Abyssinian Cats At Cape Animal Shelter Draw Overwhelming Interest

BARNSTABLE, MA — Eight rare Abyssinian cats were taken in by the Cape Cod Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals recently.

They were posted to the MSPCA Facebook page on Wednesday, and a second post on Thursday allowed for those interested in adopting the animals to begin submitting inquiries. And boy did they.

Inquiries were closed just 24 hours later as officials with the MSPCA shared that over 600 people responded with interest in the eight cats.

The interest likely comes due to the breed of cat. Abyssinians are rare, and these eight happen to be purebred as well, according to MSPCA officials.

"It’s not often we get these kinds of purebred, exotic cats, let alone in these numbers," said Director of Operations at the MSPCA Cape Cod Adoption Center Colleen Evans.

These eight are the first Abyssinians the shelter has received in the last five years, and it's the first time the shelter has received multiple in more than a decade.

"They’re very popular not just because they’re active and affectionate, but also because of their unique look, especially their rather large ears," Evans said.