The Abyssinian cat "Zeyla" was apparently named fr...

2009-10-24T05:26:45.545-07:00

The Abyssinian cat "Zeyla" was apparently named from the town of Zeyla (or Saylac) - then Abyssinia, now in Northern Somalia near the boarder to Djibouti.

A snip from Wikipedia:
The 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) was an infantry regiment, originally raised by the British East India Company and absorbed by the British Army in 1862.

And another:
The British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia was a punitive expedition carried out by armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire. [...] The task was given to the Bombay Army, and Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Napier was given command of the expeditionary force. [...] The units that participated from the campaign belonged, with the exception of the Madras Sappers, to the Bengal and Bombay Presidency Armies.

So the story of the officer, who alledgedly brought an Abyssinian cat with him to India and then on to Britain is plausible, but might as well have been constructed at a later date. If only we knew the name of the officer...

Comments on Pictures of Cats org Blog: The history of the domestic cat

The Abyssinian cat "Zeyla" was apparently named fr...