No one knows for sure when or where the Abyssinian breed first developed.  The best known and believed story is that today's Abyssinian is a direct descendant of the sacred cat of the Ancient Egyptians.  The resemblance between Egyptian murals and sculpture, and the Abyssinian breed, is remarkable.  The Abyssinian also bears a striking resemblance to the African Wildcat.

The African Wildcat was definitely domesticated by humans by 1600 B.C.  The ancient burial sites have yielded mummified remains of this cat.  For more than 200 years Egyptians worshipped their cat companions as messengers of the gods.  Abyssinians first arrived in America from England in early 1900.