| There are many domestic cat breeds. Most | | | | cat genes. The Sokoke is probably a feral |
| people including cat lovers will not have heard of a | | | | domestic cat living in and around the villages of |
| number of them. They will almost certainly be | | | | the Grimiama tribe who used the cat as a source |
| unaware of this rarest of breeds. | | | | of food at one time. |
| There is little hard fact surrounding the history of | | | | The tribal people called the cat "Khadzonzo". This |
| the Sokoke Cat. The breed was named after the | | | | word means "look like tree bark". This is because |
| forest from where she originated on the coast of | | | | the coat color and pattern is reminiscent of tree |
| Kenya. The Sokoke Forest is the largest on the | | | | bark being a modified marbled tabby pattern with |
| east of Africa and contains much interesting | | | | "ticked" blotches. |
| wildlife. | | | | Although well known to the Kenyans of the area |
| Close to the forest is the African Savanna, the | | | | they were undiscovered until 1978 when a |
| home of another cat, this time a wild cat called | | | | plantation owner and artist (and former horse |
| the Serval. | | | | breeder) Jeni Slater found them under a tree on |
| The local people, the Giriama tribe, who live close | | | | her estate (in fact one of her servants or helpers |
| to the Sokoke Forest have been aware of the | | | | found the mother cat and kittens). |
| Sokoke for a long time and they say this breed | | | | Jeni's background in breeding alerted her to the |
| of cat has been living in the area for perhaps | | | | fact that the cat she saw was special, different |
| centuries. | | | | and unusual and a possible new breed of cat. |
| They say that the Sokoke is neither a domestic | | | | She took two of the kittens and that in effect |
| cat nor a wild cat as the cat's appearance is | | | | was the first step in the establishment of a new |
| distinctly different. Living as they have with this | | | | and rare breed of cat now registered with FiFe |
| cat for so long they are to be believed. | | | | and TICA. |
| Although the Sokoke is the size of a domestic | | | | Shortly after the discovery two kittens were |
| cat she is rangy and exotic looking having the | | | | shipped to Denmark and breeding began. |
| appearance of a cross between the Serval and a | | | | In due course the breed was exported to the |
| Bengal. | | | | USA and Canada. There are now breeders in the |
| It is feasible to argue that such as mating did in | | | | USA, Norway, Canada and Denmark but they are |
| fact take place. But there is no hard evidence to | | | | few and far between in comparison to the more |
| substantiate that. | | | | well known breeds. |
| DNA testing of the cat shows no evidence of wild | | | | |