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Oriental Longhair

Oriental Longhair

At a Glance

The Oriental Longhair is a member of the Siamese Breed Group which includes the Oriental Shorthair, Siamese and Balinese. They all share the same body type, however what makes the Oriental Longhair distinct from the rest of the Siamese group is their wide array of colors combined with a semi-long coat draping their elegant body. They are very social and talkative and thrive within the company of other people. Find out more about this breed and if an Oriental Longhair is right for you and your family.

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All About Cats

Printable Breed Introduction
Breed Standard
Pet Buyer’s Guide
Oriental-Longhair-Full-Body
Temperament

Playful

Height/Weight Range

Medium-sized cat

Adult females

small, approximately 5-8 pounds

Adult males

medium, approximately 8-12 pounds Kittens mature slowly and don’t fully develop until 18-24 months.

Life Expectancy

10+ years. Oriental Longhairs and those within the Siamese Breed Group can live longer than other cat breeds, reaching an above average life expectancy and have been known to live 20+ years.

Colors

Oriental Longhair cats come in hundreds of color and pattern combinations, including the traditional solid, tabby (Distinct color patterns with one color predominating), tortie and torbie (Tortoiseshell cats with tabby patterns). All of these can be silver/smoke and with or without white.

Similar Breeds

Opposite Breeds

About The Breed

Oriental Longhairs are very lively, elegant and colorful cats in every sense. They are wonderful for those interested in an interactive pet and devoted companion.

They have extremely loving temperaments and bond closely with their families and people of all ages, including children, cat-friendly dogs and other cats. They thrive on attention and affection and are often found beside their humans. They like to be “helpful” and follow family members around throughout the day.

Oriental Longhairs are talkative cats that enjoy talking with their family. They demand a lot of attention and tend to get into mischief if left alone for long periods of time.

The ideal cat of this breed group is a svelte, graceful, refined cat of medium size with long tapering lines. It is in excellent physical condition, very strong, lithe and muscular giving the sensation of solid weight without excess bulk. While the breed is considered “medium” in size, balance and proportion are to be considered of greater consequence. The cat should “fit together”. If it is extreme in one part, all parts should be extreme to retain balance.

View Full Breed Standard

Oriental Longhairs are long, lean natural athletes built like runners or dancers.

Like the entire Siamese breed group, Oriental Longhairs are lively, intelligent, sociable cats who love to play. Many of them are fetchers, returning their favorite fetch toy tirelessly to the hands of their human while others amuse themselves for hours with an empty cardboard box. They do not grow out of their love of play, remaining kitten-like all their lives. No cupboard or high shelf is safe from these inquisitive, high jumping cats. Cat trees, teaser toys and games of fetch keep them on their toes. They excel at the feline sport Agility and are very receptive to training.

They hold their own against much larger cats and dogs, often ruling the roost. Oriental Longhairs are devoted to their people and need companionship. They love everyone at a party, happily jumping from lap to lap, purring and asking for pets. In general, an Oriental Longhair does not do well as an only cat. They are good with kids, other cats, dogs, and lots of activity and commotion.

Oriental Longhairs love attention and like to snuggle and sleep in a heap with their buddies. They are not cats for people who want to live a quiet life, have undisturbed knick-knacks, and a cat content to sit still and look pretty.

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Click here to find a club near you and contact information for your regional director and website.

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Find Oriental Longhair

Oriental cats are nicknamed “Ornamentals” because of their extensive color palette, having more colors and patterns than any other breed. See “Colors” above.

In 2011 Harry, the blue-eyed, white-haired aloof Oriental Longhair cat won a contest naming him News Anchor Anderson Cooper’s look-alike during the daytime talk show Anderson Live.

Breed Information & Characteristics

The Oriental is a member of the Siamese breed group and comes in two coat lengths: the Oriental Shorthair and the Oriental Longhair. Like all of the group members (Siamese, Balinese, Oriental Shorthairs and Oriental Longhairs), Orientals are long, slender, stylized cats. They are lively, talkative and intelligent and are very attached to their people. All of the members of the breed group have the same physical standard except for coat length and color. What makes the Oriental Shorthair distinct from the rest of the Siamese group is their wide array of colors combined with a short sleek coat while the Oriental Longhair has a semi-long coat draping the elegant body.

Orientals are a man-made breed that originated in the 1950s in England. After World War II the number of breeders and breeding cats was reduced. Some of the remaining breeders became quite creative as they rebuilt their breeding programs. Many modern breeds developed from the crosses done at that time. One such breed is the Oriental Shorthair/Longhair. Russian Blues, British Shorthairs, Abyssinians, and regular domestic cats were crossed to Siamese. The resulting cats were not pointed and were crossed back to Siamese. In surprisingly few generations, there were cats that were indistinguishable from Siamese in all ways except color. As the Siamese pointed color is genetically recessive, pointed kittens were also produced. The best Siamese colored cats from these crosses went back into the Siamese breed, enlarging and strengthening the Siamese gene pool. The non-pointed cats were the ancestors of our modern Orientals.Initially, each color was developed and named as a separate breed: such as Foreign White, Havana (chocolate), and the Oriental Spotted Tabby. Soon it became apparent that there were too many possible colors to have a breed for each. All the non-pointed cats were grouped into one breed, the Oriental Shorthair/Longhair. Orientals were imported into the United States in the 1970s. New crosses between American Shorthairs to top show Siamese created yet more colors. Interestingly, “Havanas” were imported into America early on but evolved into a distinct breed called the Havana Brown, which are quite different from solid chocolate Orientals.

Orientals, like the entire Siamese breed group, are lively, intelligent, sociable cats who love to play. Many of them are fetchers, returning their favorite fetch toy tirelessly to the hands of their human. They each have their favorite toys, this one loves catnip sacks; that one, rattle mice; another adores wads of crumpled paper. They can amuse themselves for hours with an empty cardboard box. They do not grow out of their love of play, remaining kitten-like all their lives. No cupboard or high shelf is safe from these inquisitive, high jumping cats. Many Orientals are talkative cats, telling you about their whole day and commenting on what you are doing. They have strong and distinctive personalities. Do not let their fine bones and slender appearance fool you! They are athletic and confident. They hold their own against much larger cats and dogs, often ruling the roost.Orientals are devoted to their people and need companionship. Some Orientals are “one person” cats, avoiding visitors or even some members of a family. More commonly they love everyone and love a party, happily jumping from lap to lap, purring and asking for pets. In general, an Oriental does not do well as an only cat. They do well with kids, other cats, dogs, and lots of activity and commotion. They love attention and like to snuggle and sleep in a heap with their buddies or under the covers with you. They wilt when ignored. These are not cats for people who want to live a quite life, have undisturbed knick-knacks, and a cat content to sit still and look pretty. Orientals are wonderful for people who want an interactive and amusing pet and a true and devoted companion.

The breed standard for the Siamese group is one of extremes. The overall impression of these cats is that they are elegant, slender, and graceful. Like all the members of the group, Orientals are long and lean, and yet, they are natural athletes with a surprising weight of muscle on their narrow frame. They are generally not large cats, though they are long and tall. They are built like runners or dancers.

Their head and neck, like the rest of the cat, is extraordinarily long. In side view, the head of all the members of the Siamese group should have a straight profile and a chin that lines up with the nose. The front view of the head is triangular. The head itself is wedge-shaped and smooth, tapering smoothly to a fine muzzle. The ears are strikingly large and wide-based, the eyes are almond shaped, and both are set at an angle following the wedge. The preferred eye-color is green. In the ideal cat, you could draw a line from the tip of the nose through the inside and outside corners the eyes, then through the center of the ears to the ear tips in one straight line per side, then a third line from ear tip to ear tip to complete the triangle. The angles of the cheekbones and jaw should follow the same angles as those made from nose to ear tips.

Oriental Shorthairs, like all the Siamese group breeds, have fine bones and a long tubular body, even in width from shoulder to hip. Their legs, tail, and even toes are long and slender. They should be muscular and firm, neither bony nor fat. The Oriental Shorthair has a very short, glossy, close-lying coat. The coat comes in all traditional colors, solids, tabbies, torties, torbies, silvers, smokes, and particolors. Currently there are 281 different colors of Oriental, each of which comes in either Shorthair or Longhair.

Oriental Shorthairs are a very lively, elegant and colorful cat, in every sense.

Oriental Longhair cats are generally a healthy breed. They have a tendency to be sensitive to anesthesia. It is important to make the veterinarian aware of this before any type of surgery. This includes routine surgeries such as neutering, spaying and dental cleanings.  Oriental Longhairs can be susceptible to Amyloidosis. There is much research being done to find a test for this disease but, to date, there is no test available to detect Amyloids.

The silky coat of the Oriental Longhair rarely tangles or mats, does not shed much, and is easy to groom with weekly brushing.

Nails should be trimmed weekly. A human nail clipper can be used to tip the white area of the nail. Be careful not to go back too far into the red blood area inside the nail. Eyes and the inside of their ears should also be cleaned weekly. Clean their ears with a warm, damp washcloth or cotton square. Brush their teeth with a vet-approved pet toothpaste for good overall health and fresh breath and schedule regular veterinary dental cleanings.

Adult Oriental Longhair cats need to be fed at least twice a day. Kittens should be fed more often, at least three or four times per day, as they burn off calories more quickly. Fresh, clean water is best, so cats don’t hesitate to drink. If you worry about your cat drinking enough water each day, here’s a tip from some cat behaviorists – place the water bowl at least three feet away from any food. Cats’ noses are sensitive and an overwhelming smell of food may cause them to drink less. Filtered drinking fountains can also be used in place of a water bowl.

Canned foods are often the preferred method for feedings. Not only are they more convenient, but they are higher protein and lower carbohydrates than dry food. Canned food has a higher-water content so it increases the cat’s overall fluid intake, which keeps the kidneys and bladder healthy. Due to their easily-digested ingredients, canned foods produce less solid waste in the litterbox as well.

Siamese/Balinese/Oriental (SH/LH) Breed Committee (7)

Name Email
Chair: Susan Adlernycsa@aol.com
Vicki Jo Harrisonvjhtx@aol.com
Toni JonesHojpojorientals@gmail.com
Heather Lorimerdr.lorimer@gmail.com
Julie Keyerkattalyst.osh@gmail.com
Jenny Hamonsranchcats@yahoo.com
Lorna Friemothlorna.friemoth@gmail.com

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