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 These
shorthaired cats are essentially solid white Siamese - no point
colour appears at all on tail, face, paws or ears. One of their
strengths is that they are blue-eyed white cats with sound
hearing. This is because they genetically get their blue eyes from
the Siamese, rather than from the gene which is responsible for
blue eyes in other breeds.
Native Country
England
Breed Description
Build: long and svelte
like a Siamese
Head: wedge-shaped
Ears: large and alert
Eyes: almond-shaped
and slanted, blue in colour
Face: blue eyes
Coat: sparkling white
shorthair
Tail: tapered like a
whip
Legs: long, dainty and
muscular with neat paws
History
It was around 1960
that people in England had the idea to breed a Siamese which would
be completely white. Because of the blue eyes and white cats
combination, a solution had to be found to prevent deafness of the
kittens. They decided to use the blue eyes from the siamese and
Pat Turner, a famous cat geneticist developed a breeding programm.
In 1962 she started to mate a white British shorthair cat to a
Siamese with the darkest blue eyes, the seal-point. Out of this
programm the modern foreign white cat was developed, which is
today accepted by all breeding associations. After the Balinese
breed was recognized as a breed in the early seventies, breeders
also started to breed white Balinese out of white Variant Siamese.
However, although white Balinese are extremely attractive and
always an "eye-catcher", the breed is still rare.
Behavior
Some breeders
contend the Foreign White is more mellow than the Siamese and not
as highly strung. It is also claimed that although they have the
same voice, it is slightly softer. They are very affectionate and
demanding if they like you, and can be equally independent if they
choose to be. Like the Siamese, they will exhibit a devotion to
one human in particular and are highly intelligent, interesting
individuals. |
