The Abyssinian cat, like all "natural" or ancient races, has an uncertain past. It is believed that they originate from Abyssinia (the current Ethiopia) and that they descend from one of the varieties of cats that existed in Ancient Egypt.

Legend has it that its origin was on the banks of the Nile River, when Ramses II asked the king of Abyssinia for a clowder of cats, which the latter obligingly fulfilled. Abyssinian cats wandered around inside the great temples of ancient Egypt.

 

In other words, they were considered the children of the gods, their worldly reincarnation. They represented everything that was good, everything divine, and they were given the respect and adoration that their status demanded.
 

But all this is legend - or maybe not ... In any case, the Abyssinian breed as we know it today has an ancestry that goes back no further than the 19th century. At that time, rather than definite breeds there were just diverse types of cats.