Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Risk Factors of Oriental Shorthair and Longhair Cats

Book excerpt: The Oriental shorthair evolved in the 1950s when breeders decided to produce solid color, tortoiseshell, tabby, ticked, shaded, smoke, parti-color, and any other combination Siamese. They are the distant progeny of the original hybrid crosses between the Siamese, Domestic shorthair, and Abyssinian. Like the Colorpoints, the Oriental shorthairs fraternal twin, they were slow to be recognized, since the Siamese breeders would not accept any other color than the original four. Finally, they could register with the CFA in 1972 and were granted championship status in 1977. In the 1970s, breeders crossed the Oriental shorthair with the Balinese, creating the Oriental longhair. Like the Balinese and Javanese, the Oriental longhair has a medium-length silky coat devoid of an undercoat, so it is easy to groom and does not mat. In 1988, the Oriental longhair was granted championship status by the CFA, and in 1995, the longhair and shorthair were combined into the Oriental breed with longhair and shorthair divisions. The Oriental shorthair may be out crossed with the Siamese or Colorpoint shorthair, and the Oriental longhair may be out crossed with these breeds, as well as the Balinese and Javanese. In 2014, the Oriental ranked thirteenth out of forty-three in CFA registrations.