Named after similarly marked Himalayan rabbits, Himalayan cats have the best of both worlds: the striking pointed markings of the Siamese and the long, luxurious coat, cobby body, trademark short nose, large round eyes and small ears of the Persian. With blue eyes gorgeous enough to make any copper-eyed Persian jealous, they are truly a sight to behold. The Himalayan has the stocky body type, long hair, and placid temperament of the Persian, but has the pointed pattern of the Siamese. The breed started in the 1930s when breeders wanted to blend the body type of the Persian cat with the striking colorpoint markings of the Siamese.

Breed Description

Head: very large and round head
Eyes: deep vivid blue eyes
Neck: short, strong neck.
Body: large chunky build with lots of short features thus Himalayans have short, well-rounded cobby bodies
Paw: short, thick legs.
Tail: short, bushy tail
Coat: longhaired cat with a long, flowing coat sometimes measuring six to seven inches long. The breed is said to be easier to groom than its Persian cousins. With a topcoat inclined to silkiness, and an undercoat somewhat not as woolly, the Himalayan coat is much less prone to matting.

History

Known for their affable personality, Himalayans are truly a 20th-century phenomenon. Genetic researchers in Sweden in the 1920s and later Dr. Clyde Keeler at Harvard University in the 1930s conducted experiments to determine whether the pointed pattern of the Siamese could be genetically passed to a longhaired cat, the Persian.

"It took two generations of breeding; [Dr. Keeler] produced a male and female from a Siamese bred to a Persian. These two unrelated cats (color-point carriers) were then bred and produced the first longhair, color-pointed offspring," Betz says. Because the pointed gene is a recessive trait, both parents must carry it to produce a color point, Betz continues. Even then, there is only a one-in-four chance of producing a color-pointed cat.

This new breed came to the attention of Virginia Cobb of Newton Cattery in Newton, Mass., and Marguerita Goforth, a CFA judge and artist in California, who both helped establish the Himalayan in the United States during the mid-1950s. Meanwhile, Mrs. S. M. Harding of Ming Chiu Cattery and Brian Sterling-Webb helped establish the Persian/Siamese in Great Britain. Known there as the Colorpoint Longhair, it was accepted as a breed in 1955.

Behavior

In personality, the Himalayan is a friendly, affectionate and mischievous cat. Easy going, gentle and friendly with humans and other pet animals, a Himalayan makes an adaptable pet. They are extremely playful cats always in the middle of all their human's activities, and express themselves with a wonderful melodious voice. Their quiet disposition, sweet pansy-faced expression and appealing blue eyes have make the Himalayan one of the most beloved of all pedigree cats. Himalayan owners find the breed irresistible and usually have more than one Himmie in their household.