appearance. In addition, she is of medium size and has a long, supple body. The Sokoke is not a lightweight, as it has what is known as a coarse bone structure. These “heavy” bones increase the overall weight of the cat. Compared to cats of the same size with a similar build, it is quite a bit heavier. The head, on the other hand, is rather small in relation to the body. Furthermore, it has a wedge-shaped appearance. The straight nose and the strong chin make the head look very neat.
The ears are rounded at the tip and medium sized. They also sit high on the head. This overall appearance is very fascinating, because this combination makes the Sokoke look very alert. The Sokoke gets its penetrating but friendly look from the almond-shaped eyes, which are set wide apart. They are very expressive and offer a colour spectrum from light green to amber. The slender, long legs make the cats look very elegant. In addition, the paws are oval. It is important that the hind legs should be longer than the front legs. The tail of the Sokoke is medium long and tapers off thinly towards the tip. In general, this breed has hardly any undercoat, this is due to its origin. The coat pattern must be brindle, as this is also one of the main characteristics of this beautiful breed. The undercoat colour is always grey or golden brown. The brindle should be in black. So-called agouti bands on the black hair of the Sokoke are considered a particularly exquisite feature and are especially popular.