The Balinese Cat Breed
History
Early references appear of the Balinese cat breed, but little is known about the history of the Balinese. In 1871 reference is made to a long haired Siamese and there is a CFF (Cat Fanciers Federation) registration record in 1928 for a long haired Siamese.
Balinese Lilac Point cat
The actual breeding history of the Balinese starts with the first breeding programs in the 1950’s. Marion Dorsey from California and Helen Smith from New York were both Siamese breeders who decided to develop the long haired Siamese kittens that were appearing in their Siamese litters. The name Balinese is a reference to the graceful Balinese dancers that Helen Smith admires.
Originally, the Balinese cat breed was recognized in four colors – chocolate, lilac, blue and seal. Red, cream and tabby patterns were added in 1979 and more recently, all these colors in combination with white were accepted. The Balinese was recognized for competition in 1979 by TICA.
Description
The Balinese is a graceful, muscular and elegant cat. This cat breed has a long and silky coat that goes beautifully with its regal bearing.
The single coat lies close to the body and lacks an undercoat, which makes grooming
easy as there is no matting. The tail is plumed and the hair on the tail can be
up to 5 inches long.
The Balinese have sapphire blue eyes and the pointed pattern coloring is restricted to the face, the legs, the tail and the ears. The body is a creamy white.
The Balinese has a svelte body type with long legs. Even though it is an elegant and fine-boned cat, the Balinese is all muscle. The females weigh from 5-7 pounds and the males weigh from 6-8 pounds.
Despite its long hair, the Balinese cat breed is easy to groom. The coat does not tangle or mat and a brushing is all that is needed to remove any loose hair.
The Javanese cat breed is an offshoot breed from the Balinese. As the CFA (Cat Fanciers Association) only accepts four colors (seal, chocolate, blue and lilac) in the Balinese, it classifies all other colors under the Javanese cat breed.
Personality & Temperament
The Balinese is an extremely loyal and people-orientated cat breed that gets along
well with children and other pets. If you are looking for a vocal cat that will
have a “conversation” with you, then the Balinese is the cat breed for you.
Because the Balinese is such an intelligent, active and people-orientated cat, you will have to engage your cat in high-activity games. These cats do not do well on their own for long periods of time. Rather get a companion cat if you need to leave your Balinese alone.
Health Issues
The Balinese cat breed is a long-lived, robust cat breed with no known health issues.
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