Balinese
Cat History
is the same as Siamese
Cat History (new window) until
the mid-1900s (if you click on
the link you can switch between the two pages). After all the Balinese
is a long haired Siamese cat. So, we can take it that there was a short
haired and longer haired version (semi-long haired) of the same
cat breed, the Siamese. From the mid-1950s
onwards, the cat fancy made an impact on what was a natural breed by
developing the Balinese from the long haired Siamese.
Until the middle of the 1900s the Siamese cat was one
cat, usually
seen with shorthair and occasionally with longer hair. What was the
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Photo
of Traditional
Balinese © audioeric
under creative
commons.
ratio of shorthair to long hair? Sarah Hartwell answers that question.
The long haired gene is recessive. This means that the effect of the
presence of this gene is not seen readily. It is hidden sometimes for
generations (when inbreeding takes place a reccessive gene becomes more
apparent). Obviously then, there were very many more shorthaired
Siamese (the type the average cat keeper and lover knows) than long
haired. I had no idea of their existence until researching the subject.
Long haired Siamese appeared in purebed Siamese litters in the West
(USA, UK and Continental Europe). This means that one of the early
importations of Siamese cat carried this recessive gene. It is not
clear which import it was but an interesting article in the Penny
Illustrated (an English
newspaper) of 1871
referes to what is
probably a long haired Siamese.
The newspaper says this (copyright time barred):-
"The
Hon. Mrs. Grey contributed an imported Persian cat of rare pedigree,
besides which there were many Persian cats of several colours; Angora,
Aleppo, and other foreign sorts, including one of great rarity from
Siam (comment:
this must be a Siamese cat). Lady
Lubbock sent
a beautiful long-haired creature in this class."
The
last cat referred to is a long haired Siamese cat. So we know that as
far back as 1871 (at least) a long haired Siamese was in the
West. This cat must have carried the recessive gene (but there were
probably others). As can be seen
from the above text, at that time, the Siamese was the king pin of rarity
and therefore I suspect very desirable. This cat type/breed is now
called a Traditional Balinese.
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Photo
of Modern or Contemporary Balinese Cat:
© Helmi Flick
It
is interesting to note that
out of one cat breed (the Siamese) four
have been developed. The Traditional Siamese (the "Thai" under
TICA), the Modern Siamese (called the "Siamese" in the cat fancy), the
Balinese (medium long haired Siamese) and the Javanese (a Siamese with
more variation to the pointing colors and textures). All but
the Traditional Siamese are bred to be more "elegant" (rangy and thin).
Back to Balinese Cat History. We know that there were long haired
Saimese cats popping up from time to time in the first half of the
1900s. These cats were registered as a "Longhair Siamese" for the first
time in 1928 with the Cat Fanciers Federation (currently a registry
covering the north east of the USA).
In 1955 the Longhair Siamese was bred for the first time in
the
USA and so began Balinese Cat history. Thereafter the development of
the Balinese mirrors that of the Siamese in terms of the gradual change
in appearance to a rangy, slim and long headed cat (the same as the
Modern Siamese). During the development of this cat it was breed back
to the Siamese. This removed the long hair except on the tail.
The
cat was named
"Balinese" by a cat breeder, Helen Smith in or around
1956 after the elegant Balinese dancers.
No criticism is intended but I think, being as objective as possible
and based on the Siamese cat poll (go
here and scroll down to see the
results and vote), the more
attractive cat is the one illustrated top right on this page. Do you
agree? If so, please tell
us. Read more about the Balinese
cat.
Balinese
Cat History -- Sources:
- http://www.subali-klm.com/balinese/index.html
- Messbeast
- Wikpedia
- Myself
The photographs in
the collage below are all copyright Helmi
Flick - please respect copyright.
Here's a great
looking Modern Balinese Cat, though, which somewhat flies in the face
of what I have said about preferences towards the traditional look:
Balinese
Cat
History to Balinese Cat
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