Looking for a loyal, talkative companion? An Oriental cat might just be the best friend you’ve been looking for. The Oriental cat breed is known for their many colors and patterns as well as their love for company and conversation.
Image Credits: Title Image – Nickolas Titkov via Flickr All other Images – Public Domain via Pixabay
History of the Oriental Cat Breed
The devastation of World War II left a number of cat breeding programs in Europe with a dwindling number of cats. In an effort to rescue the Siamese cat breed, breeders in 1950’s England began to broaden the gene pool by cross-breeding their Siamese cats to Russian Blue cats, British Shorthair cats, Abyssinian cats, and domestic cats. The result of this breeding was kittens that were very Siamese-like, but varying in coat colors and patterns.
The kittens that had the traditional pointed coat pattern were considered Siamese cats and bred back to other Siamese cats. The non-pointed kittens would become the beginning of the Oriental cat breed. To this day, some cat fancier organizations require that pointed Oriental cats be shown as Siamese cats.
At first, there was an attempt to treat each different color Oriental cat as a separate cat breed. That became tedious and eventually, the Oriental cat breed was consolidated. The breed became very popular when it made it’s way to the United States in the 1970s. Breeders in the United States looked to increase the number of coat color and pattern combinations, using more cross-breeding to achieve their goal.
Not all Siamese cat breeders were happy about the emerging Oriental cat breed. They didn’t want yet another Siamese-hybrid in competition. Still, the Cat Fancier’s Association accepted the Oriental cat breed for championship status in 1977. Later, in 1995, a long-haired variety of the Oriental (Oriental cats bred with Balinese cats) was also accepted. The International Cat Association still separates Oriental Shorthair cats and Oriental Longhair cats.
One Cat Breed, Over 300 Looks
Keeping the sleek look from the Siamese cat breed, Oriental cats are tall, thin, and angular. They have a long neck, legs, and tapered tail. Despite their very fine look, they are quite muscular, sturdy cats.
Oriental cats have unforgettable faces with their wedge-shaped heads and large flaring ears. Their eyes are almond-shaped and often colored green or blue. It is not unusual to find one of these kitties with one blue eye and one green eye!
The most distinctive feature of the Oriental cat breed is their variety of coat colors and patterns. Colors include:
- White
- Cream
- Ebony
- Red
- Blue
- Lavender
- Chestnut
- Cinnamon
- Fawn
Patterns include:
- Solid
- Bi-color
- Parti-color
- Tabby (classic, mackerel, spotted, and ticked)
- Tortishell
- Silver
- Smoke
According to the CFA, there could be as many as 600 combinations when longhaired cats are included.
A Playful Best Friend
An Oriental cat wants nothing more than to share every part of your life with you. They are intelligent, loyal, energetic, sometimes mischievous, and very chatty. One of these kitties will follow their favorite person around wherever they may go and help them with whatever activity they might be attempting. Anything can become a toy! They never grow out of their kitten-like playfulness.
When given proper attention, these cats are highly trainable and affectionate. They will play fetch and learn to walk on a leash! If they are not given the attention that they want and need, they can become very depressed. While these kitties are great with children and other pets, they are not great for homes where they will be left alone often.
If you are considering adding an Oriental cat to your family, check out these adoptable kitties on Petfinder!
Such amazing and wonderful sweeties!
They sure are beautiful kitties.
One of our cat show pals (she has my relative Louie) is an Oriental cat breeder.
They are beautiful.
Emma and Buster
Wow! What exotic creatures! I don’t think I’d heard of them before.
Cute!
They sound like great cats. I think we have a kitten that is part Siamese. You all have a really good day.
I was just reading about Oriental Shorthairs for a post on the best cat breeds for allergy sufferers. Beautiful cats.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say there aren’t many of these at the shelter.
The oriental cats have the most amazing structure! When we were looking to adopt we could never find one available… But now your post reminded me how awesome they are! We’ll begin our search again!
Those ears! Interesting to learn of their playful nature -had no idea! Would love to meet one some day!
I love learning the history of cat breeds. We have a Balinese who has the most amazing personality of any cat I have ever shared my life with. Sounds like the beautiful Orientals have the same outgoingness – and so pretty!
These guys are adorable. They remind me a little of Dobby from Harry Potter.
What great kitties! We love that there is so much variety!
I love these cats. I filmed two of them at the National New Zealand cat show last year. Wonderful cats!
I had not heard of Oriental cats or seen one. I’d remember those ears! Thanks for all the info about Siamese and Oriental cats.
It’s funny but these faces remind me of the Mummy 😉 So I find it a bit scary.
I always like to watch how the judges examine Orientals at cat shows. They tend to show off their long and lean bodies and show how they play.
Orientals are so personable. They are always one of the most popular breeds in the show hall. My off standard Persian shows in household pet and one of our classmates is an Oriental with a tail fault. He and his human dad are so sweet together. The kitty clearly has picked Dad as his person. They chat. He performs in the ring all aimed just for dad. I love the ears on Orientals.
Since I’m a cat novice, I always learn a lot from your breed introductions! Siamese cats are about the only cat breed I can identify on my own.