Skip to content
Sokoke
EntityQ2075066· pop 20· linked from 208 articles

Also known as Sokoke Forest Cat, African Shorthair

The Sokoke (or Sokoke Forest Cat in long form, and formerly the African Shorthair) is a natural breed of domestic cat, developed and standardised, beginning in the late 1970s, from the feral khadzonzo landrace of eastern, coastal Kenya. The Sokoke is recognised by several major cat pedigree registry organisations as a standardised cat breed. It is named after the Arabuko Sokoke National Park, the environment from which the foundation stock was obtained, for breed development primarily in Kenya and Denmark. The cat is long-legged, with short, coarse hair, and typically a blotched tabby coat, th

Key facts

Cat breed.image
Kimburu Sungura Sana of Moosegrove SOK n 22 (cropped).jpg
Cat breed.imagecaption
Adult showing the breed's characteristic black blotched tabby pattern
Cat breed.altname
Sokoke Forest Cat, African Shorthair (standardised breed);khadzonzo or kadzonzo (original landrace)
Cat breed.country
Kenya, Denmark
Cat breed.stock
Kenian landrace cats
Cat breed.landrace
yes
Cat breed.fifestd
http://www.fifeweb.org/dnld/std/SOK.pdf
Cat breed.gccfstd
https://www.gccfcats.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SOKOKE.pdf
Cat breed.loofstd
https://loof.asso.fr/sites/default/files/2025-04/05_standards_20250101.pdf#page102
Cat breed.ccastd
https://www.cca-afc.com/documents/BreedStandards/SOKOKE_(Experimental)_20220306_001717.pdf

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Sokoke dalili.jpg
Show 1 more fact
Commons category
Sokoke cat
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~12 min read

Article

14 sections
Contents
  • Original ''khadzonzo'' landrace
  • Description
  • Relation to other populations
  • Status
  • Sokoke breed
  • History
  • Breed recognition
  • Popularity
  • Characteristics
  • Appearance
  • Coat
  • Behaviour
  • Notes
  • References

The Sokoke (or Sokoke Forest Cat in long form, and formerly the African Shorthair) is a natural breed of domestic cat, developed and standardised, beginning in the late 1970s, from the feral khadzonzo landrace of eastern, coastal Kenya. The Sokoke is recognised by several major cat pedigree registry organisations as a standardised cat breed. It is named after the Arabuko Sokoke National Park, the environment from which the foundation stock was obtained, for breed development primarily in Kenya and Denmark. The cat is long-legged, with short, coarse hair, and typically a blotched tabby coat, though specific lineages have produced different appearances. Although once rumoured to be a domestic × wildcat hybrid, genetic study has not borne out this belief. Another idea, that the variety is unusually ancient, remains unproven either way. The native khadzonzo population is closely related to an island-dwelling group, the Lamu cat, further north.

==Original khadzonzo landrace==

Gallery (4)

Connections

Categories