Himalayan
Description:
The Himalayan is a hybrid breed identical to the Persian, but distinguished by the points on the cats’ extremities (the facial mask, feet, ears, and tail) which results in a Persian-type cat with the coloring and deep blue eyes of the Siamese-patterned cat. The ideal Himalayan is a strong cat with excellent boning and musculature, a well-balanced cat, giving the impression of robust power.
History
The first deliberate cross between a Siamese and a Persian was made in 1924 by a Swedish geneticist. In 1935 that the first pointed pattern longhair was born. In the early 1930s, two Harvard medical researchers crossed a Siamese female with a black Persian male, not to create a new breed, but to establish how certain characteristics were inherited. This mating produced a litter of black, shorthaired kittens. They then bred a black Persian female with a Siamese male. The outcome was the same. This is not surprising, since longhair and the colorpoint pattern are both governed by recessive genes. Both parents have to possess the genes in order for the traits to be expressed in the offspring. By crossing a female from the second litter with a male from the first, they produced Debutante, a cat that possessed the Siamese body type and color pattern and the long hair of the Persian. During the same year, British and American fanciers hoped to produce a pointed pattern breed with the Persian hair type and conformation. World War II interfered with these efforts. In 1950 American Marguerita Goforth succeeded in breeding the long awaited Persian-like colorpoint. CFA and ACFA recognized the breed in 1957 under the name Himalayan, named for the color pattern found in other animals such as the Himalayan rabbit. By 1961, all major U.S. cat associations recognized the Himalayan.
Color
All pointed colors and pointed patterns. Clear color preferred with subtle shading allowed. Allowance should be made for darker shaded areas on coats of mature cats. There must be a definite contrast between the body and point color. The points, comprising of the ears, legs, feet, tail, and mask, must show the basic color of the cat.