Is Dimitri a Traditional Balinese Cat?
by Julene
(Mn (Minnesota), USA )
We found a stray kitten, Dimitri, almost 2 years ago who had Siamese markings, but had longer hair. As he gets older, not only the fur on his face and paws gets darker, but the rest of him too, especially his belly.
After reading an article on this web page the closest I can figure is he must be Traditional Balinese. He resembles the cat in the top right picture. Much better looking then the other cat, I think.
Too bad my camera wasn’t working, I’d include a picture.
Julene
Hi Julene… We (myself and the regular visitors) get asked this sort of question quite a lot and the answer is simple but in a way not that simple.
The simple answer: A cat can only be a breed of cat if there are certificates and papers that set out the cats pedigree (parentage) and which shows that the cat is the purebred offspring of parents and grandparents that have been certified as purebred by a cat association. On that basis Dimitri is not a cat breed but a random bred cat or mixed breed cat.
Dimitri though may be a stray purebred cat, in this case a Balinese cat (long haired Siamese). Without papers you can’t prove it. Despite the fact that he may be the spitting image of a Balinese cat.
The other answer: These are my thoughts and people will have different views.
It is fair to say that even feral cats can be purebred but not recognised as such because if a small isolated colony of feral cats breed for generations they will be purebred. This is how the Manx breed started, for example.
And there are other discovered cats such as the Abyssinian that were purebred cats before discovery but not “labelled” as purebred or a breed or given a name by cat breeders.
Conclusion: In the case of Dimitri by far the most likely answer is that he is a random breed cat that is a traditional Balinese “mix” (containing genes from non-purebred stock) or a look-a-like Balinese cat.
