Balinese Breeders and Fans of America
Standard for the Balinese Cat

The ideal Balinese is a well-proportioned cat with long lines, very lithe but muscular, and elegant in appearance.  He is a rather tall upstanding aristocratic-looking cat, active in movement, with a long fine head held alertly, and conformation that of a Siamese.  Extra long abundant whiskers are characteristic, an asset to the very expressive face.  The tail is long and plume-like, carried high.  The temperament is typically happy, lively, and affectionate, not restless.  The ideal Balinese should make an excellent practical healthy pet, easy to handle and easy to care for.

Only Balinese of registered balinese breeding, or those having a minimum of three generations of registered Siamese ancestry, in the five recognised colours (see below) are allowable.


Colour and Points (same as for Siamese)
Seal Point:  Body even pale cream to fawn, warm in tone, shading gradually to lighter colour on stomach and chest.  Points, nose leather and paw pads deep seal brown.  Eyes deep vivid blue.
Blue Point:  Body bluish white, cold in tone, shading gradually to white on stomach and chest.  Points deep blue grey.  Nose leather and paw pads slate coloured.  Eyes deep vivid blue.
Chocolate Point:  Body ivory with no shading.  Points warm milk chocolate colour.  Nose leather and paw pads cinnamon-pink.  Eyes deep vivid blue.
Lilac Point:  Body glacial white with no shading.  Points very light pinkish-blue.  Nose leather and paw pads pink.  Eyes deep vivid blue.
Frost Point:  Body glacial white with no shading.  Points very light blue.  Nose leather and paw pads light slate colour with pink overtone.  Eyes deep vivid blue.

Head Shape:  Long tapering wedge, but not extreme.  when seen from the front the wedge starts at the nose and flares in a straight line to the tip of the ears, with no whisker break.  When the long hair and whiskers are smoothed backthe underlying bone structure is apparent.  Allowance to be made for jowels in stud cats.  In profile a straight line is seen from the middle of the forehead to the tip of the nose.  Chin and jaw medium-sized.  Point of chin lines up with the tip of the nose in same vertical plane in profile.  Neither undershot nor overshot jaw.  Faults:  head out of balance in proportion to the body. Overshot or undershot jaw.  Round head, broad head  or muzzle.  Nose break, whisker break, bulge at eyes.

(note: by faults we mean characteristics that will lose a cat points in judging)

Eyes:  Almond shaped and of uniform colour, medium blue to deep blue, the deeper the better.  Medium sized, slanted towards the nose, in harmony with the lines of wedge and ears.  Placed well within the frontal plane of the face.  Faults:  Crossed or round eyes, Eyes to the side of the head.  Eyes other colour than blue.

Ears:  Strikingly large, pointed, wide at base, continuing in harmony with the lines of the wedge.  HEald alertly erect, pricked slightly forward, with the width of an ear in between.  Faults:  Small or short ears.  Too wide or too narrow between ears.  Flaring ear set.

Scale of Points:

Body Colour	10
Point Colour	15
Body Type	15
Tail Type	5
Head	15
Ears	5
Eyes	5
Coat length	10
Coat Texture	10
Condition	10
Total	100	Gaynell's Tanisha of Die Lilo - 1st CFA Grand Champion

Type:  Type, conformation and body colour as close to the short hair Siamese as possible, with the exception of a longer, flowing coat, two or more inches in length and generally heavier appearance due to coat length.  Coat texture to be soft, silky and "flowing".

Colour:  Colour and points same as for short hair Siamese, with the same colour classes.  ie:  Seal Points, Blue Points, Chocoloate Points, Frost Points, Lilac Points and other colour classes as developed, except that a slightly darker coat is allowable.  Only colour classes developed by pure Siamese breeding or Mutation is acceptable.  Eyes clear blue, as deep as possible.  Slightly rounder eyes allowable due to lack of extreme wedge.  Any similarity to persians is a fault and body spots are a fault.



Photos from The Balinese Cat, Sylvia Holland - reprinted from the Cat Fancier's Association Year Book for 1971
left to right :
Ch. Holland's farm Chumi Chloi of Chen Ye B.P. Female 1969
Young B.P. Male
Scenes at Holland's farm (Balinese Cat)
 Ti-Mau's Big Blue

Sylvia Holland of Holland's Farm CFA cattery did much work to promote and gain recognition for the Balinese Breed.  She helped to form the Balinese Breeders and fans of America which advocated to various Breed Clubs and registries and was central to the early Balinese of the 1970's, it's development as a registered purebred show cat, and eventually gaining champion status in the CFA.  Sylvia Holland and other members of the BBFA lobbied on issue relating to breeding standards and wrote many articals on the Balinese.   Though long hair Siamese existed long before the CFA's recognition as "Balinese", it was the work of commited individuals such as Holland that brought these cats into the Cat Fancy.