The Balinese Cat and Javanese Cat - As Graceful as a Dancer

The Balinese cat derives its name from the exotic dancers of Bali, a dreamy tropical island in the Indonesian archipelago. The Balinese received their names from a Mrs Helen Smith, based in New York, who ran a breeding cattery called Merry Mews.

Why Balinese?

Probably because of their long flowing tails that billow and fluff like trailing plumes behind them. Fluffy yes, but not as fluffy as the breed known as the Himalayan cat, whose tail is really plump and swishy.

Combined with the fluffy tail, the Balinese cat has long fur, the length of the fur does vary though so you need to see photos of previous matings to get an idea of what the full grown cat will look like. The kittens don't have the flowing coat of the adults. The fur has no undercoat so this breed is easy to look after in the hairdressing department. And like the Siamese, they come in all the colour points - seal, chocolate, blue and lilac. They of course have blue eyes as well.

Also like the Siamese, the Balinese cat come in both traditional and more modern body types.

Traditional Balinese Cat
The Traditional Balinese is different from the Modern Balinese and probably not just in looks. For an in depth discussion of the differences between the Modern and the Traditional Siamese please read all about it here. Lots of intrigue and fur flying and well worth a read because many of the concerns are most relevant to the Balinese cat, seeing that it is just a longer coated Siamese.

I asked a breeder, Marie Clements from Illanois who breeds quality Traditional Balinese (and Traditional Siamese) if they were just the same as Siamese apart from fur length. She said that in her experience the long haired Siamese (Balinese) was more laid back, better coping with multi cat households especially where some of the cats were house cats. They also seemed better able to cope in households with young children who accidently hauled the cats around. They also accepted the sometimes chaotic routines of modern family life better than the average Siamese.

Although they have the longer fur they are not high maintenance at all because the fur is silky not thick and matting like say Persians who need to be combed every day. Many people suffering allergys also reported fewer problems with the long haired Siamese, something that seems counter intuitative. When it comes to shedding they are also actually easier because they shed less than the short haired Siamese.

Apparently the Balinese is much slower to develop both its eye color and its adult character than the Siamese, often taking at least 2 years. So don't think that your young cat is a poor quality Balinese, it just takes longer to grow into an adult!

As you can see the Balinese has a lot going for it. Remember that these are generalizations, don't assume that every Bainese will fit its generalization! You still need to choose your kitten carefully, often the breeder who has looked after them for weeks has a good idea which kitten is destined to be feisty and which kitten has the tendency to be the clingy one. You just have to be honest with yourself, what do you want from your new Balinese? Look for these characteristics in the litter you are looking at and be guided by the breeder if you like and trust their knowledge. Another good reason for having the pick of the litter rather than feeling sad for the last one left looking for a home.

The Cat that came out of the Closet

The beautiful secret is out because Siamese breeders often had different kittens appear in their litters, these were sold off as pets because they were an embarrassment and implied that the Siamese were not pure bred!

The Balinese cat is thought to be a spontaneous mutation that appeared within Siamese litters. In other words, it was not the product of cross-breeding. Although they turned up much earlier it was only during the 1950s that cat lovers in the United States began to work towards making the Balinese a breed separate from the Siamese. In the UK, there were no official Balinese before 1973, although fluffy kittens did sometimes turn up in Siamese cat litters.

Not everyone classifies the Balinese in the same way this is where the Javanese Cat name comes from!

The CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) recognizes the usual four Siamese color points for Balinese: Seal, Chocolate, Blue and Lilac. Beyond these color points, the CFA calls them Javanese (Java is another Indonesian island, next to Bali).

The TCA, Traditional Cat Association, which is a club for all the Traditional breeds and not just Siamese and Balinese has its own classification. Classic Balinese and Traditional Balinese for the color points, Seal, Chocolate, Blue and Lilac. The other points are called the Classic Colorpoint Balinese and the Traditional Colorpoint Balinese. This club has a list of Traditional cat breeders across the world so a good place to start your kitten search.

TICA, the International Cat Association, uses the term Balinese for all the different colour points. And the TCCI (Traditional and Classic Cat International) tends to promote the traditional and original style of cat, the more 'rounded' type, rather than the modern angular body shapes.

That's in the US. Beware, though - if you're in Europe and belong to FIFe (Federation International Feline) the Javanese is not a type of Balinese but a breed all it's own. It doesn't have colour points at all but is a solid-coloured oriental long-hair, and comes in a variety of colours. However, probably because of the confusion, the Javanese name has been changed and now this type of cat is called the Oriental Longhair!

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