JAVANESE CAT
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JAVANESE CAT BREED
History
The Javanese is one breed in a line of designer Siamese-style cats that includes the Balinese, Colorpoint Shorthair, Oriental Shorthair, and Oriental Longhair. These breeds were inspired by breeders who wanted to take the qualities of the Siamese and alter the coat and colors to their liking. All of these breeds share similar conformations and personality types. The differences between these breeds lie in the coat length, colors, patterns, and the cat association to which you happen to subscribe.
The Siamese comes in four pointed colors: seal, blue, chocolate, and lilac. The Balinese is a longhaired version of the Siamese in the same color schemes. The Colorpoint Shorthair comes in pointed colors outside the four traditional Siamese colors; they come in red, cream, tortie, and lynx points. The Javanese is a longhaired version of the Colorpoint Shorthair.
The CFA is the only registry that separates the breeds into the classifications Colorpoint Shorthair and Javanese. The other registries merely extended the color parameters of the Siamese and the Balinese to include the wider range of colors.
The CFA’s reasoning behind the separate designations is that Colorpoint Shorthairs and Javanese are hybrids, which they are, since these colors were created by crossing the Siamese with other breeds. However, some breeders feel that separating the Balinese and the Javanese is like splitting cat hairs; both breeds share a body type, personality, and coat, and the hybridization happened so long ago that it no longer matters. Other breeders zealously want the breeds kept separate to maintain the purity of the Siamese and Balinese lines.
The Javanese shares much of its history with the Balinese breed. The Javanese isn’t from the Isle of Java any more than the Balinese is from Bali; the name was bestowed because of the nice, romantic ring. One of the foundation cats of the Javanese breed was created by crossing a Balinese to a Colorpoint Shorthair. The result was a cat with all the characteristics of a Siamese but with a longer coat length and a color outside the basic four. These colorful longhairs were recognized by the CFA in 1987.
General: The ideal Javanese is a svelte cat with long tapering lines, very lithe but strong and muscular.
Body: Medium size, graceful, long, svelte; distinctive combination of fine bones and firm muscles; shoulders and hips continue same sleek lines of tubular body; tight abdomen.
Long, tapering wedge that forms a triangle with no break at whiskers; medium size; no less than one width of an eye between eyes; skull flat; nose long and straight with no break; no dip in nose; muzzle fine and wedge-shaped; chin and jaw medium size.
Ears: Strikingly large, pointed, wide at base, continuing the lines of wedge.
Eyes: Almond-shaped, medium size; slanted toward nose in harmony with wedge and ears; uncrossed. Color deep vivid blue.
Tail: Long, thin, tapering to fine point; tail hair spreads out like plume.
Coat: Medium length, fine, silky, without downy undercoat, lying close to body; hair longest on tail.
Color: Red, cream, blue-cream, and lilac-cream; tortie point in seal and chocolate; and lynx point in seal, chocolate, blue, lilac, red, chocolate-tortie, blue-cream, lilac-cream, and seal-tortie.
Disqualify: Tail kink; eyes other than blue; white toes or feet; definite double coat.
Allowable outcrosses: Siamese, Colorpoint Shorthair, and Balinese.