Oriental longhair

The Oriental  longhair cat probably was the breed with the most names. Worldwide this breed is mainly known under the name Oriental Long-hair, in the independent associations in Europe he is called the Mandarin, in the FiFE he is called the Javanese (which is a Balinese in other colors than the classic colors with the CFA) and in England he is called the Angora.
 
  (don’t confuse him with the Turkish Angora!). These different names came into being by separately developed breeding programs in Europe and the USA. Nowadays this cat is more and more called the Oriental Long-hair with the FIFE and in England. I stick to the name Oriental  long-hair in this article, which will not lead to much confusion and will make the clearest link to his short-haired brother and his origin. The Oriental  Long-hair originally came into being out of crossings between the Balinese and the Oriental  short-hair. In this way a cat with the Oriental  short-hair type and color, however with the half-long fur of the Balinese could be created. If you execute these crossings for the first time, the kittens will be short-haired but will wear the long-hair gene. They are called “variants” which will be discussed later on in this article.

The Oriental  long haired cat occurs in all colors and patterns as acknowledged with the Oriental  short-hair; it actually is the same cat with however a half-long-hair fur. The type is identical, although the Oriental  long-hair seems more moderate than his short-haired brother.

This is caused by two things: Firstly the longer fur, which blurs and softens the type a bit and secondly the fact that Oriental  longhair cats exist shorter than the short-haired cats. Because of this the type is a bit behind sometimes, although it has lately recovered the lost ground a bit.

The character is identical to the character of the Oriental  short-haired cat. It is a lovely cat with a very high level of cuddliness.
the half long haired fur of the Oriental  Long-hair is not like the fur of other half-long-haired breeds like the Wildcat, the Burman or Ragdoll, but can better be compared to for example the Somali. He should be smooth and doesn’t have an undercoat. This makes him a 'low maintenance' cat. Combing now and then or rubbing with natural shammy will be enough to make this cat look fine. Since the fur is smooth the cat preserves the typical Oriental  appearance.    

Some Oriental  longhair cats have a collar, but this is not obligatory and actually not desired. The tail is the most impressive part of the Oriental  Long-hair; it is full, long and silky. A real plume tail, which makes him look like a squirrel, together with his rangy body type.
It is a pity that many people are still afraid that these half long haired cats need much care; this is really not true and hinders the popularity of this breed (and the Balinese). For people who are attracted to the extravert character of the Oriental  Short-hair or Siamese but prefer more fur, the Oriental  long-hair would be perfect. All other breed specific characteristics, both qua character and qua type, are identical to the European short-hair, that is why we refer to the article concerning the Oriental  short-haired cats and the corresponding breeding standard.

Variants:
Variants arise by means of crossings between a longhair and a short-haired cat of the Oriental  breeding group, namely: Balinese x Siamese or Oriental  short-hair and Oriental  long-hair x Siamese or Oriental  short-hair. These crossings are mainly executed to improve the long-hair type, which is still a bit behind
 
  The short-haired cat which arises out of these crossings wears the recessive gene for long-hair, which makes him valuable for long-hair breeding. Crossing them back with a half-longhair or variant can bring half-longhair offspring. It actually is a transitional stage for a better typed half-longhair and also a possibility to expand the gene pool. Some associations call them Oriental  short-haired/Siamese variants (phenotypic approach); others call them Oriental  longhair/Balinese variants (genotypic approach). The latter approach s better out of family tree viewpoint). It leaves no room for doubt as it comes to which breed it concerns. Especially because some associations only indicate the variant with a “v”, put in brackets or not.

In general the first name is clearer since it indicates the fur length. Especially for a layman/fancier this is more useful, because it doesn’t matter at all for a person who doesn’t breed whether the cat wears the long-hair gene or not.

Although they receive a normal family tree, variants don’t have a show status. They however can be showed as being ordinary short-haired cats and compete with pure Oriental  short-haired cats and Siamese cats.
Below you will find a summary with the calculation of probability which you can expect if you execute a certain combination.

Although the combination variant x variant and variant x short-hair isn’t advised, because the appearance doesn’t show if it concerns a variant or a short-haired cat, according to me it doesn’t apply to all cases. It might really be useful to execute such a combination. It depends on the goal, the breeder has. If the combination offers enough advantages which beat the fact that it will last a generation longer and if your carefully deal with the registration of these kittens, there is no reason, according to me, to avoid this combination