Abyssinians started as a wild breed. The matriarch of the breed was Zula, who is known as the first Abyssinian to be taken out of the wild to become a house pet. In the 1860s, a British soldier, Captain Barrett Leonard, took Zula as a kitten from Alexandria to the UK. A tabby was crossed with Zula, and then the kitten from that most resembled an Abyssinian was bred with Zula. Modern day Abyssinian cats found in Australia, Europe and the United States are believed to have been descended from Zula. Of the short-haired pedigreed breeds in the United States, the Abyssinian, nicknamed ' Aby,' is one of the most popular.
