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APPEARANCE

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The Sokoke’s head appears small in relation to its body.The top of the head is flat and the ears, which are medium to moderately large, are broad at the base and should be set fairly high and upright with slightly rounded tips, which may be tufted.The upright set of ears makes Sokokes appear constantly alert.

The eyes are moderately large and slightly almond in shape; the colour may be amber to light green, or blue in the Snow Sokoke.The cheek bones are high and the nose broad and medium length with a slight curve at the bridge.The chin should be broad and strong.

The Sokoke body is medium-long, slender, and muscular, particular­ly around the neck and shoulders.The legs are long with the hind legs being longer than the front, giving the impression of standing on tip-toe.The paws are oval and medium to small in size.The tail is medium to long and tapers to a narrow-pointed tip.

Although a Sokoke may give the impression of being quite fine, they are surprising­ly strong and heavy when lifted.The coat is very short, close-lying and glossy, but not silky, and there is little or no undercoat.

The pattern is most distinctiv­e, being a modified classic tabby pattern, sometimes called African tabby, which is muted by ticking throughout the pattern areas.The head markings include a characteri­stic ‘M’ and frown marks on the forehead, and a ‘scarab’ design on the top of the head. Lines then extend backwards between the ears and continue down the back of the neck.The cheeks are barred with lines leading backwards from the eyes towards the ears, and the eyes are outlined by spectacles; the whisker pads are spotted.

The back shows a central spine line, together with lines on either side, and the shoulders show a butterfly design. The flanks show clearly defined rounded ‘oyster’ markings with a central broken spot, and there should be spots on the belly. All legs show barring and the tail is heavily banded and has a dark tip.

The ground colour of the brown (black) Sokoke should be mid to light bronze with the underside of the body and legs fading to a paler tone.All the markings should be dark brown/black showing good contrast to the ground colour.The GCCF also recognises the Snow Sokoke where the ground colour is an ivory tone and the markings mid brown, again showing a good contrast against the ground colour.

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