Editing Abyssinian cat (section)

== Health ==
Familial renal amyloidosis or AA amyloidosis, a kidney disorder due to a mutation in the AA amyloid protein gene, has been seen in Abyssinians. The Abyssinian has had severe problems with blindness caused by a hereditary retinal degeneration due to mutations in the rdAc gene. However, the prevalence has been reduced from 45% to less than 4% in 2008 in the country of Sweden. An Australian analysis found the Abyssinian to be over-represented in cases of feline infectious peritonitis when compared to the expected frequency based on census data (4.4% versus 1.5%). An American study had similar results with an odds ratio of 8.98.

In a review of over 5,000 cases of urate urolithiasis the Abyssinian was significantly under-represented, with only one of the recorded cases belonging to an Abyssinian.

The 2008 study "The Ascent of Cat Breeds: Genetic Evaluations of Breeds and Worldwide Random-bred Populations" by Lipinski et al. conducted at UC Davis by the team led by leading feline geneticist Dr Leslie Lyons found that the Abyssinian has a low level of genetic diversity, a heterozygosity value of 0.45 within a range of 0.34–0.69 for all breeds studied, and has genetic markers common to both Southeast Asian and Western breeds indicating that cats from both Asia and Europe were used to create the breed.

The Abyssinian was found to be predisposed to feline atopic dermatitis in a retrospective study of cases of the disease.

The Abyssinian is predisposed to psychogenic alopecia.

An American study found the Abyssinian to be at increased risk of aortic thromboembolism with an odds ratio of 6.03.

A retrospective study in the US found the Abyssinian to be predisposed to acquired myasthaenia gravis with an odds ratio of 4.97.

Mycobacterium avium complex infection is a very rare disease: 10/12 cases were Abyssinians.

A study of cases of patellar luxation in the USA and in Europe found 38% (26/69) Abyssinians had the condition compared to 1/84 for other breeds.

The Abyssinian is the cat breed most commonly affected by progressive retinal atrophy. The condition is caused by two separate mutations in the breed. Early onset PRA is caused by an autosomal dominant mutation in the CRX gene. Late onset PRA is caused by an autosomal recessive mutation in the CEP290 gene.

The Abyssinian is one of the more commonly affected breeds for pyruvate kinase deficiency. An autosomal recessive mutation of the PKLR gene is responsible for the condition in the breed.