Photo of Oriental Longhair

Although Helmi has not described this cat as an Oriental Longhair, he has to be judging by his appearance. His name is Jack of Noah’s Ark. The photograph has an ethereal quality, semi-translucent, which I like. It gives Jack a mysterious appearance.

Oriental Longhair: Jack of Noah’s Ark – photo copyright Helmi Flick.

The face is 100% Oriental Shorthair or Longhair; long and thin (and Jack’s muzzle is incredibly ‘square’). This is a face that I don’t really like normally but I think I can make an exception for Jack. He is very handsome. The Siamese family of cats is large: Oriental Shorthair, Oriental Longhair, Siamese and Balinese (long haired Siamese). There are more cat breeds associated with the Siamese such as the Javanese.

Oriental LH. Photo copyright Helmi Flick

“Elegance” appears to have been the guiding light for breeders of this family of cats over the past half century and more. Elegance in breeding translates to a slender, sleek beauty and that includes the face which is noticeably “wedge shaped”. The ears are always extraordinarily large and triangular. Jack’s ears are not extreme by the some standards. The coat appears to be a dilute grey (blue) but no doubt someone will correct me on that.

All the characteristics (except for the longer hair) and discussion topics about this breed apply equally to the Oriental Shorthair, which on is this page of PoC.

One last point: Everything on this page relates to the modern appearance. There is a still a lot of support for the more traditional Siamese/Oriental appearance which is less slender.

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Comments

Photo of Oriental Longhair — 10 Comments

Michele S.ve a on June 30, 2015 at 7:01 pm said:
Jack has a lovely, intelligent looking face, but for me his head seems out of proportion to his body. Maybe that’s due to the way these shots have been set up?
Jack’s coat is a beautiful colour. As his tail plume has hints of chocolate, my guess for his coat colour is lilac, which is the dilute version of chocolate. I’m also wondering whether he would be classed as tortoiseshell, as there appears to be a subtle, mottled pattern on his body.
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- Laura on May 8, 2016 at 8:10 am said:
  Jack is a solid color but the faint markings are called ghost tabby marking. They are often apparent in lighter solid colors. Most cats develop a clear coat as they mature. All cats are truly tabbies and it shows in the strangest ways.
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  - Michael Broad on May 8, 2016 at 8:50 am said:
    Thanks Laura.
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Dee (Florida) on June 30, 2015 at 6:55 pm said:
As much as I love all cats, I find orientals to be unsightly.
Ofcourse, I would love one, simply, knowing that they are a cat. Or, are they a rat?
But, they are man made, related to the Siamese. Unforgivable to me.
Until people stop promoting this bizarre breeding by not demanding and, most importantly, by not paying it will never stop.
I don’t really understand what glorification such a cat would be for any human.
There are much, much more beautiful cats in shelters.
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- Laura on May 8, 2016 at 8:08 am said:
  Siamese related cats are not for everyone but for me they are IT. I have worked in shelters and been a vet tech for over 30 years. I have not seen a single cat that I consider more beautiful than the Siamese. Jack is a wonderful example of the breed type. As you may have guessed I also show this breed and they have looked like jack for the last 20 years. You are entitled to your opinion but so Am I.
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  - Michael Broad on May 8, 2016 at 8:51 am said:
    Thanks for commenting Laura. Have a nice day.
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Sandra Murphey, No. CA, USA on June 30, 2015 at 1:14 pm said:
Thanks for sharing this image. I’ve never seen a cat like this. Helmi is such a gifted photographer!
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- Michael Broad on June 30, 2015 at 4:51 pm said:
  A pretty rare cat.
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  - Laura on May 8, 2016 at 8:16 am said:
    You are so correct on the rare part very few breeders work with the Oriental Longhair. They are hard work every time you outcross to Siamese or OSH you get all shorthairs. These then need to be bred back to more longhairs or LH carriers. Most people don’t have the patience for the 2 or more step process to have cats like Jack. Also of the breeders working in OLH most are doing non solid colors (tabby,tortie, and whites). So Jack is truly a rarity even in the cat fancy.
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    - Michael Broad on May 8, 2016 at 8:50 am said:
      Thanks Laura for popping by and sharing your thoughts – it is appreciated.
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