Oriental Cats

Oriental Cat Breed Introduction

The Oriental cat breed comes in a dazzling variety of coats: longhair, shorthair, and over 300 combinations of colors and patterns.

Oriental Behavior/Personality

Source: Cat Fanciers' Association Breed Profile and Wikipedia (March 2006)

Oriental breed cats are known for being unusually attached to their human families. It is often said they like to follow people around, and can become resentful after any significant separation. In addition, the Oriental cat likes to be playful with people and things, swatting around stray scraps of paper and other objects.

Oriental Breed Standard/Physical Description

Here are some facts on the Oriental breed based on information in Wikpedia (March 2006) and the Cat Fanciers Association's Breed Standard.

• Head: flat skull, with a long straight line from the back of head to the nose, which is long and straight
• Ears: large and pointed, very broad at the base
• Eyes: medium-sized, almond-shaped
• Body: long, slender, with fine bones but a somewhat muscular appearance
• Legs: long, slender, with the back legs higher than the front legs
• Paws: small, oval-shaped
• Tail: long, with a thin base and tapered
• Coat: either shorthair or longhair, with a very large variety of colors and patterns

Oriental History

Source: Cat Fanciers Association Breed Profile and Wikipedia (March 2006)

The Oriental cat breed was one of many cat breeds developed by breeders in the United Stated in the latter decades of the twentieth century.

The term "Oriental" has long been used in the English-speaking world to refer to cat breeds that originated in, or were thought to have originated in, the continent of Asia. For instance, the Angora, Persian, and Siamese cat breeds have often been called "Oriental." Outside North America, "Oriental" is still primarily used to describe these cats rather than a specific breed. However, in the 1970s in the USA, "Oriental" was the name officially given by cat fancier groups to designate a specific new breed of cat that encompassed many of the characteristics of the "Oriental" cat breeds.

The new Oriental cat breed has been developed largely with a view toward creating as many different combinations of feline characteristics as possible within a longhair cat breed. For instance, there are over 300 different colors and patterns, including 112 tabby combinations.

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