Sokoke

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Sokoke
Neutered male Sokoke cat
Other names	Sokoke Forest Cat, African Shorthair (standardised breed); khadzonzo or kadzonzo (original landrace)
Origin	Kenya, Denmark, United States (std. breed); Kenya (landrace)
Foundation bloodstock	Std. breed developed from landrace cats, ultimately of Asian origin
Breed standards
FIFe	standard
CCA-AFC	standard
GCCF	standard
Domestic cat (Felis catus)

The Sokoke (or Sokoke Forest Cat in long form, and formerly the African Shorthair) is 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 recognized by four major cat pedigree registry organizations as a standardised cat breed.^{[1][verification needed][2]} It is named after the Arabuko Sokoke National Forest, the environment from which the foundation stock was obtained, for breed development primarily in Denmark and the United States. The cat is long-legged, with short, coarse hair, and typically a tabby coat, though specific lineages have produced different appearances. Although once rumored 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 population is closely related to an island-dwelling group, the Lamu cat, further north.