Himalayan | Cat Breed Information & Facts – Pictures

Last Updated on January 28, 2023 by Pets Feed

How often have you met Persian and Siamese cats? Now imagine what their direct descendant might look like – the Himalayan cat, taking only the best from each line. Colors and long hair are another reason to get acquainted with an affectionate and kind beauty. It took a lot of effort to create such a fluffy miracle, because such an animal is a jewel in itself.

The Himalayan cat is intelligent, affectionate, friendly, playful, obedient and very calm. It is sociable and generally maintains very close relations with the smallest of the family, as well as with other animals, whether or not they are of the same species.

Breed name	Himalayan cat
Country of origin	United States
Weight	4 – 6 Kg
Size	Medium
Life expectancy	9 – 15 years
Hair type	Long

The Himalayan cat is descended from the Siamese cat and the Persian cat. The Siamese gave him a characteristic color, but the Persian breed made him happy with a luxurious fur coat.

Adult Himalayan cats can weigh up to 6 kg. Females are smaller than males.

• The head is round, broad, domed smooth, medium to large in size, but in proportion to the body. Powerful and wide jaws with excellent bite. Strong chin. Full and pronounced cheeks. Muzzle short, broad, full and flattened;
• Ears – set wide apart, small with rounded tips;
• The eyes are large, round, slightly protruding, set well apart. Eye color is as important as shape and size: all shades of blue;
• Nose – equal in width and length, upturned nose, open nostrils. In profile, the nose is flush with the forehead and the chin;
• The body is cobby type, strong, well-rounded belly, medium to large in size. Short, thick and muscular neck, low chest;
• Legs – short and straight, large bones, well-developed strong muscles, wide and round paw pads;
• The tail is proportional to the length of the body and straight;
• The coat of the Himalayan cat is a thick undercoat that gives volume, a lush collar, long all over the body.

Representatives of the breed are extremely calm and reasonable. They love to show their tenderness, which is the main trump card of the breed. Moderately playfulness is characteristic of these furry creatures. Although they will not refuse to run after you and grab your legs during the game. The main thing is that the cat plays with a loving owner, to which it has become accustomed since childhood, otherwise you will not wait for the manifestations of violent fun from colorpoint.

Smart, not particularly demanding, silent. From the Himalayan cat, you can rarely hear loud meows, he will not follow you on his heels with him. Rather, cats will find something to their liking while the owner is in another room. However, this does not mean that depression with a lack of attention is impossible. They easily succumb to it if the owner is caught sloppy in terms of communication with the cat and taking care of her.

The Himalayan cat will get along well with children and other pets in the family, besides herself. She will calmly and dignifiedly claim the attention of a person along with everyone. And, of course, the cat is so smart and “purebred” in character that it will immediately receive its share of adoration and admiration.

The cat does not really like to jump in height. He also won’t do regular walks on the street. Better for these purposes, purchase another pet. On the contrary, if the Himalayan cat spends a lot of time in the yard and takes him out there suddenly, then the animal may be stressed. Apparently, you will have to limit yourself to the pastime of your pet on the balcony. However, if there is no threat from dogs and hostile cats, and you have your own home, then you can take a walk. Only this must be done with a leash and a collar. The Himalayan cat is absolutely not adapted to the conditions of survival on the street.

The most common diseases in the Himalayan cat are:

• Difficult or noisy breathing caused by pinched nostrils;
• Bad dental bite;
• Eye diseases – cherry eye, entropion and progressive retinal atrophy;
• Feline hyperesthesia syndrome, nervous system disorder;
• Thermal sensitivity;
• Polycystic kidney disease (genetic test available);
• Predisposition to ringworm;
• Seborrhea oil – itching, redness of the skin and loss of hair.

Care for a Himalayan cat is the same as for a Persian cat. This involves daily and thorough combing of the coat. Also, due to the flattened muzzle, their tear duct is broken. As a result, they “cry” more often and you need to wash their eyes every day.

The Himalayan cat is surprisingly fond of bathing, and it is useful for them to wash off secretions from the sebaceous glands. Otherwise, the cat’s coat will be greasy and unsightly.

• The cat of this breed has a color characteristic of the Himalayan rabbit.
• It was these cats that became the founders of the NCFA organization, when the specialists who created it did not want to unite the Persians and the Himalayans.
• If, in childhood or adolescence, the instinct of catching mice is awakened in a Himalayan cat, then it may well hunt for this. This quality makes her similar to a typical Persian.
• Selected Himalayan cats boast a print on tabby or cake wool.
• Usually, the cost of Himalayan kittens starts at $ 150. It all depends on the pedigree, appearance, gender.
• Due to their textured, memorable appearance, Himalayan cats successfully conquer the movie Olympus. The most popular films with the participation of Persian-Siamese are “Meet the Parents” and “A Movie Meeting”.
• The owners of the breed call its representatives the Himalayans or Himalayas.
• In 2014, a Himalayan cat named Colonel Meow became a hero of memes because of the ever-dissatisfied expression on his face, and also temporarily entered the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of the longest coat.
• The stylish image of the Persian-Siamese is entirely the result of the master’s zeal, since the long coat of the breed falls off easily, which means it needs regular grooming and combing.
• The peak of physical activity is observed in kittens. As they grow older, the representatives of the breed behave sedately and passively, although they are not averse to driving their favorite toy.
• Himalayan cats are very restrained in terms of requests, so if you dream of a little and melodic meowing cat, consider that you have found it.
• The breed does not favor noisy events, so during a party, its representative will most likely hide in a remote room or under a table.

The Himalayan cat is, one might say, a Siamese colored Persian. After all, they were deliberately bred that way, that is, in the 1950s breeders just wanted to create a Persian cat with a Siamese color and a few character traits.

However, in fact, work on creating this breed began as early as 1931, when Harvard Medical School researcher Clyde Keeler and breeder Virginia Cobb began crossing Siamese and Persian cats in order to find out exactly how the gene color point was transmitted. Success came a few years later, when a kitten was born with clearly defined characteristics of the future breed. The kid was called Newton’s Debutant.

Today, among representatives of various felinological organizations, there is a difference of opinion about these pets. The Himalayan cat breed is considered by some to be independent, descending from Persians and Siamese, while others consider it a subspecies of Persian cats. In the history of the registers, there have even been scandals associated with “himmi” – it is a diminutive derived from “Himalayan”.

In particular, the Cat Fanciers Association recognized the Himalayan as a special breed in 1957. But in 1984, the CFA board, under pressure from other organizations and reputable breeders, decided to reclassify the Himalayan in variety of Persian coloring.

This caused an outcry among proponents of Himalayan cat breed autonomy, and in a sense, the storm has not passed to this day. After all, many records still consider these animals to be a subspecies of the Persians. But the American Cat Fanciers Association and the International Cat Association nevertheless sided with the Himalayas and classified them as a separate breed.