BALINESE CAT BREED
Balinese Cat Breed – CatsPlace.org
History
Longhaired kittens began appearing spontaneously in the early 1900s in otherwise shorthaired Siamese litters. Some fanciers theorize that the gene for long hair was introduced into the Siamese gene pool in Europe after World War I. Since the Siamese was nearly obliterated as a European breed by the war (as were other breeds) breeders may have used other breeds after the war’s end to help rejuvenate the bloodline.
Other fanciers believe that the gene for the long hair is simply a naturally occurring mutation, which is also certainly possible. Both theories have been disputed and both have their reputable proponents, but no one really knows for sure which theory is correct. In earlier years, the words “natural mutation” appeared in the CFA breed standard, but that wording has since been dropped.
A Siamese with long hair was registered with CFF in 1928, but no one began a serious effort to establish the breed until the 1940s. At that time, several breeders began working with the longhaired cats born in purebred Siamese litters.
These longhaired individualists were named Balinese by one of the breed’s pioneers, Helen Smith, who likened the cat’s graceful movements and sleek lines to those of the dancers from the Isle of Bali. Despite resistance from Siamese breeders, many of whom didn’t believe that the Balinese’s longer hair was a natural mutation, dedicated breeders like Helen Smith and Sylvia Holland worked to develop the breed.
In the early days, the Balinese often had heavier boning and heavier coats than the standard called for, and frequently fell short of meeting the standard in head type and ear set as well. Hampered by the Siamese breeders who wouldn’t sell top-quality breeding stock to them, the Balinese breeders struggled to refine the body type by crossbreeding back to the Siamese. After years of frustrating work, the Balinese improved in type. By 1970, when the CFA granted Championship, all the major United States associations recognized the Balinese.
General: The ideal Balinese cat is a svelte cat with long tapering lines, very lithe but strong and muscular. Because of the longer coat, the Balinese appears to have softer lines and less extreme type then other breeds with similar type.
Body: Medium size; graceful, long; shoulders and hips continue same sleek lines of tubular body; neck long and slender.
Head: Long, tapering wedge; medium size; in good proportion to body; skull flat; muzzle fine and wedge-shaped; chin and jaw medium size; nose long and straight, a continuation of the forehead with no break.
Ears: Strikingly large, pointed, wide at base, continuing the lines of the wedge.
Eyes: Almond-shaped, medium size; slanted toward the nose in harmony with lines of wedge and ears; uncrossed. Color deep vivid blue.
Tail: Bone structure long, thin, tapering to a fine point.
Coat: Medium length, fine, silky without downy undercoat; lying close to the body; tail hair spreads out like a plume.
Color: Body color even, with subtle shading when allowed; point color dense and clearly defined; mask covers entire face including whisker pads and is connected to ears by tracings.
Disqualify: Any evidence of illness or poor health; weak hind legs; mouth breathing due to nasal obstruction or poor occlusion; malocclusion; kink in tail; eyes other than blue; definite double coat.
Allowable outcrosses: Siamese
