Expert: W - 6/16/2007

Question
QUESTION: hi i purchased a female siamese kitten last year, this was the first siamese I have had but have since bought a male.  The female is GCCF reg however she has long fur whereas i thought that siamese cats can only have short fur like our male.  How can she be a pedigree if she has long fur, I spoke to the breeder who said that quite simply some are long haired and some are not however a lady from the siamese club said that she cannot be a siamese.....please help!!

ANSWER: Hello Jemma
Well done my dear you are the proud owner of a beautiful long haired oriental cat. It is a genuine Siamese and the lady from the cat club is wrong. Your cat is more commonly referred to as a Balinese.
This coat on your cat is a spontaneous mutation that occurred over 50 years ago. Now the Balinese and the Siamese are only different by the length of the coat. So your Balinese is a long haired Siamese.
Any other difference between the types. Well yes you will need to groom your little lady more than a normal Siamese but apart from that absolutely no other difference.
You can look up the breed on the internet and it will tell you more. There are some clubs in England that you can join and they will tell you even more about the Balinese.

I have put some links here for you to follow

http://www.thebalineseandsiamesecatclub.co.uk/
http://www.rantipole.demon.co.uk/bcs/

Also this is not an inferior Siamese, it is just a pure and just as mischievous and loving and noisey and anything else you like the Siamese for.
Good luck with both of your cats they are a beautiful breed.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: so her pedigree papers are all ok and her kittens should be sold as pure siamese? or should i put crosses, I knew she was probably a balinese but thought that surely the breeder would have had to registered her as one and not as a siamese....sorry to be a pain!! and thanks for your help!

Answer
I should cross her to other Balinese and keep the blood lines. Remember the only difference between a Siamese and a Balinese is the length of the coat, so technically your cat is a sort of Siamese.
Just to be on the safe side as I haven't actually seen her you could send a picture to one of the Balinese club committee and ask them to confirm the cat as a Balinese.
One other thing to consider is, do you want long haired or short haired cats. So either Balinese or Siamese
Just enjoy the cat