The Balinese is a long-haired domestic cat with sapphire-blue eyes and Siamese-style point colouring. The Balinese is sometimes known as the purebred long-haired Siamese, as it is essentially the same cat with a medium-length silky coat and a distinctly plumed tail, having developed as a natural mutation of that breed.

​Traditional or "old-style" body types and current body types are genetically differentiated, just like their short-haired counterparts. Color varieties descended from the Colorpoint Shorthair are classified as a different breed under the American standard, known as the Javanese. These cats bear little resemblance to the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java, from which their names are derived.

Balinese are social, loud, playful, curious, and intellectual, just like their Siamese forebears.

The pointed pattern is a type of partial albinism caused by a mutation in the enzyme tyrosinase, which produces melanin. The heat-sensitive mutant enzyme does not work at normal body temperatures, but becomes active in colder skin locations.  The coolest regions of the cat's body, such as the extremities and the face, which are cooled by the passage of air through the sinuses, develop a black colour. Although crossbreeding with other breeds was used to develop the less typical Javanese hues, they are still regarded purebred cats provided they are registered and have at least 3-4 generations of Siamese or Balinese pedigree.

Your cat is unique, but her characteristics are derived from very precise strands of kitty DNA. Her tufted ears, golden eyes, and loud meow could all be traced back to a purebred progenitor. But, really, how many cat breeds are there? While merely asking your veterinarian about your individual cat would provide answers, there is a lot more to learn about cat breeds in general.

​Cats originally began staying around human settlements and eating the rodents that threatened our food supplies as early as eight thousand years ago, according to National Geographic. Cat fanciers didn't start intentionally breeding cats for a specific appearance or disposition until the nineteenth century. Only a few cats, such as the Egyptian Mau, retain their wild forebears from the Middle Eastern deserts (or in the case of the Maine Coon, snowy North America). The rest is the consequence of human experimentation on one of nature's purr-fect animal partners.

​Cats, unlike dogs, haven't changed much genetically since the wildcats that first roamed our ancient farms. Because cats were never developed for specific hunting or herding jobs like dogs, the differences between them are more subtle than, instance, the difference between a Rottweiler and a beagle.

The number of cat breeds in the world is determined on where you seek for information. International cat registries and other organizations all have various requirements for the breeds they accept, and the overall number of breeds accepted varies by organization—though there are considerably fewer recognized cat breeds than dog breeds. The International Cat Association, the world's biggest genetic registry of pedigreed cats, recognizes seventy-one different breeds, but Encyclopedia Britannica only mentions fifteen. Many more well-known registers and groups fall somewhere in between those two figures.

As of 2018, The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), the largest American cat registration organization, recognizes forty-four breeds. With member organizations in forty countries, the Fédération Internationale Féline recognizes 48 breeds divided into four categories.

There are a few reasons why cat breeds are classified differently by different organizations. The most basic reason is because of the general classification. Non-pedigreed cats that do not have their parents' identities and breeds traced back a specific number of generations will be rejected by some registries. Furthermore, some associations group different types of cats together in one category, while others segregate them into several groups. For instance, the

So, how many different kinds of cats are there? There's no one-size-fits-all answer — just more proof that cats like to play by their own rules.

The breed lists that registries accept are frequently the same. New breeds, on the other hand, are occasionally created with the goal of gaining renown. For the 2018 season, the CFA added two additional breeds to their recognized list:  the Khao Manee and the Lykoi.

Cat breeds are frequently created from a group of cats that share a genetic feature. Breeding can become contentious if a trait is poorly understood or linked to a hereditary susceptibility for a certain disease. Breeders must follow strict guidelines set forth by the CFA and other organizations to ensure that purebred cats are healthy and not inclined to genetic illnesses.

The best kind of cat is one who wants to come home with you, whether she has blue eyes, five toes, or a stunning set of stripes! Thousands of cats in shelters are waiting for you to offer them a forever home, even if they aren't purebred. If you want to learn more about your own cat's breed or are thinking about adopting a new kitten, spend some time learning about her distinct characteristics before you label her with a breed. Your veterinarian will be able to give you the most accurate information about your pet and what she requires to be healthy and happy. Don't forget to look at mixed-breed cats as well.  Every year in the United States, thousands of these cats are available for adoption, many of whom share the genetic features of the pedigreed cats from which they descended. It doesn't matter how many breeds there are when it comes to loving a cat since the best cat for you will have its own distinct characteristics that you can't help but fall for.