The Somali's bushy tail and its mischievous personality has given way to its nickname "Fox Cat."

World War II decimated the Somali population and it had to be rebuilt using several other breeds. All Canadian and American Somalis can be traced back to one male Abyssinian that helped re-establish the Somali breed.

The Somali is so-named because Somalia borders Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), a nod to the fact that geopolitican borders and the genetic distinction between these two breeds are a uniquely human creation.