The longhaired Siamese: slim, blue-eyed and pointed, with a silky plumed tail and just as much of a talker.
The Balinese is really a Siamese with long hair. Its short-haired sister breed is the Siamese: the same slim body, the same bright blue eyes, the same dark points on the face, ears, legs and tail. Only the Balinese wears a soft, silky coat and a tail like a plume. It has nothing to do with Bali. It is clever, playful and loves to chat with you. Being alone is not its thing.
Very people-focused: it follows you around and wants to be close.
After a play session it likes to curl up on your lap, or under the covers.
Loves games, and many Balinese bring back a toy over and over.
Lively and athletic: it climbs, plays and wants to be in on everything.
A real talker, but with a softer voice than a Siamese.
Clever and quick to learn tricks, fetch or walking on a harness.
Usually friendly and curious with visitors.
A good family cat. Older children keep up best with its energy.
Usually gets on well with a friendly dog.
Likes cat company and is often happiest in a pair.
Hates being alone for long. Not a cat for a home that is empty all day.
Does well indoors, as long as it can climb and gets plenty of play and company.
The Balinese comes from the island of Bali.
No. The breed was made in America from Siamese cats. The name only points to the graceful temple dancers of Bali.
A fluffy kitten in a Siamese litter is a mistake.
Not really. The gene for long hair can stay hidden. If both Siamese parents carry it, a longhaired kitten can turn up. The Balinese grew from kittens like that.
A Javanese is a different breed from a Balinese.
No. A Javanese is a Balinese in other colours. America's CFA made it a breed of its own in 1979 and put it back with the Balinese in 2008.
Now and then a longhaired kitten turned up in a Siamese litter. For a long time such kittens were sold as pets. In the 1950s two American breeders began to breed them on purpose. Later breeders often went back to the Siamese, so today's Balinese is a Siamese in a longer coat. In America Balinese in newer colours are sometimes called Javanese; elsewhere it is simply the Balinese.
The magazine Penny Illustrated already mentions a long-haired Siamese, long before the breed existed.
Longhaired kittens turn up now and then in Siamese litters. They count as a fault and are sold as pets.
America's Cat Fanciers' Federation registers a long-haired Siamese.
Marion Dorsey in California and Helen Smith in New York breed longhaired Siamese on purpose. Smith names them Balinese, after the dancers of Bali.
America's CFA accepts the Balinese for championship, after provisional status in 1967.
CFA registers Balinese in new colours as a separate breed: the Javanese.
The new American registry TICA recognises the Balinese.
Britain's GCCF accepts the Balinese in its Siamese section. The first had come from America in the 1970s.
The European federation FIFe recognises the Balinese.
The Balinese gets championship status in the GCCF.
CFA folds the Javanese back into the Balinese, as a colour division of the breed.
Long, slim and elegant, built like a modern Siamese. The difference is the coat: semi-long, silky and longest on the tail.
The same cat as the Balinese, in the colours America's CFA keeps apart: red, cream, cinnamon and fawn point, tortie points, tabby (lynx) points and smoke. Not to be confused with the Oriental Longhair, which has no points.
Recognition: A separate breed in CFA from 1979 to 2008, now a colour division of the Balinese. FIFe, WCF and GCCF never had a separate Javanese.
The older type, like the first Balinese: sturdier, with a rounder head, smaller ears and a fuller coat all over. The modern type is slimmer, with a long wedge and large ears.
Recognition: Not a separate breed in any registry; shows judge the modern type.
An all-white Balinese with deep blue eyes and no points. It is very rare.
Recognition: FIFe and WCF know it as the white Balinese; WCF puts the name Foreign White Longhair in the breed name. CFA does not recognise it.
Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).
Seal point(n 33)
Blue point(a 33)
Chocolate point(b 33)
Lilac point(c 33)
Red point(d 33)
Seal tabby point(n 21 33)In America's CFA only seal, blue, chocolate and lilac point are Balinese. Every other colour on this page belongs to the Javanese division of the same breed there.
Also called lynx point. Tabby points come in all fourteen point colours.
FIFe allows white in every point colour. In WCF cats with white may be bred but not shown. America's CFA allows no white, not even a white toe.
FIFe and WCF have the white Balinese. CFA does not.
FIFe has no smoke or silver Balinese; CFA does, in its Javanese division. Only Britain's GCCF lists caramel and apricot. A longhaired cat without points and with green eyes is not a Balinese but an Oriental Longhair.
Helen Smith thought 'long-haired Siamese' sounded clumsy. She chose Balinese, because the cats moved as gracefully as the dancers of Bali.
Balinese kittens are born white or cream. The dark points slowly appear on the coolest spots: face, ears, paws and tail.
A Balinese has just one layer of fur and no downy undercoat, so it hardly ever tangles.
A Balinese brings a toy back until you are tired. Hide it in a drawer and it works out how to open it.
Sylvia Holland, who did the most to get the breed accepted, was an illustrator for Walt Disney Studios.
A Balinese often lives long: most reach their mid-teens and some pass 18. There is no study of the breed itself; much of what is known comes from the Siamese.
The light-sensing cells of the eye slowly wear out, so a cat sees less well. How badly it affects the Siamese family is not yet settled. In one survey about 1 in 5 Balinese carried the gene; a cat only gets it with two copies.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents with a cheek swab. Two carriers are not mated with each other.
Sometimes the eyes do not line up, or flicker back and forth. It goes with the point gene. It looks odd, but the cat is usually not bothered by it.
How it is found: No test. Breed standards fault crossed eyes, so breeders do not breed from them.
Plaque and tartar can inflame the gums. It hurts and can make eating hard. Brushing the teeth and vet check-ups help.
How it is found: No test. The vet checks the teeth at every visit.
Little work for a longhair. Combing once a week is enough, because the silky coat with no undercoat hardly tangles. It sheds little too.
Lots of energy and a clever mind: give it places to climb, scratching posts, toys and a daily game of fetch.
A Balinese does not like being alone for long. If you are out a lot, keep two cats, so it always has a friend.
Ordinary good cat food. Keep an eye on its weight: getting too heavy is one of the easiest problems to prevent.
People often say the Balinese causes fewer allergies, but this has never been studied. No cat is fully hypoallergenic. If you are allergic, do not count on it.
Checked on 21 October 2026
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