The Oriental Longhair is a breed of cat that features a tubular, Siamese -style body (known in the cat fancy as oriental type), but with a longer coat than the short-haired Siamese. Formerly the (British) Angora (UK) and Javanese (Europe); known around world as Oriental/Foreign Longhair (Mandarin in Netherlands). 

Oriental Longhair Cat Origin

The Oriental Longhair is essentially a Siamese not limited to short hair, the colorpoint pattern and few color choices. The Oriental Longhair is accepted in more than 300 color and pattern combinations. The breed was deliberately developed from the colorful Oriental Shorthair ; the fanciers involved wanted a breed that had the same wide range of colors but with a longer coat. In the late 1970s, breeders crossed the Oriental Shorthair with the Balinese (longhaired Siamese ), and the Oriental Longhair was born. In 1985, the breed achieved championship status in TICA. In 1988, the Oriental Longhair was accepted by CFA for registration and later for championship.

To really understand the Oriental Longhair, however, you have to know a bit about the colorful history of the Oriental Shorthair breed. The Oriental Shorthair was developed in the 1950s from crosses between the Siamese, domestic shorthair and the Abyssinian . The breed has the body style and personality of the Siamese but is not restricted to the colorpoint pattern; the Oriental Shorthair comes in every color of the rainbow except green—that color is reserved for the beautiful, almond-shaped eyes (the Oriental Shorthair may have green or blue eyes, or one of each, depending upon the coat's color and pattern).

In 2002, the British Angora was renamed Oriental Longhair by British cat fancies. in order to avoid confusion with the Turkish Angora. With no globally recognised naming convention, other cat fancies refer to this type as Javanese, Foreign Longhair or Mandarin.

The Angora is the old name for the Oriental Longhair (European Javanese, Dutch Mandarin) British breed of cat . This Angora name was dropped by British Cat Registries in 2002 due to confusion with the Turkish Angora and bring it into line with Oriental Longhair elsewhere.

Oriental Longhair Cat Appearence

The Oriental Longhair cat is of medium size, her body is slender and long, yet with a very well developed muscle strength, which is quite hard and firm. The legs are high (long) and slender with fine oval paws. The boning is fine and delicate.

The head builds a long wedge which tapers to a fine muzzle. The nose is absolutely straight and long. The jaws are fine built. When viewing the head in profile a long straight line can be seen, which starts at the top of the head and continues straight to the tip of the nose. When viewing the head from the front side the outer edges of the head build a long triangle.

The Oriental Longhair skull is not supposed to be flat, it is rounded, as if the cat would wear a round helmet.

The Oriental Longhair neck is long, slender and graceful, thus emphasizing the elegant lines of the Oriental Longhair cat.

The Oriental Longhair eyes are almond in shape and slanted to the base of the ears. Their colour is of a striking green colour. This combination between the almond shape and the oblique placement of the eyes emphasizes the oriental appearance of this breed.

The Oriental Longhair ears are very large, very wide at their base, thus completing the triangular shape of the head and continuing the outer lines of the head.

Oriental Longhair Cat Colors and Coats

The Oriental Longhair has a silky medium-length coat which is much longer and thicker than that of a traditional oriental cat or Siamese.

Oriental Longhairs are bred in:

Self Colours: black, blue, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, caramel, fawn, red, cream and apricot.

Tortie Colours: black tortie, blue tortie, chocolate tortie, lilac tortie, cinnamon tortie, caramel tortie, fawn tortie.

Smokes: all of the above self and tortie colours, with a silver undercoat.

Tabbies: all of the above self and tortie colours, including the silver versions, in any tabby pattern (ticked, spotted, mackerel and classic).

Shaded: all of the above self and tortie colours, including the silver versions, with varying degrees of shading. No distinction is made between shaded and tipped as one can grade into the other.

All the above colours have green eyes.

Whites: green-eyed, blue-eyed and odd-eyed (one green and one blue).

The Oriental Longhair Temperament

Very active, playful and entertaining cats, they are always underfoot and want to be involved in all of your activities, from aerobics to quiet evenings by the fire.

There are few places Oriental Longhairs cannot reach, and their curiosity and intelligence makes it hard to keep them out of closed closets and cupboards. They hate closed doors, particularly when their special person is on the other side.

Extremely people-oriented and trusting, Oriental Longhairs generally form a close bond with one person.