Himalayan Cat Picture
Another fine Himalayan cat picture by Helmi Flick. This is a flame pointed Persian cat. Her name is “Cheri”. She is a modern or contemporary Persian. You probably know that the are two distinct types of Persian or Himalayan cat, (1) ultra typed (extreme bred) and (2) traditional.
I have used “pointed Persian” and “Himalayan” interchangeably as the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) call the cat the “Himalayan Persian”. “Himalayan” is an American term for pointed Persian. In the UK the breed is referred to as a “Colourpoint Longhair”.
The CFA only recognize the extreme bred Persian, which I find strange and I think it is a bad decision by the senior people at the CFA to continue to pursue this extreme version of what is a beautiful cat when traditional.
The Himalayan is a Persian outcrossed to a Siamese cat (
for the pointing). That combines two cats of differing characters, incidentally. The docile Persian x the vocal Siamese. Is the Himalayan cat the same as the Persian in personality? They have to same appearance except for the pointing. All colors of the pointing category are accepted for showing. The breed was created in the 1920s in the USA.
Dr Clarke¹ says that crossing a Siamese with a Persian results in a shorthaired cat that is neither pointed nor flat faced or round headed! What happened is that two Siamese/Persian hybrids were mated and the offspring were Himalayans.
One of the first Himalayan cats to used in the early development of this cat breed in the USA was a rescue cat! Her name was Princess Himalayan Hope. She was found at the San Diego Humane Society. The princess was the cat companion of a friend of Marguerita Gosforth and Marguerita developed the breed.
The health issues associated with the contemporary Persian will occur with the same type of Himalayan. Read more….
Himalayan cat picture — Notes:
(1) Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats page 99.
