The Aby is often said to look as if he had just walked straight out of the wild. That’s because of his ticked coat pattern, which resembles that of wild cats such as cougars. A ticked coat has alternating light and dark bands of color on each hair shaft. Everything about him suggests his lively, attentive nature. The Aby has a slightly rounded wedge-shaped head topped with large, broad ears, the better to hear you with. Large, almond-shaped eyes of gold or green express interest in everything they see. On the face, dark lines may extend from the eyes and brows. The muscular body is graceful and athletic. It falls into a middle ground between the stocky, or cobby, body of a breed such as the Persian and the long, svelte body of the Oriental breeds such as the Siamese. The body is supported by slim, fine-boned legs atop small, oval, compact paws. Abys are often said to look as if they are walking on tip-toe. Swishing behind them is a long, tapering tail. Its bands of color give the Aby’s coat a warm, glowing appearance. To the touch, the medium-length hair is soft and silky with a fine texture. The coat comes in four main colors: ruddy brown, more artistically described as burnt sienna and ticked with darker brown or black, with tile-red nose leather and black or brown paw pads; red (sometimes called sorrel), a cinnamon shade ticked with chocolate-brown, with pink nose leather and paw pads; blue, a warm beige ticked with various shades of slate blue, with nose leather described as old rose and paw pads as mauve; and fawn, a warm rose-beige ticked with light cocoa-brown, with salmon-colored nose leather and pink paw pads. Some associations permit additional colors, including chocolate, lilac, and various silver tones.
