Abyssinian vs Somali

Abyssinians are one of the most perpetually active cat breeds that exists and generally dislike being held or restrained, which is the opposite of what most people picture when a breeder describes a 'friendly, people-oriented' cat.

Because it's a longhaired Abyssinian, the Somali inherited the Abyssinian's unusually high rate of pyruvate kinase deficiency — in tested Somali populations the mutant gene has been found in 10% to 28% of cats sampled across different countries — a disease that causes lifelong, incurable anemia in cats that inherit it from both parents.