The Himalayan cat is a breed developed by man with the aim of maintaining the Persian body type and structure as well as obtaining the colour points and blue eyes of the Siamese. It took approximately 10 years of controlled selective breeding before the first Himalayans were recognized and later given Purebred status in 1957 by ACFA (American Cat Fanciers Association) and CFA (Cat Fanciers Association). "Himalayan" refers not to a place, but to a temperature sensitive gene which results in the darker colour concentrating at the cooler points of the body (extremities of ears, nose, toes and tail). One can breed Himalayan to Persian and register the offspring as purebreds. The first generaton of this mating will all be solid coloured and copper eyed. The Canadian Cat Association will recognize them as HIMALAYAN Non Pointed and The Cat Fancy Association will call them PERSIAN Colour Point Carriers. The second generation of a pointed/nonpointed mating should result in half the kittens being pointed, blue eyed kittens and half being solid, copper eyed kittens. Since I have pointed, solid and bicolour adults, I can expect a delightful variety in most litters. Once the "Himalayan" colour pattern was established, there was been no further need to go back to the Siamese breed.
There in an anomaly when breeding a bicolour carrying the Himalayan with a pointed or solid Himalayan. You often get kittens with mittens - they show both colour patterns: Points on ears, nose & tail with blue eyes (Himalayan), but they also have the white inverted V on their forehead, with white carrying on over their underside and all legs. CCA has made a ruling that bicolours carrying the Himalayan gene are NOT ELIGIBLE to be shown in open or altered classes, even if they appear totally alike to Persian. To the best of my knowledge CFA operates on a "what you see is what you get basis" and a bicolour colour point carrier would be judged strictly by the Persian standards only. Whether or not they can be shown, they have a very unique and striking colour patter, add in those big blue eyes and incredible purrsonality, and you have an irresistable pet.
It is my personal belief that the Himalayan inherited much of their playfulness and sociability from the Siamese (but fortunately not their voice, nor their propensity for climbing up drapes), adding to their placid and gentle temperament. They also adapt to life indoors better than most cats, and were billed in the 90's as being the closest thing you could get to a dog without all the aggrevation.
The Himalayan cat is one of the comparatively few breeds of domesticated animals for which a complete and verifialble history of origin is known. No other cat in the history of the cat fancy has so captured the admiration of cat lovers the way the Himalayan has. They are the combination of the best of both breeds, Persian and Siamese, and are still CFA's Most Popular Breed.
