Balinese

The Balinese is a domestic cat breed with long fur, Siamese-style point coloring, and sapphire-blue eyes. The Balinese is also known as the purebred long-haired Siamese since it is a natural mutation of that breed and is therefore essentially the same cat but with a medium-length silky coat and a uniquely plumed tail. As with their short-haired counterparts, there is a genetic distinction between traditional or "old-style" and current body types. Color varieties originating from the Colorpoint Shorthair are recognized a different breed in the United States, known as the Javanese. There is no link between these cats and the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java, from whence their names are derived.

Balinese people, like their Siamese forebears, are social, talkative, lively, curious, and intellectual. Both varieties of Balinese are nonetheless comparable to their Siamese cousins. While both are relatively slim, beautiful fine-boned cats with long legs and tails, tidy oval paws, almond-shaped eyes, and wide pointed ears, the traditional form has a larger head and stronger frame. The contemporary form has a more wedge-shaped head with a long tapering nose and larger, wider ears, on top of a slenderer and longer body.