Long Faced Cats

Here’s a large collage of some long faced cats for aficionados of this sort of cat anatomy. The long faced cat is a development of the modern Siamese cat, and other cats that were subsequently created from that breed, such as the Oriental Shorthair and Balinese, a long haired Siamese.

Long faced cats pictures (collage)

A lot of people like what breeders refer to as the “refined appearance” of the long face. I am not a great fan myself. The cat in the middle – the main picture – appears to be a red spotted tabby Oriental Shorthair. He/she has a beautifully straight profile from the forehead to the end of the nose. This is desirable for the modern Siamese profile. The Oriental Shorthair is basically a modern Siamese without having to have a pointed coat and the coat varieties are extremely wide. Notice how long the neck is too. A handsome cat and a great picture by Helmi Flick.

The cat top right is a Havana Brown. She is a beautiful cat. The cat top left is lynx point modern Siamese as far as I can tell. You can see the tabby M mark on the forehead. Lynx pointing is pointing that is made up of a tabby pattern.

The grey cat appears to be a grey Oriental Shorthair. His face is too long and slender to be a Russian Blue.

The cat bottom right appears to be a flame/lynx pointed Siamese cat! Flame means red. I have used the word “appear” a lot because I am not sure. Cat coats can be complicated and one of the most complicated sectors of the many cat breeds is the Siamese – Oriental SH grouping. A lot of cat breeds were created from the modern (slender) Siamese cat at the time of expansion of the cat fancy in the mid-1900s. See a simple timeline of the creation of the breeds.

You can read up more about the modern Siamese and Oriental Shorthair by going to this page.

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I wonder if that bottom right cat might be something like a chocolate tabby point or a cinnamon tabby point.

Talking of looking like mice, the original Siamese first imported to the UK were compared to weasels! (they were described as “marten-faced” .
That doesn’t mean they were as extreme as the cats here. but by comparison to the typical cats people were used to seeing in England, they were generally longer headed.
Some people liked that “marten face” look, being different looking to the cats they were used to.
…. and some of the fanciers eventually decided if some of that look was good, a much more extreme version must be even better!

I actually do like these long faced cats. I definitely like that better than the opposite extreme of flat faces.

But, as you know, I really prefer that original more moderate oriental type that developed naturally in cats of Southeast Asia…
Here is a random-bred feral kitten in Thailand, who appears to have the mink pattern — a combination of 1 allele for the colorpoint (Siamese) pattern and 1 allele for the sepia (Burmese) pattern. http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/cats/scn1.html
You can see this little guy has already quite a long face, and not due to selective breeding.

Or a stray blue cat ( basically native Korat) in Northern Thailand http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/cats/kc.html

or cats at the Thai Cat Centre http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/cats/ap.html

Another color note: I think “flame point” is officially used only for Himalayan Persians in CFA. but colloquially some people use it for other cats, I guess it sounds more dramatic than “red point.”

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Comments

Long Faced Cats — 5 Comments

maewkaew on April 1, 2013 at 8:55 pm said:
I wonder if that bottom right cat might be something like a chocolate tabby point or a cinnamon tabby point.
Talking of looking like mice, the original Siamese first imported to the UK were compared to weasels! (they were described as “marten-faced” .
That doesn’t mean they were as extreme as the cats here. but by comparison to the typical cats people were used to seeing in England, they were generally longer headed.
Some people liked that “marten face” look, being different looking to the cats they were used to.
…. and some of the fanciers eventually decided if some of that look was good, a much more extreme version must be even better!
I actually do like these long faced cats. I definitely like that better than the opposite extreme of flat faces.
But, as you know, I really prefer that original more moderate oriental type that developed naturally in cats of Southeast Asia…
Here is a random-bred feral kitten in Thailand, who appears to have the mink pattern — a combination of 1 allele for the colorpoint (Siamese) pattern and 1 allele for the sepia (Burmese) pattern. http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/cats/scn1.html
You can see this little guy has already quite a long face, and not due to selective breeding.
Or a stray blue cat ( basically native Korat) in Northern Thailand http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/cats/kc.html
or cats at the Thai Cat Centre http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/cats/ap.html
Another color note: I think “flame point” is officially used only for Himalayan Persians in CFA. but colloquially some people use it for other cats, I guess it sounds more dramatic than “red point.”
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- Michael on April 2, 2013 at 7:03 am said:
  I wonder if that bottom right cat might be something like a chocolate tabby point or a cinnamon tabby point.
  Could easily be 😉 I find the colors very subtle on tabby pointing and I think only breeders can tell the difference between some of them. I certainly struggle. Maybe a breeder can give me a lesson!
  …by comparison to the typical cats people were used to seeing in England, they were generally longer headed.
  Agreed absolutely, they were more long faced than the good old British SH moggie, which has quite a square face. This is why breeders refined the Siamese to the longer face…more of a good or different thing must be a good idea. That was the driving force as you say.
  Thanks for the tip on flame point too! You’re giving me a nice little lesson, which I appreciate. As you might know I am a fan of the more traditional Siamese cat, with the longish face but not overly.
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Ruth aka Kattaddorra on April 1, 2013 at 4:00 pm said:
Yes they do Marc, I just had another look and you are right!
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- marcinswitz on April 1, 2013 at 8:06 pm said:
  I’m glad you agree, it’s not just me 🙂
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Marc on April 1, 2013 at 3:47 pm said:
Interesting as always Michael. The side profile of the cat in the main picture is quite impressive. It might sound a little ironic but I find these long faced cats start to look a bit like mice 🙂
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