Sokoke History history

The original home of the Sokoke Forest Cat was amidst the rain forests in East Africa, on the Kenyan coast in the Sokoke Arabuke Forest. Historically, the only reference found was from the Giriama tribe whose name for the cat was 'Kadzonzo' Tribal elders' specific descriptions of the Sokoke cats proved that the cats had a close relationship with the old tribal culture. Little was known about the Sokoke cat until 1978 when a Kenyan farmer, Jeni Slater, found an unusual litter of kittens on her coconut plantation. Driven by her strong commitment to raising the cats combined with the good fortune of meeting locals who shared her fear that this rare breed might not survive, Jeni Slater's story in the history of the Sokoke cat is now paramount. The long journey includes: moving a breeding pair to Denmark, the first showing of Sokoke cats in Copenhagen in 1984, followed by the birth of the pairs ('Jenny' and 'Mzuri') first litter in 1985. The breed is still under development in Europe. The ultimate goal has been to breed enough cats to keep the rare Sokoke breed alive and healthy. There seems to be some debate over the exact species name of this beautiful cat, and a research project is ongoing at the University of California Davis to help clarify their exact taxonomy. Some have classified them as "Felis lybica", while others maintain they should be classified as "Felis taita" It may be the case that they fall into another species all together. When they have completed their DNA studies at UC Davis the riddle may finally be solved.