Oriental Cat Behavior, Facts and Health Care Problem

A relative of the beautiful Siamese, the Oriental shares many of its personality and physical characteristics. While varying colored Siamese cats have been around for hundreds of years, during the nineteen hundreds, breeders decided they only wanted Siamese cats in the traditional point colors. This made Siamese in varying colors highly uncommon.

However, in Great Britain in the nineteen fifties, a renewed interest in having a more wide variety of colors in the Siamese breed brought about the creation of what they referred to as the Foreign. When this breed reached the United States, breeders started calling it the Oriental. In order to create less confusion with the cat associations, Great Britain decided to call them Orientals as well.

Appearance
Originally, the Oriental breed was only available in the shorthaired version, however today the longhair is also available. These cats come in a wide array of color choices as well as different patterns in each of those colors. The list of color choices and patterns available include Black, Havana, Cinnamon, Red, Blue, Lilac, Fawn, Cream, Caramel, Apricot, and Foreign White.

This breed also comes in tortoiseshell, tabby, silver tabby, smoke, shaded, and tipped patterns. The physical features of an Oriental are a mirror image of its descendant the Siamese. This cat has a large triangular shaped head, large prominent ears, an elegantly long body, a long tail that tapers at the end and the distinctive almond shaped eyes in the brilliant color green. In addition to its graceful and regal appearance, this breeds typically weighs anywhere from nine to fourteen pounds.

Behavior and Characteristics
Just as the boisterous Siamese, the Oriental is not shy about carrying on a conversation. Anyone living in buildings with paper thin walls may want to consider a more quiet and placid breed of cat. The Oriental is quite well known for being a devoted, loyal, loving and protective cat who adores its family. Some have said that these cats love their families so much, more often than not, they are only to happy to join in everyone’s conversations. This endearing quality makes the Oriental a perfect family companion.

This particular breed of cat is most happy when it is among its family. Anyone spending long hours away from home should consider another breed. However, if you are still heart set on owning an Oriental, you may want to add a second cat to the household. This gives your cat someone to play with; however, it also gives your cat someone to plot and plan with. Two cats make for double the trouble, although their wonderful, loving personality makes this breed a charming and delightful addition.

Grooming
Part of the care, these cats require is grooming. If you do not have lots of time to spend on grooming, you may wish to have the shorthair version of the Oriental. A good brushing with a comb or a brush once a week should be quite sufficient to keep your cats coat smooth and healthy.

For longhair Orientals, a once or twice a week grooming routine should be sufficient. These cats have a medium length coat that has a more silk like texture. Grooming for a longhair is very important, especially when the summer season arrives. During these warmer months, the longhair Oriental tends to shed its coat, making grooming an essential way to remove those loose hairs and prevent the possibility of hairballs.

Anyone who has ever adored the Siamese breed’s personality, but wanted a wider range of coat colors, the beautiful and loving Oriental breed may just be worth looking into.

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