The Oriental Cat

Image by jiva via Flickr

The Oriental is a breed that has been created only recently.  It’s history only started at the beginning of the nineteen sixties.  This breed came about when breeders wanted a Siamese like cat, but without the Siamese color point patterns.  They achieved this by breeding the Siamese with domestic cats and the Abbysinians.  In that short period of time, however, these cats have been bred in over three hundred color and pattern combinations, giving them the nickname of the “Rainbow Cat”.

The oriental cat is a medium sized cat with a slender build.  Its legs are long and fine boned.  The tail is long and tapers down to a point.  Their heads are triangular shaped with large ears.  They eyes, unlike the Siamese, are usually green in color, but they are still usually almond shaped.  There are two varieties in the fur, either short haired or medium haired after some Orientals were crossed with the Balinese.  The short haired variety needs very little grooming help, and an occasional brushing is enough.  The medium haired variety should be brushed on a weekly basis.

Like their Siamese cousins, the Oriental is a very talkative cat.  They are also curious and extremely intelligent as well as highly social animals.  Because of this, they are one of the easier cats to train, whether that means bringing you  a toy to play fetch with, or learning to walk on a halter and leash.  Some of their favorite toys can be some of the least expensive.  They love crumpled pieces of paper, ping pong balls and fuzzy mice.

One important thing to note about the Oriental is that they are extremely social animals.  They do not do well at all if left alone for long periods of time, such as when you are out to work.  Having a companion animal to keep them company can certainly help.  They get along well with both other cats as well as dogs.  Children are also well tolerated by these friendly cats.

If you plan on getting an Oriental, make sure that you have plenty of time for play and cuddling, and you will have a best friend for many, many years.

Fuzzy Mice

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