Oriental

The Oriental is a modern, man-made variety, with its origins in the Siamese breed, and was developed from the 1950s onwards. In the UK in1951, Baroness von Ullman planned a breeding programme to develop a self-chocolate cat of “foreign” type – known as the Havana today. The preliminary matings were between a Chocolate pointed Siamese male and a black non-pedigree cat of reasonable type. Consequently, Mrs A Hargreaves also used her own Siamese and Russian Blues and Mrs Elsie Fisher also became interested, and the three breeders carried out a carefully planned programme. In October 1952 a self-chocolate male kitten called Elmtower Bronze Idol made his appearance and was the first of the present day Havanas. During the development of the Havana, lilac kittens also appeared (then called Foreign Lilacs), and in the 1960s progressive breeders including Mrs Betty Harrison and Mrs Angela Sayer developed the Foreign Lilac to achieve GCCF recognition. At this time the Foreign White was also being developed by Mr Brian Sterling-Webb and Miss Pat Turner. Over time, more colours and patterns have been developed using other breeds such as Russian Blues, British Shorthairs, Abyssinians and domestic shorthairs.

In GCCF, Orientals are now recognised in two hair lengths, long-hair and short-hair, and four pattern groups:

Self – this includes black, brown (Havana), lilac, cinnamon, fawn, caramel, red, cream and apricot, all with green eyes. The Foreign White is now shown as a separate distinct breed (a Siamese in a white coat with blue eyes). The Oriental White currently has Preliminary Recognition with GCCF and comes in three different eye colours, green, blue or odd-eyed (one green eye and one blue eye).
Non-Self – Tortoiseshell, Smoke and Shaded in the same range of colours as above, with green eyes.
Tabby – Four patterns are recognised, classic, spotted, mackerel and ticked in a range of colours, including silver varieties, with green eyes.
Bi-Colour – Three separate levels of white markings are permitted – Van pattern where the colour is restricted to the head and tail. Harlequin pattern where the colour must cover at least a quarter of the body, but not more than half. Bi-Colour pattern where the colour must cover not less than half, but not more than two-thirds of the total body surface. Eye colour may be green, blue or one green and one blue eye. In pointed Bi-Colours both eyes must be blue.

The Oriental is a medium sized cat, with a long, svelte body that should be firm and well muscled. The head, set on a long slender neck, should represent an equilateral triangle and be well proportioned with good width between the ears which are large and wide at the base, and should be set so that they continue the lines of the wedge. The eyes are Oriental in shape and slant towards the nose and should not be deep set. The head narrows in perfectly straight lines to a fine muzzle and forms a balanced wedge shape. In profile the nose is straight and the chin strong. The legs are long and slim, well muscled, with the hind legs higher than the front legs and with small oval paws. The tail should be long and tapering. In the shorthair variety, the coat is very short and fine in texture, glossy and close-lying. In the longhair the fur is medium long, fine and silky in texture without a woolly undercoat. The tail is plume-like and the ears may be tufted. Around the neck there may be a frill, Oriental Longhairs don’t normally achieve a full coat until they are mature.

Orientals, like the entire Siamese breed group, are lively, intelligent, sociable cats who love to play. Many of them are fetchers, returning their favourite fetch toy tirelessly to the hands of their human. They can amuse themselves for hours with an empty cardboard box. They do not grow out of their love of play, remaining kitten-like all their lives. No cupboard or high shelf is safe from these inquisitive, high-jumping cats. Many Orientals are talkative cats, telling you about their whole day and commenting on what you are doing. They have strong and distinctive personalities. Do not let their fine bones and slender appearance fool you! They are athletic and confident and are built like runners or dancers.

They hold their own against much larger cats and dogs, often ruling the roost. In general, an Oriental does not do well as an only cat. They do well with children, other cats, dogs, and lots of activity and commotion. They love attention and like to snuggle and sleep in a heap with their companions or under the covers with you.

The overall impression of these cats is that they are elegant, slender and graceful; they are long and lean and are natural athletes with a surprising weight of muscle on their narrow frame. They are generally not large cats, though they are long and tall. This domestic cat is low maintenance in the grooming department.

Obviously, like any longhaired cat, the Oriental Longhair will require regular grooming although their silky and fine coat will not tangle or mat and so just needs a gentle comb-through.

The average weight of the Oriental Shorthair is between 8 and 14 lbs and they have a long life expectancy of between 12 to 15 years.

Although most Oriental Longhairs live long and healthy lives, there are a number of disorders that seem to be associated with the Oriental family – those similar to the Siamese as they are closely related. Flat chested kitten syndrome has been seen in Orientals.

An eye problem called progressive retinal atrophy, which causes progressive blindness, has also been identified in this breed. Fortunately, reliable DNA tests are available and prospective owners should ask breeders if their cats have been tested and are clear of the problem.

Hepatic Amyloidosis refers to the deposition of amyloid in the liver. Familial amyloidosis has been described in certain breeds of cats, including the Oriental.