Oriental Cats

Refined, cheeky, affectionate, talkative, noisy, playful, arrogant, charming, obstrusive and last but not least extremely lovable. These are expressions describing the oriental breeds.

I read something like this in my very first cat book. Two sentences that fascinated me and which came to my mind over and over again. For sure sine of these attributes also fit other cat breeds but they are only present in this extend in oriental cats.

A pile of orientals in their favourite sleeping position: ,The more on one pile, the better".

Siamese

The first siamese arrived in England in the end of the 19th century and have been presented on cat shows there. Due to the point markings and the sapphire blue eyes they made a big impression on the visitors. At the same time, the first breeding programmes were started and they already were divided into siamese with rounder heads and the more refined ones with long heads (shark head). This more elegant type finally defined the standard of the modern Siamese - however the more traditional round type attracted other breeders and pet lovers and they are known as apple head Siamese today.

The modern Siamese is of medium size, with a long and refined body, long legs, a long and thin whip tail and a long triangular head with big and low set ears. The fur is short, silky and due to missing undercoat lying close to the body.

The Siamese is more outgoing than any other cat breed. She likes to talk to her favourite human and often surprises with her incredibly loud voice. A Siamese is the ideal cat for someone who likes cats with acrobatic and funny talents and a sweet head with enough space for a lot of funny and crazy ideas. She entertains and charms her owner, she surprises and often annoys us (when we stumble over our persecutor on the way to the kitchen for the 100th time). The owner of a Siamese who is busy playing with his feline will often miss half of a movie on TV because he forgot to check the time. People who prefer a calm sofa decoration should better not buy an oriental. This would be stressful for both the owner and the cat and both would be unhappy.

The characteristic point markings are determined by a gene (Cs) which causes partial albinism. The colder parts of the body (face, ears, legs and tail) show the genetic colour while the warm parts of the body remain lighter. This gene is also responsible for the blue eyes of the pointed cats. A seal point Siamese for example is genetically a black cat, but the albinism factor hinders the warm parts of the body to develop the characteristic colour. Pointed cats are always born white. The points begin to develop when they are around two weeks old and it takes one or two years until the points are fully developed.

Siam, Seal point: Yazoo Monty		Siam, Cinnamon point: Chazam van Salody O.: I. Siepermann		Blue point Siam s*Viskas Brianna

Colours

The oldest and best known colour variety is seal point, followed by blue point, chocolate point, lilac point, cinnamon point and fawn point, red point and cream point. All these colours may be combined with tabby markings, tortie (tortoise shell), with or without silver, with or without white. There are also purely white Siamese without visible points, they are called foreign white Siamese.

Siam, Chocolate point: Yazoo Bazil   O.: Fam Casino		Siam, Lilac point: Anderwelt Donora silver catch B.: Gesine Wolf

Balinese

Balinese are simply Siamese with longer fur. They also belong to the group of oriental cats, they have the same refined body and temperament as their short haired relatives. Though they belong to the longhaired cats, their coat is a bit shorter compared to other semi-longhair breeds and it misses the undercoat. Therefore it cannot mat together and it lies close to the body. The tail is covered by feathery long hair. The coat around the neck and the hind legs is also close to the body and does not make a fluffy impression.

Probably kittens with longer fur have always been born in Siamese litters, as a result of spontaneous mutation. As this was regarded as a 'fault' they have been given away as pets and nobody reported on these coincidences.

Later on, matings between Siamese and Persians have been done in order to develop a new breed, the Colourpoint Persian - as a result the gene for long hair was also introduced into the Siamese breed. The first longhaired Siamese were shown in the USA around 1930, but breeding programmes specialising in this new variety did not start before 1940. As the name 'longhaired Siamese' was not received very well, the US breeder Helen Smith created the new name 'Balinese'. On the one hand this name was chosen in order to express that they are relatives of the Siamese, on the other hand their refined look reminded Helen Smith of Balinese dancers.

Balinese are bred in the same variety of colours as the Siamese.

Balinese blue point: Max von der Rumpelshorst
B.: M. Wolper

Oriental Shorthair

Around 1950 the Oriental Shorthair breeding programme started. Oriental Shorthair resulted from matings between Siamese and solid coloured shorthair cats. The offspring was mated back to Siamese over generations in order to maintain the temperament of the Siamese breed. The Oriental Shorthair of today is a solid coloured Siamese. Like the Siamese, the OSH is a medium size and refined cat with long legs and a whip tail. The head is long and triangular shaped with low set large ears, continuing the shape of the head. The OSH has green eyes and the coat is silky, short and lying close to the body.

The variety of colours is incredible:
Colour range from ebony (black), to havanna (chocolate), blue, lavender, cinnamon, fawn, red and cream. These colours may also be combined with tabby markings (ticked, mackerel, classic and spotted) and / or with silver, white or tortie.

OKH, black smoke: Yazoo Idefix O.: Fam. Will		Siam, blue-tabby-point: Yazoo Kyla
OKH, Cinnamon: Silver Fox´ D-Cinnamondream B.: Wendel Stoop		OKH, Havanna: Yazoo Idgy

Mandarin, Orientalisch Langhaar, Javanese

In different countries and organisations you find different names for the same breed: Oriental Longhair, Mandarin and Javanese. Unfortunately a common name could not be defined so far. This breed has its origin in the mating of Balinese and OSH and it was acknowledged by the different organisations in the 70s and 80s. Regarding their appearance and temperament they are similar to the other oriental breeds. They combine the wide range of colours of the Oriental Shorthair with the semi-long coat of the Balinese.

Mandarin, ebony: Mirrormere Bagheera Bregolas   B.: St. Ahrens		Mandarin, chocolate tabby classic: Shamrock Scathelock van Ravenscar B/O: Edith de Geest
Mandarin, black-silver-tabby-ticked: Mirrormere Branwen Yazoo		Mandarin, silver shaded: Rakiscats Lady Drusilla  Bes.: St. Ahrens O.: Cathy Galfo

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