Balinese Cat

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.

Genetics of A Balinese Cat

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.