 |
Balinese Cat
|
Balinese Cat Photo of Athena: ©
Helmi Flick
Introduction
You could almost summarize this cat in several words, a Siamese cat
with long fur but it is not quite as straight forward as
that, not for me in any event.
It is said or is accepted that the breed originates in the introduction
of a gene into the Siamese cat's genetic make up that causes semi-long
hair. This gene is recessive so its effects can be hidden for a long
time.
The question is, how was this gene introduced? The gene may have been
in one of the early imports from Siam. Longhaired Siamese cats appear
to have been in existence in the Far East well before importation to
the West.
Or, it may have been a genetic mutation. A number of breeds are due to
the mutation of a gene (e.g. Dwarf Cats). Finally, it is more probable
that the Siamese or their offspring imported into Britain were
outcrossed with longhaired cats such as the Turkish Angora.
Once the possibility of a longhaired Siamese was presented to the Cat
Fancy then in time it came about that a new breed was created and
developed (well delineated from other breeds) through selective
breeding.
|
Photo of Athena reclining: © Helmi
Flick
History
| Date |
Event |
| 1920s or before |
The appearance of semi-longhaired cats in
Siamese litters. |
| 1928 |
Longhair
Siamese registered with the Cat Fanciers Federation. |
| 1955 |
Breeding of the Balinese
(perhaps initially referred to still as the Longhaired Siamese) began
in earnest. This must have meant a breeding programme that ran in
parallel with the Modern Siamese as until about 1950 there was only one
type of Siamese namely the Traditional Siamese or Thai as the breed is
now called. |
| 1961 |
Accepted
in the USA for registration in same point colors as the
Siamese. |
| 1961 |
The breed was accepted for championship
status by CFF. |
| 1979 |
Additional
colors where introduced and
registered in USA - red, cream,tabby etc. |
Read about the history in detail on this dedicated page
(new window)
|
The Associations and the Balinese Cat
Athena, the cat in the two photographs above, would be a Lynx Point
Balinese if she was registered with TICA (The International Cat
Association). If she was registered with the CFA (Cat Fanciers
Association) she would be a Javanese, a separate breed.
This is because the CFA only register the conventional Siamese point
colors for this breed, namely seal, lilac, chocolate and blue (the
solid colors). Whereas the other associations, including TICA allow
registration of all the additional point colors namely, lynx (tabby),
tortoiseshell, flame (red) and cream.
The lynx point incidentally is the tabby gene having an effect on the
points of the cat (i.e. causing stripping).
To complicate matters more in Europe a Javanese cat means
an Oriental Longhair with a solid-color.
This is confusing and it is probably time to rationalize the various
criteria for registration and the breed names.
 |
 |
| Photo of Kareem (left) and Samson (right)
© Helmi Flick |
Appearance and Character
The Balinese Cat's elegant and stylish appearance is in contrast to her
demonstrative character and desire to clown around. Apparently she is a
little less vocal than the Siamese (who is known to be vocal). She is
intelligent.
|
Traditional Balinese - Photo: ©
audioeric
The
photographs that you see on this page are of the equivalent of the
Modern Siamese in body conformation. As is the case for the Siamese
cat,
there are
two type of Balinese Cat, the Traditional and the Contemporary. This
page features the Contemporary. A Traditional Balinese is illustrated
opposite, right.
During development of the Balinese Cat, and as a result of breeding with
the Modern Siamese to improve the "contemporary" long and
slightly
fragile look, the coat became more like a shorthaired cat in texture,
while the tail retained its magnificent plume.
The coat is not thick, therefore, as in other long or medium long
haired cats such as the Maine Coon or Persian but silky and it lies
close to the body.
|
Photo of Samantha: © Helmi Flick
Breeders
This is a list of breeders with their own websites that are listed by
Google on the first three pages - that's my criteria for listing here,
currently. I have listed Balinese and Javanese cat breeders. They are
listed in the order in which they appear on the search result.
Montessori Balinese and Javanese
Cats
Located in Florida, USA.
Sehnsational Balinese Kittens
Small cattery in Tucson, AZ, USA, specializing in dilute-pointed,
lynx-pointed, and bi-colored kittens
From
Balinese Cat to Home Page
|
|
|