Balinese

Origin
The Balinese arose in the fifties in the USA. In a nest of Siamese cats a longhaired kitten was found now and then. This can be explained by the fact that the gene for long-hair is recessive with respect to the gene for shorthair.

Shorthaired cats can keep the gene with them during several generations and can pass it to their descendants without a long-haired kitten being born. If 2 short-haired cats which both wear the long-hair gene are accidentally coupled to each other, there is a chance that one or more kittens from that nest will have a long-haired fur.

The question is; how did the long-haired gene end up in some Siamese cats? Sometimes a sudden mutation occurs in the genes, mutations which lead (in this case) to another hair length. It might also be the case that at that time one or more Siamese cats have been crossed with a long-haired cat without announcing it. A number of breeders from the USA were so impressed by these longhaired Siamese cats that they were determined to further breed them and have them acknowledged by the American catteries. One of these breeders invented the name “Balinese” since she associated the gracious movements of the cat with the dancers form the Indonesian island Bali. After having bred the Balinese intensively for many years he was acknowledged in the early seventies by most American catteries and later also by the European catteries.

Exterior characteristics
The body of the Balinese is long, rangy and elegant but muscled. He stands high on his feet, which are fine but definitely not fragile and he has oval feet. The general image of the Balinese: an elegant and gracious cat. The Balinese has a wedge-shaped and long head with a straight profile and a strong chin. His ears are large and slanting and according to the form of a wedge so that he looks like a triangle at the front. The eyes are beautiful deep blue, they have an almond form and are placed crookedly. The colors of the Balinese are the same as the colors of the Siamese.

The kittens are born completely white and within a couple of days or weeks (depends on which color they develop) the color points become clear. 

The most occurring colors are: seal point, blue point, chocolate point, lilac point, red point, cream point. These colors also exist in tabby (striped) and tortoise (red/cream spots). More recent colors are cinnamon point and fawn point. And of course we shouldn’t forget the Foreign White Balinese. This is a fully white cat with the blue eyes which makes him a Balinese.

The character
The character of the Balinese can be compared with the character of the Siamese. The Balinese needs human companionship, but he also gets along with other pets. He is a complete part of the family and the household and is involved in everything his owner does. He prefers to lie on your lap or in your neck. The Balinese has a very loving character, is very dependant (sometimes even obtrusive) to “his” people and is a real friend.    

Balinese cats are intelligent, active, clever, curious and are very present. They are playful and also remain playful when they get older.

Many Balinese cats are good in fetching all kinds of toys. I advise you not to keep the cat alone in your house. Especially if you aren’t home a lot, we advise you to purchase a playfellow for your Balinese. This is really necessary for a healthy mental development of your cat. Because of that he will grow up and become a relaxed and self-confident cat. The other cat doesn’t necessarily have to be a Balinese or other Oriental cat. It is striking that the Balinese cat which lives together with several Balinese cats and/or Oriental cats often sleep together next to each other. They can lie for hours like this and wake up now and then to play or to wash each other. But they can also play around with each other.

The Balinese can be pretty loud; they will “tell” you all kinds of stories. So, the Balinese is an ideal cat for people who value and respect his marked character. The cat will return the love and attention you give to him.

The variant
In order to improve the type (and sometimes the eye color) of the Balinese some breeders cross them with a Siamese. It is a fact that the Siamese is often better typified than the Balinese. The kittens which are born are all shorthaired kittens (called Siamese variants) but they wear the recessive gene for long hair which they pass if they get crossed with another Balinese or another Siamese variant. If you cross this Siamese variant with a Balinese, you can expect 50% Siamese variant kittens and 50% Balinese kittens. This, however, is the theory. In praxis the percentages can differ. The Siamese variants will receive a family tree as being a Siamese and can therefore also be showed as shorthaired cats.

In any case, in the Netherlands; in some other countries like f.e. the USA it is different. It might be the case that the fur of a Siamese variant is a bit longer and softer than the fur of a pure short-haired Siamese. The variant is very valuable for the Balinese breeders who want to improve the type of their beloved breed.     In this way new blood lines for the Balinese can be obtained.

The above mentioned story also goes for the Oriental short-haired and Oriental long-haired cats (Mandarin). These 4 breeds: Siamese, Balinese, Oriental shorthaired and Oriental longhaired are all in the same Oriental breed group and can therefore be crossed among themselves. Note: these variants may only be used for Balinese/Oriental Long-haired breeding in order to prevent that a half-long haired will suddenly pop up in a pure short-haired line.

Info: Cattery   Shamwari\'s Cattery  Balinese & Siamese (Variant)