Himalayan

The Himalayan (short for Himalayan Persian, or Colourpoint Persian as it is popularly known in Europe) is a long-haired cat breed or sub-breed identical to the Persian, with the exception of its blue eyes and point coloration, which were obtained via crossing the Persian with the Siamese. Some registries describe the Himalayan as a long-haired Siamese sub-breed or a Persian colorpoint sub-breed. The World Cat Federation has combined them with the Colorpoint Shorthair and Javanese to form the Colorpoint breed.

The Himalayan, like Persians in general, has a spherical (cobby) body and short legs, making it difficult for them to jump as high as other cats. However, since the 1960s, some have had a more Siamese-like physique and so do not have this constraint, but may not be accepted as show cats, depending on the exact breed criteria of the organization in question.

Himalayans, like other Persians, are classified into two types: conventional or doll-faced and peke-faced or ultra-typed, which has more severe squashed-looking facial characteristics. The seal-point Himalayan in the left shot is doll-faced, but the red(flame)-point in the title image is peke-faced. Show Himalayans, like peke-faced Persians, have a nose break and very huge, round eyes, with the nose leather located between the eyes. Breeder or pet Himalayans have longer noses than show cats, and they may have a larger snout and smaller eyes than show cats. However, all three varieties of Himalayan cats are Himalayans.