The Himalayan Cat

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a Persian cat and a Siamese cat crossed? Perhaps the answer is the Himalayan cat. We could say that he is essentially a Persian cat with colored fur and blue eyes, like the Siamese. Here, My Animals, will tell you everything you need to know about this beautiful breed of cats.

Where did the Himalayan cat come from?

Despite his name, he didn’t come from the Himalayas. The name comes from the similarity of its colors to the Himalayan rabbit, but in fact its origin can be traced back to Sweden, in 1924, when a geneticist began to make crosses between Siamese cats and long-haired cats.

However, the definitive work with this breed was done in 1930, at Boston University, when Cyde Keeler and Virginia Cobb were doing work on the mechanism of color transmission.

Their first crosses generated only short-haired kittens with colored tips of the Siamese, but all of them carried the Siamese and Persian gene.

From the mating between these species, only one long-haired cat was born, which was called a rookie. The rookie crossed with her father and, from this cross, the first copy of long hair with colored tips was born .

Keeler and Cobb’s Work had ended there, but selection work was resumed in England after World War II and the definitive Persian-Siamese cat took place in the mid-1960s.

What does the Himalayan cat look like?

It is morphologically the same as a Persian cat. It is compact, medium to large in size, whose most prominent feature (besides the long hair) is its broad, flat face.

Its head is round and its skull is broad with a rounded forehead, prominent cheekbones, a short, flat muzzle and a strong chin. His eyes are large, round, set apart and intense, and a brilliant blue, always open.

Its ears are small and rounded, covered with hair, the body is muscular and rounded, with small, thick legs. The tail is thick, rounded at the end, and the coat of this breed is long, full, thick and silky, and requires special care.

The coat color can vary from white to very pale blue, going through all the cream ranges, and it has colored ears and tail tips, like Siamese, with colors like brown, blue, cream, red and chocolate.

How is the temperament of the Himalayan cat?

The Himalayan cat has a calm and sociable personality, and easily coexists with other animals. He likes home life, although he also likes to go out and is considered a very good hunter.

From the Siamese cat he inherited his curiosity and vitality. However, he hasn’t inherited their meowing, so he’s a much calmer cat.

He is intelligent, loving, friendly and accommodating, he learns easily. Being calm and sociable, it is an ideal cat for children as it is very patient.

What care does the Himalayan cat require?

The Himalayan cat needs a rigorous and constant care of its coat, so you should comb it daily with a metal comb to remove the knots. In addition, you should bathe at least every fortnight, as poor hygiene can cause serious health problems.

How is the general health of the Himalayan cat?

The Himalayan cat has a tendency to facial and ophthalmological diseases, also jaw disorders, caused by the short and flat face, ie; he may have snoring or other breathing difficulties.

In addition, the eyes tend to water and, therefore, must be cleaned daily, so that infections do not occur.

Also, they have a tendency to be overweight, which forces them to have a controlled and balanced diet, because they are very lazy cats and exercise very little.

Because they have long hair, another problem is hairballs, which can accumulate in the digestive tract and cause suffocation.

This problem is easily treatable with a solution based on paraffin oil, malt or butter syrup.